Hub of Cricket Information

My advice to players at this World Cup is: Shoot! Let fly from as far out from goal as you dare. This Jabulani ball at South African altitude can only mean one thing - goals, and lots of them.

I've tried out both the Jabulani, which will be used in the group stages and knock-out rounds, and the Jo'bulani that will be used in the final on July 11 - they're essentially the same ball although the final's ball carries gold livery. The balls look and feel like kids' footballs but they don't play like them.

Read here.

Jabulani means to celebrate in Zulu, one of the 11 languages of South Africa, and the design of the Jabulani has 11 colors to honor those 11 languages, in addition to the 11 communities of South Africa and and the 11 players on a team. The 11 colors also honor the fact that this is adidas' 11th FIFA World Cup ball. Constructed with eight new thermally bonded, spherically shaped, 3 D EVA and TPU panels, the Japbulani is perfectly round and has been equipped with a new Grip'n'Groove technology. Grip'n'Groove is a textured treatment that ensures the Jabulani flies straight and true. The Japbulani is designed for never before seen power, swerve and control. It's a ball truly worthy of the best in the game.

Unlike the 2006 FIFA World Cup, when Pakistan was represented in each and every game of the world’s premier sporting tournament - in the shape of Pakistani manufactured footballs - Pakistan will be missing in action at the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup that starts in South Africa later this week. This year’s official match football for the World Cup - Jabulani or Jo’bulani (manufactured by Adidas and meaning ‘to celebrate’ in Zulu - will come from China, not Pakistan.

Pakistani footballs, of course, have a long history of being kicked around in Football World Cup tournaments. From the iconic Telstar (which was the first designated official game ball, at the 1970 Mexico World Cup and then at the 1974 World Cup in Germany) to the even more iconic Tango (the official ball of the 1978 and 1982 World Cups in Argentina and Spain), and even at the last World Cup in 2006 in Germany, hand-stitched, high-performance from Pakistan - really from Sialkot - have been the preferred choice for Adidas, the official providers of match balls to the FIFA World Cups.

No longer so, it seems. Indeed, from once commanding as much as 85% of the world’s market in footballs, Pakistani manufacturers now believe that they will supply no more than 30-40 percent of the footballs sold around this mega-event. Pakistan, of course, is not a football power at all - ranked 165th out of 202 countries in the world. But like everywhere else, football fever can get high in Pakistan too ( here and here). This year, however, we would no longer be kicked around on the FIFA World Cup soccer fields.

This should be read not just as a matter of national pride, but as yet another sign of the changing global economic landscape, Pakistan’s sliding economic fortunes, and a need to focus more deeply on Pakistan’s enterprise-level economic structures than we often do.

The most commonly cited reason for Pakistan’s dwindling football fortunes is the use of child labor in the football industry. Even though the practice is now far less than it used to be, there are still instances of it and the stigma has lingered. In this particular case, technology may also have a lot to do with it. The new ball is being described in technological rather than craft terms: “The newly developed 'Grip'n'Groove' profile provides the best players in the world with a ball allowing an exceptionally stable flight and perfect grip under all conditions. Comprising only eight, completely new, thermally bonded 3-D panels, which for the first time are spherically molded, the ball is perfectly round and even more accurate than ever before.” And, of course, Pakistan’s security situation also must have had some impact in perceptions.

Soccer or football is the most popular sport in the world. And for many, this means great economic opportunity. At one time, Pakistan's export city of Sialkot was catering to 85 per cent of the total world demand for high-quality hand-stitched inflatable balls.

A workforce of 85,000 was employed to produce 60 million balls per year worth $210 million. In Fifa World Cup years the demand for stitched balls rises by 70 per cent. Consecutive governments however, ignored this industry and failed to plan ahead to tackle the growing competition from China, India and Japan.

For a long time this vital industry also faced criticism from European countries and especially from United States with allegations of using child labour. The Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry took prompt measures to curb child labour from the soccer ball industry in accordance with the Atlanta Agreement signed with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Unicef in February 1997.

It is estimated that some 93 per cent of child labour was progressively eradicated from this vital industry and necessary steps were taken to provide social protection to children and their families. The children who were associated with this industry were provided with good schooling. The vital steps taken by the soccer manufacturers and exporter were highly praised by the then United States President Bill Clinton in the address at the ILO convention at Geneva in June 1999.

The Sialkot football industry has been contributing millions of export dollars to the national kitty but in the year 2006 the industry's share in the international market took a significant hit with the entry of new players in the market, notably China and India. Manufacturers from these countries were able to supply balls at a much cheaper rate.

According to industry sources, local soccer ball manufacturers have been able to grab around 30 to 40 per cent of the total orders floated globally for the upcoming Fifa World Cup. This is a sharp decline from the 70-80 per cent bagged during the 1998 and 2002 World tournaments. The local football industry earned $164 million in export earnings in the financial year 09, as against an average of $221 million per annum earned during financial years 2005-08. Power and gas shortage are not making it any easier for the industry, and sources say that a number of business have failed to meet deadlines which has dented their reputation.

Technology was also a major factor in tilting the balance against the local industry. The penetration of machine-made balls hit the Sialkot hand made stitched soccer industry.

And in the present scenario of fast growing globalisation hand-stitched balls will not be able to compete with machine-made footballs. It is important that the local industry moves forward and embraces new technology to meet the needs of the international market.

Industry sources also say that China has received large export orders of footballs from a number of countries ahead of the June 2010 Football World Cup. Pakistan Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association is rightly concerned over this state of affairs.

According to Arif Mehmood Sheikh, a former chairman (PSGMEA) the shift of a large number of orders to China should serve as an 'eye opener' for every one. He said that the factors behind the diversion of export orders to China was a combination of rising cost of production and inability to meet deadlines, which in turn were caused by rising POL prices and unreliable power supply. This has made it difficult for Sialkot exporters to compete with manufacturers in China, India, Nepal and Thailand.

With the government looking for new avenues to bridge the fiscal deficit and the trade deficit, it is very important that measures be taken to build upon the advantages that Pakistan holds in the global market, and not allow others to encroach upon them. The Sialkot exporters have urged the government to come up with some sort of trade related package to stop the diversion of football export orders through the Trade Development Authority, likewise enforcing suitable measures to encourage the export of hand stitched fooballs.

Outdated manufacturing techniques still in use by the local industry is a major hurdle in enhancing exports. This industry for its survival is in dire need of advanced technology and early provisioning of skilled labour. The Sialkot manufacturers and exporters have realised that in the event of a change in the global trend from hand stitched balls to mechanically stitched balls they will also need to make the shift.

In order to cope with the menace of machine made balls, the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority has at put in place the final steps for the establishing of the Sports Industries Development Centre. It is expected that this project worth Rs435 million will enable the Sialkot sports manufacturing industry to adopt modern technology, without which there is no going forward.

Sad as this situation is, I intend to follow the World Cup in South Africa, as will so many other Pakistanis. Probably no where more so than in Lyari - a community whose passion for soccer is boundless.

Olé, olé, olé, olé.... The FIFA World Cup 2010 runs June 11 to July 11 in South Africa, and all this month, the Book Club is getting into the spirit of this huge sporting event — 32 countries, 31 days and a celebration of soccer that pulls in an audience of billions — with an in-depth look at the world's most popular game by one of Canada's finest journalists, John Doyle.

"Television has had a profound effect on international soccer tournaments, creating a vast global culture of celebration, joy, bittersweet feelings and, sometimes, despair. When the World Cup unfolds now, the planet is truly a global village."

In The World is a Ball: The Joy, Madness and Meaning of Soccer (Doubleday Canada), author and award-winning Globe and Mail television columnist John Doyle offers a richly detailed social history of "the beautiful game" and a thoughtful appraisal of its global impact in the 21st century.

Starting with an account of his boyhood love of the sport, growing up in Ireland in the 1960s, Doyle goes on to chronicle his travels to the major international tournaments and qualifying matches of the last decade with humour and insight. The World is a Ball covers everything from the action on the field of play to the colourful antics of diehard fans in the stands and the streets, and as a special bonus, includes a primer on the teams competing in World Cup 2010.

In his entertaining and informative new book, John Doyle shows that soccer is more than a game: it's a field of dreams that can buoy the pride of an underdog nation and an arena where fans of teams from opposing countries unite in a display of remarkable camaraderie.

Author Biography: At the age of 10, John Doyle won a gold medal for his debating skills in the Gaelic language, in his native Ireland. Years later, his gift for persuasion and for argument have made him into one of Canada's most popular and provocative columnists, as the Globe and Mail's television critic.

Doyle came to Canada in 1980 for Ph.D. studies in English literature at York University in Toronto. Eventually he abandoned his academic pursuits for freelance writing and after working briefly in radio and in television, he began writing for the Globe in 1990. He became its television columnist in 2000.

As a commentator on television and popular culture, Doyle has been widely published in Canada, the U.S., Britain and Ireland and has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs. His first book, the critically acclaimed memoir, A Great Feast of Light: Growing Up Irish in the Television Age (Doubleday Canada), was named to the cbc.ca's list of the top 25 books of 2005 and has been published in five countries.

Doyle's writing on soccer has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the New York Times and the Guardian online. Since 2002, he has covered the major tournaments (the World Cup and the Euro Cup) and has travelled the world to witness key qualifying games for World Cup 2010.

He describes his recently published second book, The World is a Ball: The Joy, Madness and Meaning of Soccer, as "a love story, with laughter and tears. It's about chasing this thing you love all over the world to be with it, to experience it and be delighted by it."

John Doyle lives in Toronto, not far from BMO Field, home to the city's professional soccer team, Toronto F.C.

Highlights from The World is a Ball: "...the World Cup and the continental national championships in Europe and South America have become events that transcend athletic competition. These tournaments are festivals, carnivals of revelry, pageantry and celebration..."

Some of the best moments from World Cup 2002, on and off the pitch

Excerpt: From the Introduction, "Meaning All the Rambling Boys of Pleasure":

"One night in Berlin during the 2006 World Cup, an elderly Brazilian journalist sat beside me on a bench as we both waited for a bus. Eventually we talked, which surprised me because the journalists from Brazil rarely interact with others. Brazil has the most important soccer culture on the planet so, you know, they don't need to pay the slightest bit of attention to anyone else. It's their thing. The journalist was bored, perhaps, and maybe he wanted to show that he was cosmopolitan and his English was solid enough to hold a good conversation. Also, I think he was amused to meet a journalist from Canada covering the World Cup. We talked of this and that. Of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Meandering, he told me that, in Brazil, the young players are sometimes told that the ball is symbolic. It represents Mother Earth, and when players stroke, caress and kick it, they are like gods, tossing the earth around. "They must respect it," he said. "It is the planet we live on." This was delivered to me as a profound truth, and one known mainly to Brazilians."

Read the first 17 pages of The World is a Ball...

Quotes:

Praise for The World is a Ball

"With grace, insight, and a very different view from any other sports journalist, Doyle lays out the political, cultural and very human importance of soccer. He takes us on an entertaining and hilarious journey from his Irish childhood to Canada's unsuccessful qualifying games leading up to the 2010 World Cup on a circuitous and highly rewarding path." — Bolen Books, Victoria

Praise for John Doyle's A Great Feast of Light: Growing Up Irish in the Television Age:

"A marvelous read, with keen insights and laugh-out-loud moments..." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Of course A Great Feast of Light is about considerably more than how a shy, naive, youngster with sticking-out ears saw the social and political sea changes of the '60s through the cool, blue crackle of the cathode-ray tube. Readers are treated to innocent but stinging impressions of the secular violence in the north, of the rude social hierarchy and of the subversive pop-culture tremors emanating from Britain which was so near and yet so far." — Canadian Press

"From the beguiling smile of the little imp on the cover to the very last page, this book is a delight.... [it is] beautifully written, both humorous and sad." — Montreal Gazette

"Brisk [and] witty...[A] delightful and original ramble; laconic, rueful and richly evocative of a time and place long gone and hardly lamented. [This] coming-of-age memoir, an intelligent and affable look at the vagaries of an earlier Ireland, is a book certain to win a wide and enthusiastic readership." — London Free Press

"[A] terrific book. Compelling, vivid and original." — Linden MacIntyre

It seems absurd for the world's most popular game to reinvent the wheel every four years, but that's what the folks at FIFA have done.

The world soccer governing body recently unveiled the 2010 World Cup official ball, and it's more than just a commemorative logo that set this sphere apart.

The Jabulani ball (Jabulani means "to celebrate" in isiZulu) was presented in South Africa earlier this month. Adidas says it's the roundest and most accurate soccer ball ever made, beating out the Teamgeist ball from 2006.