While Pakistan is currently serving a ban imposed by FIFA for third-party meddling in the Pakistan Football Federation, their contribution to the mega event is the official World Cup match-ball. The official match-ball named, ‘Al Rihla’ was unveiled by FIFA recently.
The match-ball is made in Pakistan and is manufactured by the second largest sports manufacturer in the world, Adidas.
‘Al Rihla’ translates as ‘the journey’ in Arabic and according to Adidas, it incorporates the architecture, iconic boats, and the flag of the host nation, Qatar. The match-ball was launched by former World Cup winners, Iker Casillas and Kaka in a glittering ceremony in Doha, Qatar.
This is the 14th successive ball that has been manufactured by Adidas for the mega event. Pakistan has been the official makers of the official match-ball since the 1982 FIFA World Cup. However, Pakistan did not provide the footballs for the 2010 and 2014 World Cup in Brazil but they were provided the contract for producing the match-balls for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.