India plays ball at World Cup

Many footballs rolling on the turf will carry the “Made in India” label

Brinda Suri  Jalandhar

Bhaichung Bhutia, India’s leading soccer player, may have no role to play in the soccer World Cup 2006, which is just a few days away. But Aman Chopra certainly does. While the Indian soccer captain and his men once again faltered in making it to the grade of nations that will be sweating it out in Germany for the FIFA trophy, Chopra went about his work quietly and bagged export orders for manufacturing footballs that will be used in connection with the World Cup.
As nations get ready for kick off, chances are at the moment companies sponsoring the World Cup are using Indian footballs for promotional activity. These “Made in India” footballs are being produced in mass scale at Jalandhar, Punjab, the country’s leading centre for sports goods. Manufacturers in the city have procured orders to the tune of Rs 120 crore, which is more than double their annual export figure. The 125-odd production units here, including leaders like Soccer India as well as medium-scale players like Chopra’s Shant Sports Industry, are reaping benefits from the hype and excitement surrounding the once-in-four-year extravaganza of the Beautiful Game.

“The football manufacturing season is generally five months, from October to March. This year we have had to extend it till May to complete the orders,” says Raghunath Rana, chairperson, Sports Goods Manufacturers, Jalandhar. “Annually, the export figures the local sports industry touch is Rs 50 crore. The World Cup has more than doubled the turnover, at Rs 120 crore,” he added. With the export price settled at an average of $ 2 per ball, by the end of season Jalandhar would have produced a staggering number of around 1.3 crore footballs.

To keep pace with the demand, manufacturing units are collectively rolling out up to 50,000 footballs a day, up from the average daily production mark of roughly 8,000 pieces. “These days each unit is producing a minimum of 2,000 footballs with some who have bagged larger orders making around 15,000 balls a day,” says Chopra.

As all balls are hand-stitched, the number of daily wagers employed by the manufacturers for the task has shot up. Stitching balls is a parallel cottage industry at Jalandhar, with complete families being involved in the needle and thread process. “It takes around three hours to stitch a ball. Nowadays we are stitching them all day. Footballs for the foreign market require very neat and precise work,” says 42-year-old Lata Rani, a part-time domestic help, who is adept at the task, having handled contracts for the past two decades. 

          
Unlike rubber-synthetic footballs that are retailed in India, those for the European market are made with PVC and are laminated, thus being glossier and available in a range of striking colours. “The finish in PVC is definitely superior. But in India the buyer prefers durability over attractive looks, and rubber is stronger in our conditions where the surface for play ranges from dirt tracks to cement fields,” says Rajinder Bajaj, of Prime Sports, a leading retailer in Chandigarh.

The World Cup in Germany has also affected the Indian retail market with wholesalers raising their prices. “The foreign bulk orders have consumed this manufacturing season. The Indian market is comparatively very small and the World Cup effect here is that we are paying 17 to 23 per cent more for our stocks,” adds Bajaj.

However, as far as economics goes, though the figures of various crores seem impressive, the manufacturing industry is not jubilant over it. “Indian companies get orders largely from European nations like Germany, France and Italy. We have not been able to tap the West Asia market which is catered to mainly by Pakistan,” avers Chopra. “During the World Cup bulk orders see us through, though profit margins are not as high as the turnover figure reflects, as raw material costs have shot up 24-27 per cent in the past four years,” he adds. The industry is also feeling the heat being generated by China which is able to sell footballs cheaper than India and at better quality.  

While footballs being exported from Jalandhar are being used chiefly for World Cup promotional campaigns and a few also for training sessions, India is yet to enter the real playing field—tournament matches—where multinational giants like Adidas rule. Says an industry leader, “MNCs like Adidas and Nike do get their products outsourced from Asian nations. But their standards are extremely stringent. India has not been able to match that quality yet. Our markets have opened recently and it takes time to win confidence.” Is it possible that by World Cup 2010 an India made football will be doing samba on the green tourney turf ? “Hopefully yes. We are working towards that,” he rounds off. Bhaichung, you have competition. The Indian football is seemingly rolling faster than its players.