Footballs are an indispensable item in the global value chain of the beautiful game.  Manufacturing, distributing and selling the balls is a complex international business.

It is difficult to pinpoint where in the world a ball is actually made because the sourcing of raw materials, the design and the production happen in different countries. But one thing is certain: WTO agreements play an important role in easing trade in footballs.

WTO experts Roy Santana, Michael Roberts and Úna Flanagan trace the global value chain of footballs from the Servette Football Club in Geneva via Herzogenaurach, Germany to Sialkot, Pakistan. Stopovers in Uganda and Uruguay show how international standards ease trade.

We talked to:

Philippe Senderos, Sporting Director of Servette FC, Geneva

Qasim Malik, Vice President of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce, Pakistan

Nouman Butt, CEO of Capital Sports, Sialkot, Pakistan

Gerardo Cal, Guide at the Estadio Centenario Football Museum in Montevideo, Uruguay

Robbert de Kock, President and CEO of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry, Switzerland

George Opiyo, TBT National Enquiry Point, Uganda National Bureau of Standards

Oliver Hundacker, Senior Director of product operations at Adidas, Germany

Special thanks to Arshad Nawaz, Intern at the WTO Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC)

Links:

One match, two balls. The 1930 World Cup in Uruguay featured two footballs with different designs in the final match:

Photo of the ball team Argentina used in the first half of the final of the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay

Photo of the ball team Uruguay used in the second half of the final of the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay

About the famous Wembley goal — or “Hurst's overtime goal” — in the final of the 1966 World Cup between England and Germany:
England v Germany (1966): The Most Controversial World Cup Final 

Learn more about rules of origin:

Rules of origin explained

Learn more about Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT):

Technical barriers to trade explained

Video "Let's Talk Product Quality"

Learn more about tariffs:

Tariffs explained

Video "Let's Talk Tariffs"