The making of a soccer ball

Over 80% of soccer balls are made in Pakistan, and the 32 hexagonal panels are all hand stitched. There are two main elements to the soccer ball, the inner bladder and the covering and most are made in the same factory, but some are made in separate parts.

There are 5 parts to the process of making a soccer ball and they are:

• Lining the cover material- sheets of synthetic leather are fed through a press that applies adhesive and attaches the cloth. Cheap balls have two layers of backing and expensive balls have four.
• Cutting the panels- when dry, the sheets of synthetic leather are passed through a die-cutting machine. This cuts the panels and punches the stitch holes.
• Imprinting the panels- the panels are imprinted with the manufacturers’ logo.
• Making the bladder- the material is heated and forced into a mould where it forms a balloon; they are then removed and partially inflated.
• Stitching and final assembly- the 32 panels are sewn by hand in proper order and when the cover is sewed, the worker then inserts the bladder and sews together. The ball is then pumped up to check for quality and then deflated for shipping.