Forward Sports is a Pakistani multi-national company based in

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

, Punjab, specializing in the manufacture of

sports equipment Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since th ...

, primarily soccer balls. The company produces balls for prominent brands including

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

. Founded in 1991 by Khawaja Masood Akhtar, Forward Sports began its partnership with Adidas in 1994. Since then, it has produced balls for many international events, including

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

on several occasions. It was the official provider of balls for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

(the Brazuca), the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

(the Telstar 18) and the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

(the

Al Rihla The Adidas Al Rihla () is a Ball (association football), ball for association football produced by Adidas. It was the List of FIFA World Cup official match balls, official match ball of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and has also been used as ...

). It produces soccer balls, handballs, sala balls, beach balls, indoor balls, sports bags, shin guards, goalkeeping gloves and medicine balls. The company was awarded a contract to produce over 3,000 Adidas Brazuca balls that were used at the

FIFA World Cup 2014 The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Khawaja Masud Akhtar was awarded with the

Sitara-i-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and Civil decorations of Pakistan, civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially me ...

on 23 March 2019 and the

Hilal-i-Imtiaz The ''Hilal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled as ''Hilal-i-Imtiaz,'' is the second-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the Government of Pakist ...

on 23 March 2023.

Affiliates

The Forward Sports has an affiliated company based in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, the Forward Egypt, which manufactured a portion of the Adidas Al Rihla.

References

{{Sister project links, Sialkot Privately held companies of Pakistan Pakistani companies established in 1991 Manufacturing companies established in 1991 Sportswear brands Sporting goods manufacturers of Pakistan Companies based in Sialkot Pakistani brands

Affiliates

See also

References