The first ever momentous FIFA friendly match between Argentina and Venezuela held recently in Kolkata used Jallandhar manufactured footballs. The All India Football Association (AIFF) along with the two teams found the football made by the SME, Freewill Sports perfect for using in the match. Freewill Sports, which produces Nivia Simbolo football, supplied 50 balls to each playing team while 1,000 balls were distributed to football fans in the stadium. By choosing the Jallandhar-made football for the international friendly match, sports goods manufacturers here, most of them SMEs hope that it would prove to be a major boost for the local sports goods industry.
The Nivia Simbolo football is also being used in all the major Indian football tournaments like Santosh trophy and South Asian Federation games. Officials claim that the sports goods industry in India has witnessed a phenomenal growth over the past five decades and now occupies a place of prominence in the Indian economy in view of its massive potential for employment, growth and export. There has been an increasing emphasis on its planned development, aimed at optimum utilisation of resources for maximising the returns, particularly from exports. The Indian sports goods industry is a highly labour intensive industry which provides employment to the weaker sections of society and also employs a large number of women, thus providing a big boost to SMEs in the northern state known both for its industrial and agricultural prowess. Rough estimates suggest that today Jallandhar has more than one hundred major industries and about 20,000 small-scale industries with a most conservative estimate of an annual turnover of approximately Rs 450 crores.
