No, Indonesia Did Not Make the Balls for World Cup 2022

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - The balls for the World Cup 2022 were not made by Indonesia. Previously, Governor of East Java Khofifah Indar Parawansa announced that the balls were made in her province. The claim was widely reported in Indonesia.

Governor Khofifah inaccurately said that Al Rihla balls were produced by a factory in Madiun which is located in her province. 

"This is the ball that will be used in the 2022 World Cup competition in Qatar. At the biggest sporting event on the planet, Indonesia has an important role in every match," said Governor Khofifah on her social media in November. 

Governor Khofifah made the claim when she visited the factory that produced the balls. Her post already received over 26,000 likes on Instagram. 

The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also made a similar claim.

"Al Rihla is the official ball for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, produced in Madiun, East Java. Adidas entrusted Global Way Indonesia to manufacture the ball." said the ministry in a statement, "Through the export of these balls, the people of East Java have become part of the world's economic resonance."

But the official balls were apparently made somewhere far away from Madiun. It was not made in Indonesia either, but in Pakistan. 

According to Pakistan media Economy.Pk, the balls were made in Sialkot. The balls were manufactured by following sustainability principles.

Some netizens on Instagram are also aware that the balls were made in Pakistan, and they posted comments on Governor Khofifah's photo to inform her about the fact.

The Global Way Indonesia is specialized in manufacturing sportings goods. According to their website, they partnered with top brands such as adidas, PUMA, UHLsport, mizuno. 

They wrote on their website that they produce the souvernirs for the World Cup, not the official balls.

"PT. Global Way Indonesia has become adidas official partner to produce "World Cup 2022 Football Souvenir," said the company.

Previously, the company was operating in Sidoarjo, also in East Java. They eventually moved to Madiun in 2019.

The company said they follow various environmental projects, including energy and greenhouse gases reduction program, water efficiency program, waste management program, regular environment’s quality monitoring and chemical management.

Meanwhile, a Chinese company also created the commemorative balls for the World Cup 2022.

According to the state media Global Times, a company in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, produced 100,000 commemorative balls for the event. But the head of the company made clear that those balls were not for the matches.

Yiwu Sports Goods Association estimated that the products made in Yiwu accounted for almost 70 percent of the World Cup souvenirs in Qatar.