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Follow Up SDG 4 – Unfair play! (Year 5 – Year 8)

Read the story: Iz-Zokkor!

You can also listen to the voice recording by asking on the contact form of this website for mp3 file which will be sent to you upon request.

Have you ever stopped to think from where the soccer balls you kick around at home, at school or at the football nursery come from? Where are they made? Who makes them?

Do you have any idea???

FACTS ABOUT THE SOCCER BALL INDUSTRY

• Nearly 1/2 of the world’s soccer balls are made in Sialkot, Pakistan
• There are 650 stitches in 1 soccer ball
• It is estimated that 1/4 of the 35 million soccer balls made in Pakistan are made by children under the age of 14
• In India, although it is illegal to keep children from going to school, tens of thousands of children work in the soccer ball industry, working 10-15 hours a day stitching together soccer balls
• Children miss school to stitch together soccer balls
• In India, the work is done at home, making child labour “invisible”
• Children as young as 6 years old have been found stitching soccer balls
• Children earn roughly 25c for every ball they stitch together.  It takes about 4 hours to stitch one ball.

This is the reality of some children in Meerut India.

Browse online to try and check how much an average soccer ball costs from a local Sports shop?

What percentage do you think these kids get from the selling price of each soccer ball?

Luckily there are some companies that produce fair trade soccer balls. They make sure that no children or other people were abused in the production.

Customize your own soccer ball with your favourite team colours with the fair trade logo included by accessing this link.