Sialkot Sports Goods QC: What Buyers Specify

FIFA's seven ball tests and IFAB Law 2 define a sound football

Sialkot makes around 70 percent of the world's hand-sewn footballs, with annual output above 40 million units (The Business Standard). The balls are typically stitched from 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons, and the stitch line is where several defects begin.

The FIFA Quality Programme for footballs runs seven laboratory tests: weight, circumference, roundness, bounce, water absorption, loss of pressure, and shape and size retention. A ball must pass all seven for the FIFA Quality mark, and all seven under harder conditions for FIFA Quality Pro.

Law 2 of the Laws of the Game sets the floor (IFAB Law 2). A ball must be spherical. Its circumference has to fall between 68 cm and 70 cm and its weight between 410 g and 450 g at the start of the match, with the pressure between 0.6 and 1.1 atmosphere.

A test settles each defect family, for gloves and inflatables as well as balls.

A ball can look round and still fail sphericity

Visual inspection reads the surface. Sphericity is a dimensional property, measured after inflation. A ball with clean panels and centred print can still sit a few millimetres out of round, and the deviation shows in flight and on the roll. On a bench under a lamp, it doesn't.

Rebound, water absorption and a slow leak have the same gap. None is visible, and a ball can look sound and still lose pressure overnight. So the specification needs measurements as well as a workmanship checklist.

EN 388 turns each glove claim into a measured level

EN 388:2016+A1:2018 specifies requirements and test methods for protective gloves against mechanical risks. It is read with EN ISO 21420:2020, the general requirements for protective gloves (ISO 21420). Each test maps to a buyer claim on the purchase order:

• Abrasion runs on a Martindale machine with 180 grit abrasive. Four specimens run to holing, and Levels 1 to 4 span 100 cycles to 8,000 cycles.

• Cut uses a circular blade index for Levels 1 to 5. High-performance materials take the ISO 13997 straight-blade (TDM) test, for Levels A to F.

• Tear is a peak force in newtons and puncture a stylus force in newtons, each graded Levels 1 to 4.

• Impact uses a 5 J striker and is required only where impact protection is claimed.

• Sizing consistency means palm width, palm length and cuff length, measured on the sample and again on production pieces.

Goalkeeper and motorcycle gloves carry their seam strength, sizing and cut claims in dedicated standards. Tti Labs' protective glove testing includes EN 13594:2015 for motorcycle gloves, and also covers EN 511 for cold, EN 12477 for welders, EN 659 for firefighters and EN 407 for thermal risk (Tti Labs PPE testing). Goalkeeper gloves sit in the same protective glove family.

A glove can look correct while failing abrasion or cut resistance, and seam strength is a measured pull value, not an appearance.

A glove sold as PPE follows the EU conformity route for its risk category

A glove sold to protect against mechanical risk is personal protective equipment. On the EU market it falls under Regulation (EU) 2016/425, so its conformity route differs from a general sporting good's. The route depends on the risk category:

• Category I, minimal risk: the manufacturer issues a self-declaration, with no Notified Body involved.

• Category II, intermediate risk: the product needs EU type examination (Module B) by a Notified Body before CE marking.

• Category III, serious risk: type examination plus ongoing conformity assessment by a Notified Body.

Since 21 April 2019, gloves for mechanical protection may not be placed on the EU market unless they are certified against EN 388:2016+A1:2018 (SATRA).

Tti Labs provides ISO/IEC 17025 accredited testing and coordination with Notified Bodies (Tti Labs PPE testing). The EU type examination certificate and the CE marking come from the Notified Body. A football is a general sporting good, not PPE, and carries no PPE conformity obligation.

Inflatables fail at the leak-down rate, the valve or the seam

• For leak-down rate, inflate to a defined pressure and record the drop over a set period. A ball that cannot hold pressure points to a bladder or valve defect.

• For valve function, cycle the valve, confirm it seats, and check it holds pressure without leaking. A slow valve leak is the hardest defect to see.

• For seam burst strength, pressurise the product until a seam fails and record the pressure at failure. The seam is usually the weak point.

For balls, the FIFA list also covers loss of pressure and shape and size retention. For inflatable water goods, ISO 25649-1:2024 sets general safety and performance test methods.

Write the test next to each claim on the purchase order

A specification works only when each claim points to a measurement.

AQL sampling decides lot acceptance, at goods-in and at pre-shipment

AQL sampling is an acceptance control, not a physical test. A random sample drawn across cartons decides whether a packed lot passes, and the buyer sets the limits in the purchase order. Sampling catches visible and countable defects. It cannot measure sphericity, rebound or a slow leak, which is why the physical tests above still have to run.

Tti Inspections applies AQL C:0 for critical defects, Mj:2.5 for major and Mi:4.0 for minor at general inspection level II. Sample sizes follow the tables of ISO 2859-1, the international parent standard, used in their United States form as ANSI/ASQ Z1.4 (QIMA).

For sports goods, two bookings ask different questions. Sampling incoming components at goods-in (bladders, panels, thread, valve stock) asks whether the inputs can make a conforming product. Sampling packed goods at pre-shipment asks whether the finished lot conforms, and produces the pass, fail or hold decision.

The limits are the same at both stages. A component that fails at goods-in can be replaced. A lot that fails at pre-shipment cannot.

Tti Labs inspects and tests sports goods from its Sialkot liaison office

The office sits in Sialkot's leather, PPE and sports goods hub, and Tti Labs' published scope covers balls, boxing gloves, gloves and footwear, inspected through an eight-stage cycle (Tti Labs inspection services). Laboratory work runs through ISO/IEC 17025 accredited physical and mechanical testing (Tti Labs testing services). Certification and CE marking stay with their own accredited bodies.

Contact Tti Labs through the contact page, UAN 111-786-001.

Book sports goods inspection and testing with Tti Labs. UAN 111-786-001. Sialkot liaison office, PNAC-accredited testing and inspection.