Pakistan, June 12 -- As the FIFA World Cup 2026 rolls into action Thursday night in North America with 48 teams competing across three co-host nations for the first time, the footballs at the centre of the action carry a story that stretches back to the workshops of a Pakistani city thousands of miles away. That city is Sialkot.

In a modest workshop in this northeastern Punjab city, 48-year-old Ghulam Qadir carefully examined the final stitches on a football destined for export. He could not say where the ball would eventually land. It may reach a school team in Europe, a professional club in South America, or perhaps a stadium hosting one of football's greatest occasions. For Ghulam Qadir, however, the destination has never been the poi...