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Pakistani top sports goods maker Forward Sports plans Saudi expansion

Saudi Arabia's envoy to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki (second-right) meeting representatives of Forward Sports in Islamabad, Pakistan, on January 8, 2025. (@KSAembassyPK/X)
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Updated 08 January 2026
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Pakistani top sports goods maker Forward Sports plans Saudi expansion

  • Forward Sports is a leading Pakistani sports goods manufacturer that produces Adidas’ official World Cup footballs
  • Saudi ambassador meets Forward Sports representatives to discuss opening company’s headquarters in Kingdom
Updated 08 January 2026
Waseem Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Prominent Pakistani sports goods manufacturer Forward Sports is set to open its headquarters in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s embassy said on Thursday. 

Forward Sports, based in Pakistan’s eastern city of Sialkot, is famous for manufacturing and exporting high quality footballs. It produces Adidas’s official World Cup match balls and recently displaced a Chinese competitor as the German brand’s largest football supplier.

Pakistan’s Finance Minister told Arab News in November that Forward Sports’ representatives and Saudi officials met during the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh in October. Both sides explored a model in which high-precision manufacturing takes place in Pakistan, with finishing, packaging and regional distribution shifted to Saudi Arabia as part of its industrial localization push, the minister said. 

“In the context of strengthening trade relations between the two friendly countries, the ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, met representatives of Forward Sports Industries to discuss preparations for opening the company’s headquarters in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the Saudi embassy in Pakistan said. 

The collaboration in manufacturing footballs takes place as Saudi Arabia gears up to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, which is driving demand for sports-related goods in the Kingdom.

Saudi businessmen have previously eyed collaboration with Pakistan, especially when it comes to importing sports goods and surgical instruments from the country. 

A Saudi business delegation in 2022 visited the manufacturing units of Forward Sports, Elmed Instruments (Pvt) Limited and Hilbro International (Pvt) Limited companies, all located in Sialkot, to assess the quality of sports and surgical instruments there.

The development takes place as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directs his government to increase its focus on enhancing exports. Islamabad has sought to escape a prolonged economic crisis over the past few years, seeing increased exports and foreign investment as key drivers of sustainable economic growth.

Topics: Pakistan Saudi Arabia ties Forward sport

Suicide bomber kills at least five at wedding in northwest Pakistan

Updated 23 January 2026
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Suicide bomber kills at least five at wedding in northwest Pakistan

  • Attack took place in Dera Ismail Khan, targeting the home of a local peace committee member
  • Peace committees are community-based groups that report militant activity to security forces
Updated 23 January 2026
REHMAT MEHSUD

PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber killed at least five people and wounded 10 others after detonating explosives at a wedding ceremony in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, officials said, in an attack that underscored persistent militant violence in the country’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The blast took place at the home of a local peace committee member in Dera Ismail Khan district, where guests had gathered for a wedding, police and emergency officials said.

Peace committees in the region are informal, community-based groups that work with security forces to report militant activity and maintain order, making their members frequent targets of attacks.

“A blast occurred near Qureshi Moor in Dera Ismail Khan. Authorities have recovered five bodies and shifted 10 injured to hospital,” said Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the provincial Rescue 1122 emergency service, adding that the rescue operation was ongoing.

Police said the attacker blew himself up inside the house during the ceremony and that the bomber’s head had been recovered, confirming it was a suicide attack.

Several members of the local peace committee were present at the time, raising fears the toll could rise.

District Police Officer Sajjad Ahmed Sahibzada said authorities had launched an investigation into the incident, while security forces sealed off the area.

Militant attacks have surged in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the Taliban returned to power in neighboring

Afghanistan in 2021, with the administration in Islamabad blaming the Afghan government for “facilitating” cross-border attacks targeting Pakistani civilians and security forces. However, Kabul has repeatedly denied the allegation.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also seen frequent intelligence-based operations by security forces targeting suspected militants.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.
 

Topics: Suicide bombing in Pakistan Terrorism in Pakistan

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