Besides the requirements for the footballs, FIFA’s Quality Concept goes beyond testing the quality of products alone.
As part of its battle against child labour around the world as well as its efforts to improve working conditions, FIFA has increased the requirements to be met by licensees in the FIFA Quality Concept for Footballs.
It is not easy to judge the quality of footballs with the naked eye. Without guidance and assistance, people who buy footballs would have to choose from a wide range of products, and hope that the ball would still be as good at the end of the match as it was at kick-off. Therefore, to help guide customers and to guarantee that footballs are of the highest quality, FIFA launched the FIFA Quality Concept for Footballs so that manufacturers could have their products tested and certified.
To obtain such a license, manufacturers were already obliged to confirm that no child labour had been used in their production processes. This requirement has been extended further, however, with licensees now having to comply fully with the code of conduct of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI).
Rather than focusing purely on the issue of child labour, this code also lays down internationally recognised guidelines for hours of work, health and safety, forced labour and environmental protection. The WFSGI will only issue a confirmation once they have checked that all is in order, and licensees must now provide FIFA with a copy of this confirmation every year and no longer just every four years. This ensures that only companies that meet international minimum standards can become FIFA licensees.
SAMBA is delighted with this latest development. SAMBA is very keen to contribute to social development especially through football. Guaranteeing the minimal of social standards in the production process of footballs is the least we can do in return for the enjoyment we get from SAMBA products on the football pitch!
All licence fees from this project are donated to social projects as part of the Football for Hope movement. By purchasing a football with either the “FIFA INSPECTED” or “FIFA APPROVED” quality mark, buyers are therefore automatically supporting FIFA’s efforts to promote social development through football, safe in the knowledge that the working conditions during the manufacturing process also meet internationally recognised standards.
Source: www.fifa.com