Pakistan, raked 198th in the world, will not be participating at the 2018 World Cup. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be part of the proceedings.

Pakistan will be providing footballs for the World Cup, with the world-renowned sports manufacturing hub of Sialkot the epicentre of the operation.

The Telstar 18 was chosen as the official football for the 2018 World Cup. According to FIFA, it is “a reinvention of a classic model with a brand-new panel design and the latest technology which pays homage to the first-ever adidas World Cup ball. The Telstar 18 evokes unforgettable memories of the 1970 FIFA World Cup and of legends like Pelé, Gerd Müller, Giacinto Facchetti, Pedro Rocha and Bobby Moore.”

The Telstar 18 is manufactured by Forward Sports, a Pakistani firm based in the Sialkot region of Pakistan’s Punjab province. The same firm also provided the official ball of the 2014 World Cup – the Brazuka.

“This is an honour for us, that we are going to provide footballs for the world cup once again. We are very excited to meet this challenge,” Khawaja Masood, CEO of Forward Sports, was quoted as saying by The Dawn.

“Although Pakistan football team will not be participating in the forthcoming World Cup, its presence will be felt in all the matches.”