About us...
Bala Sport brings football into the world of fair trade - a world more usually into bananas, coffee and chocolate.
But the questions are the same:
- what do the makers of the product get for their work - is that fair?
- how would they like their workplace to be?
- is there slavery in the supply chain, or child labour?
Matt Oliver, formerly Chief Executive of Traidcraft, heard what Bala was trying to do in the Fairtrade world. He also knew that, since a promising launch in 2014, Bala was struggling.
Matt took over the business and made it a Community Interest Company in 2023. He found a new Fairtrade certified supplier in Sialkot, Pakistan, where 70% of the world’s footballs are made. The following year, Matt made his first order for quality hand made fairly traded footballs.
Although Bala Sport is not yet Fairtrade certified, Matt makes sure he pays an extra 15% for the balls, known as the ‘Fairtrade Premium’. With this extra money the workers in Pakistan chose a subsidised grocery shop for their workplace.
The workers are paid fairly and their children go to school.
Bala is now a member of the Fair Trade network of shops and suppliers, Bafts, and the team is working to achieve full certification when profits allow.
To this end, Matt has his whole family working on the business, in fact his brother in law Alan has just joined the team.
Alan’s job is to keep up with the demand from retailers, teams and clubs, working on the project day-to-day and helping customers get their hands on a ball. You can contact Alan here.
Fair play starts with the ball...