The 32 panels are sewn together by hand. The stitcher inserts the bladder and sews the final seams. In order to ensure that the bladder has not been punctured by a needle during stitching, a worker pumps up the ball. Then, the finished ball is deflated again and packed for shipping.
In many cases, the bladders are manufactured and the covering is die-cut and imprinted with logos at a central factory, and the stitching is done by hand elsewhere. The ball covering consists of 32 hexagonal panels, and the hand stitching of these is tedious and exacting work. Over 80% of all soccer balls are manufactured in Pakistan.