Nivia Sports

Early days

FreeWill Sports Pvt Ltd was incorporated in 1934 in Sialkot by Nihal Chand Kharbanda. In 1962, Vijay Kharbanda joined his father in business and set up Nivia Sports. The 1947 partition of the country saw the company shift its base from Sialkot to Mumbai, and from Mumbai to Meerut, finally settling in Jalandhar. In 1962, Vijay Kharbanda joined as the Chief Managing Director (CMD) of the company with his father and started manufacturing a full range of leather hand stitched balls^[5] for soccer, volleyball, handball, and basketball under Nivia Sports.

Name

The name "Nivia" was derived from the combination of the initials of the name of Nihal Chand Kharbanda, founder of Nivia Sports, and Vijay Kharbanda: "NI" from "Nihal" and "VI" from "Vijay".^[6]

Vijay Kharbanda provided priority to local people and talents who were less educated and unemployed. He empowered thousands of people by providing them employment along with encouraging them to improve and develop their skills.

Recognition

The initiatives of Nivia Sports to shape the sports segment of the world are appreciable. Former President of India, Gyani Zail Singh, awarded the Udhyog Pattar to Vijay Kharbanda, the Managing Director of Nivia Sports, in the 1980s for his outstanding contribution to the sports industry.^[7]

21st century

Since 1991, Rajesh Kharbanda has been the Managing Director and CEO of Nivia Sports. As a board member of the World Federation of Sporting Goods Industry, he initiated, introduced and engaged Nivia Sports with national and international bodies like FIFA, All India Basketball Federation, All India Football Federation, Volleyball Federation of India, and Handball Federation of India. He is an associate member and office bearer at various trade and business associations including the Sports Goods Foundation of India, and the Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association.^[8]

On 18 June 2017, Vijay Kharbanda died. He was 77 years old.^[9]

Football

Nivia Sports hand-stitched football in 1960s

Nivia Sports is the first Indian sports equipment manufacturer to produce hand stitched balls, including footballs. In the 1950s, under Freewill Sports Pvt Ltd, Nivia Sports started manufacturing hand stitched leather footballs, basketballs, and volleyballs. They had an opportunity to export balls to international markets and exported their first consignment of 30 balls to Indonesia. In the 1960s the Nivia football received the approval of National Institute of Sports, Patiala, Punjab, India. Its football became the official ball for the National Football Championship and for the All India Football Federation (AIFF).^[10] In the 1980s, Nivia was selected as the official ball for the International Football Tournament Jawaharlal Nehru Gold Cup and South Asian Federation (SAF) Games. Nivia earned the FIFA certification for the football in the 2000s.^[11]

Antrix

Nivia's Antrix football was the official match ball for the Goa Super Cup 2017

Nivia Antrix football is made from high quality organic and synthetic rubber. The material used for this has been originated from India. Antrix is certified as a 'FIFA Quality PRO' ball by FIFA. This is a hand-stitched football with 32 panels covered by four layers of polyester fabric. The quality and standard of materials and functionality of Antrix is verified by FIFA to include it in the list of FIFA Quality PRO certification. This has been the official match football for Goa Super League 2017. Since the Goa super cup league is known as youth football tournament, this ball is also called as youth football.^[12]

Managing director of Nivia Rajesh Kharabanda, and President of Mizoram Football Association Lal Thanzara, have signed an agreement to use Antrix as the Mizoram state football. The Antrix football has also been declared as the official match ball for Mizoram Premier League and other Mizoram football associations' tournaments.^[13]

Ashtang

Nivia Ashtang football is the official ball for Hero Super League 2018-19.

Nivia Ashtang football is also certified as a FIFA Quality PRO match ball. This is another hand-stitched football by Nivia which has passed through quality parameters by FIFA. The fitness of the football was tested at a FIFA-designated laboratory in Switzerland to receive certification. This ball is different from others, as it is made with 23% reduced seam length and contains eight panels instead of 32. Due to having less panels, the ball provide ease of shooting and kicking for players.

Ashtang also has been the official match ball for Hero Indian Super League 2018-19. This will be used for ten clubs throughout the session.^[14]

Nivia Sports has also produced and sponsored other accessories related to football, such as shoes, team wear, goal keeper gloves, goal nets, training gear, shin guards, ball pumps, and stockings.^[15]

Volleyball

Official ball for Pre-Olympic Volleyball Championship in 1963

With extensive research and technology, Nivia Sports brought a change to the sporting age. In 1960, the University of Leipzig in Germany declared the Nivia volleyball as one of the best in the world. In 1963, the Nivia volleyball was selected to be used as the official ball in the Pre-Olympic Volleyball Championship organised in New Delhi, India by a panel of international referees.^[16]

Nivia has also sponsored volleyball accessories like shoes, team wear, antennae, nets and other sportswear and bags.^[17]

Basketball

Nivia basketball

Nivia makes handmade balls. A basketball starts as a blob of rubber and is squeezed through a machine over and over to flatten it to 0.5 - 1mm. Then it is cut and molded into a round shape. This is the bladder that holds air. The bladder is inflated and woven around with nylon thread. This strengthens the balls and helps them stay round. When the mummy-looking balls get their skins they finally start looking like basketballs. Their rough edges are smoothed and lines are drawn by hand, using one careful stroke at a time. Before the balls are ready for the courts, they are checked for air leaks for 24 hours. A sample goes through a shooting test. The ball is shot at a speed of 25 mph at an iron plate of thickness of 1 inch, 2000 times. Then its diameter is measured in several spots to see if the ball has kept its round shape. Finally, after quality checks, the balls are deflated for dispatching to tournaments. Covering the entire process, every three seconds, Nivia makes one ball. CNNMoney showed the making of basketballs in Nivia's factory at Jalandhar (Punjab), India.^[18]

Sports footwear

Nivia started manufacturing sports footwear in the 1980s.

During the 1980s, Nivia Sports started manufacturing sports footwear in India.^[19] After being awarded appreciation certificate by the IX Asian Games Organizing Committee for the contribution in the success of the games and for providing support and products, Nivia added all ranges of sports footwear for use in games such as cricket, football, basketball, volleyball, badminton, lawn tennis, kabaddi, wrestling, and track & field. They also produced shoelaces and gel insoles.^[20]

Sports accessories

Nivia Sports produces sports accessories such as kits or bags, tracksuits, shorts, lowers, shocks, and windcheaters for use in cricket, football, basketball, and volleyball. Nivia has sponsored all these products for national and international leagues and tournaments.

Nivia has contributed sports equipment, footwear and accessories including badminton rackets and shuttlecocks, strings, skateboards, skating wheels, squash rackets, and swimming accessories like earplugs, fins, masks, and aqua boards.^[21]

National teams

Former sponsorships

• Bharat FC (2014−15)
• Guwahati FC (2015)
• 2014 Lusophony Games
• 2013 SAFF Championship
• 2015 National Games of India
• Subroto Cup
• Indian College Basketball League
• Indian School Basketball League