Austin Community Soccer and The Rhino Cup Champions League

If you play in the ACSA and you don’t know Alissa Ziemianski, you might actually live under a rock—or maybe you’re just deeply confused and don’t actually play in the ACSA. Alissa, who is capable of rallying a crowd with her voice alone, is the human embodiment of community soccer and she’ll stop at nothing to protect it. Seriously, don’t test her.

But what makes Alissa such an irreplaceable force isn’t just her advocacy; it’s her ability to see how the beautiful game connects us all. So, when I brought her an idea several months ago that united soccer with global outreach, she didn’t flinch. In hindsight, I should’ve known better than to think she’d hesitate.

This summer, Hayworth Athletic was contacted by Marion Worrell, a volunteer with Care for Wild, a rhino sanctuary in Barberton, South Africa. Marion shared the story of the Rhino Cup Champions League (RCCL), an amateur football league formed to engage communities surrounding national parks and wildlife reserves. What started as a conservation initiative to protect rhinos grew into something more: a thriving league now composed of 60 teams of young men and women, playing for their communities while advocating and educating about the protection of rhinos.

But while the RCCL has been growing in numbers, their equipment is a different story. Forty teams were sharing one ball for every two teams, and 20 teams didn’t have a ball at all. Yes, you read that correctly—no ball at all.

With Alissa’s help, the ACSA and Hayworth Athletic pooled resources to send soccer balls to the RCCL. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, but eventually, the balls made it to their homes.

For Hayworth and the RCCL, this collaboration was a win that goes beyond the field. So, to Alissa and the ACSA, a massive thank you. Because of you, soccer players in the RCCL can had a little more opportunity.

Preserving the Art of the Handmade Soccer Ball

As major sporting goods companies shift to machine-made, tech-enhanced soccer balls, Hayworth Athletic remains dedicated to preserving the art of the handmade ball. But what does that really involve?

Handcrafting a soccer ball requires rare expertise, typically found in places like Sialkot, Pakistan and Mongui, Colombia, where traditional techniques have been passed down for generations. As the new modern practices take hold, the knowledge is becoming scarcer, even in these areas known for ball-making. While certain automation techniques have made production faster and more cost-efficient, the handcrafting process is now reserved for only a select few products.  At Hayworth, we’ve embraced the challenge of maintaining this tradition and stand for the proposition that a high-quality handmade ball lasts longer and plays more purely.

Each ball is composed of multiple layers: the emmeshing of different cross-patterns of canvas, sandwiched with our ammonia-free latex, a thin layer of neoprene for a sublimely soft touch, a beautiful latex bladder and one of the world’s finest polyurethane leathers—created exclusively for Hayworth. Every material is carefully layered into sheets and dried for a consistent finish.

Each sheet is then hand-stamped into ball panels using CNC molds to create perfect hexagons and pentagons and then hand-coated with a thermo-activated seam sealant for water resistance. Then, a custom scuff-proof paint is applied by hand. Valve panels are punched, and the bladders attached.

Next, our stitchers take over. Using a high-strength waxed thread, each of the thirty-two panels is stitched by hand—a process that takes between two to three hours per ball. The result is a ball with deep seams, that is near waterproof and poised for durability.

Once stitching is complete, every ball is measured across three axes to ensure optimal roundness and inspected for flaws. Exposed stitches and imperfections are addressed to meet our standards.

This entire process, developed through years of testing, ensures our Standard Model No 152 upholds its handcrafted integrity, and we believe results in a product that no machine can replicate.

Our commitment to traditional methods isn’t just about making a great ball. It’s about preserving an art form, honing a craft, and supporting the people who dedicate themselves to it.