Brazuca, the official ball for Fifa World Cup 2014, has very few takers in the city.

A football fan who introduced the Adidas ball in the city is hardly happy because of its poor sale. “Last month, I visited Delhi and there I got to see the official ball for the World Cup at a store. I decided to bring some of the collection at my store for soccer fans in the city but I am not satisfied with its sale. So far, I have sold only five Brazuca balls since the World Cup began on June 12,” said Rahul Chhabra, owner, Chhabra Sports Agencies.

Rahul said balls with names of different World Cup teams imprinted on them, however, made a better business. “One Brazuca costs Rs 2,800 while the footballs, which have names of different countries imprinted on those, cost Rs 1,595. In Patna, people still have the notion that they need to spend so much only on a football when they can get a normal football at Rs 700-Rs 800,” Rahul added.

He said the World Cup fever, however, helped increase the sale of common footballs. “While on one hand, I am not getting buyers for the Brazuca collection, on the other, many sport enthusiasts are coming to my shop to buy the normal footballs. Earlier, I used to sell around 20-25 footballs in a month but now this has gone up to 40-45. This shows that the respect for this sport has definitely increased. However, people are not spending as much to buy it as they do for accessories of other sports but this scenario would change. In the recent past, a few football associations have come up in the city. In schools and colleges, football teams are being formed. It is a very positive change,” he added.

Shankar Prasad, a resident who came to buy a football at Rahul’s store, said: “I saw my 14-year-old son Avinash’s interest in the Fifa World Cup matches. I thought I should motivate him to play football. Today, I would gift Avinash a football with his favourite team Brazil’s name imprinted on it. Avinash would surely love his papa’s surprise gift.”

He added: “The best thing about this sport is that I can enjoy it with my family. My wife has also developed an interest and these days we stay awake to catch the action live.”