The hosting of the debut Africa Freestyle Football Championship this year has been announced. The African Championship is coming on the heels of the successful Nigerian Freestyle Championship organized by Feet ‘n’ Tricks International in 2017.
The hosting was made possible with the partnership between Feet ‘n’ Tricks International and the World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA).
Freestyle football is described by the WFFA as “the art and sport of juggling a football using all parts of the body to entertain audiences and outperform opponents… a fusion of tricks with a ball, dance and music.”
Registration for this tournament is currently open to both male and female freestylers of African descent and will be closed on 15th of August, 2018. Registration will be done via the company’s website.
The qualifying rounds and Nigerian championship will hold on September 13th -14th, 2018 at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos. After the qualifying rounds, the best 16 male and 8 female freestyle athletes in Africa will emerge to battle it out at the grand finale on September 15, 2018 in a bid to become the first African male and female Freestyle Football Champions.
The 2018 Africa Freestyle Football Championship is being planned as a perfect fusion of freestyle football and entertainment as top musical and dance artistes will be performing. The final event will also host international freestyle professionals; Guinness world record holder, Iya Traore and Female freestyler, Raquel Benetti from Brazil Prizes worth over $50,000 (Fifty Thousand Dollars) which includes a brand new salon car as well as qualification and sponsorship for the global championship will be won.
Co-founder and Head of Partnerships for WFFA, Daniel Wood, expressed love for the energy and passion for freestyle football that can be found all over Africa, “We at the World Freestyle Football Association are so excited to see the best talents from all across Africa come together on one stage and compete for this title. Everyone will be competing for not only the prizes, but for some world ranking points too with the winner of course putting themselves in a fantastic position to challenge the world’s best. I look forward to seeing you all in September,” he said.
“We are excited to pave a new direction for freestyle football in Africa” said Valentine Ozigbo, Chairman of Feet ‘n’ Tricks International. “We expect at least 20 African countries to be represented at this Championship as over half have already registered. We will work on the development of African freestyle talent and continually exploit all available resources to create more awareness for the sport and we are grateful to our sponsors and partners,” he added.
