Freestyle footballers from 30 African countries are expected to participate at the finals of the 2019 African Freestyle Footballer Championship billed to hold between September 14 and 15 at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos, NationSport reports.
Freestyle football is described by the World Freestyle Football Association (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.”
Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, the Chairman, Feet ‘n’ Tricks International, the organization re-appointed by the WFFA to host the 2019 edition following the success recorded at the 2018 edition, said registration for this year’s tournament is currently open to both male and female freestylers of African descent.
Speaking during a press conference held in Lagos on Wednesday, Ozigbo said the Nigerian contestants will be shortlisted through four regional championships that will be hosted in Lagos, Warri, Owerri and Abuja.
“Registration is already open on our website http://www.feetandtricks.com.
The South West regional audition will hold on Saturday, 22nd June at the Rowe Park, Yaba, Lagos. After that, we will shift to Warri for the South South regional event which will hold on Sunday, 30th June at the Brownhill Event Center.
“It will be the turn of South East zone which will hold on Saturday, 6th July at the Cubana Lounge in Owerri, while the Northern zone will hold at Central Park, Abuja. All the regional auditions will hold from 10am – 5pm and winner from the zones will be the one to represent Nigeria at the African Freestyle Football Championship in Lagos on 14th and 15th September.
“For other contestants from other parts of Africa, all they need to do is register directly for the championship in September and they will be advised the rest of the process
“We are excited to have started the drive to pave a new direction for freestyle football in Africa. In this year’s edition, we expect at least 30 African countries to be represented at this championship as many have already registered. We will work on the continuous 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.
“This year, the championship will be covered live by Startimes in 30 countries in Africa where they are present and also on their digital channels. There will also be a host of other media partners at the event,” Ozigbo stated.
There were live performances by past winners of the competition including
Past winner, African championship, Benjamin John; past winner, National Championship, Blessed Ezeakabudu and current African Champion, Titi Kone.
Leave a Reply