The World Freestyle Football Association

Author: Jordi Mestre

  • Sri Lanka joins the WFFA Global Network

    Sri Lanka joins the WFFA Global Network

    The World Freestyle Football Association family keeps growing around the world: this November, Sri Lanka was confirmed as the newest member of the Global Network, an international structure that now includes up to 115 countries from all inhabited continents.

    The new incorporation of Sri Lanka is a product of the agreement between the WFFA and Colombo FC, the country’s most successful football club in the last decade. The deal will see local Freestyle Football star Niran Kanishka become the WFFA Country Leader, servicing the Sri Lankan community and ensuring the development of the sport across the nation with the constant support of the WFFA Global Team.

    Steve Elias, President of the WFFA, said: “It’s an honour for us to expand into a country with a vibrant Freestyle Football community such as Sri Lanka. We are thrilled to announce this new deal, particularly given the huge prestige of Colombo FC, and we are certain that it will have a strong impact not just in the local scene but also in all the region.”

    Niran Kanishka, the newly appointed WFFA Country Leader in Sri Lanka, said: “Being a footballer myself for Colombo FC, playing football with flair has been my routine since I started. There are many talents in Sri Lanka like myself who love expressing our creativity with the ball: our main goal is to create a platform for all the hidden gems in our country. This will be a great opportunity for Sri Lankan freestylers to shine!

    Pekko ‘PeGe’ Piirto, Head of the Global Network at the WFFA and a leading figure in the establishment of the deal, said: “Seeing the constant growth of the Global Network in recent years fills me with pride and hope for the future. I have absolutely no doubt that Niran will do an amazing job at nurturing the local scene; we look forward to discovering all the talent that Sri Lanka can offer the world!”.

    About Colombo FC

    Colombo Football Club was founded in 2008 during the tail-end of war in Sri Lanka to unite the country through the game of football. In a short span of 13 years, Colombo FC has managed not only to unify the diverse communities in the country but also emerged as the champion outfit of Sri Lankan Football. 

    The Club has successfully managed to win a hat-trick of Major League titles (2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18), Sri Lankan FA Cup (2015) and represented the country internationally in the AFC Cup (2017, 2019) on two occasions. Their recent triumph in the Vantage FFSL Presidents Cup 2020 was a testimony to their success and the steps they have taken to change the landscape of football in Sri Lanka.

    For more details about Colombo FC, please visit the official website at www.colombofc.com or visit its channels:

    Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!

  • Freestyle Football gets a new queen and record-setting king in Valencia

    Freestyle Football gets a new queen and record-setting king in Valencia

    The first-ever Red Bull Street Style World Final in Valencia, Spain, and the first in two years to be on stage surrounded by spectators, made for a supercharged atmosphere. And if the fans at the Palau de la Música venue were hot to see the latest from Freestyle Football’s elite, the athletes themselves were positively on fire.

    After a year of qualification rounds, the initial field of more than 700 hopefuls from all around the world had been whittled down to the elite: 16 men and 8 women serving up new tricks and new styles.

    The women’s field was the toughest in Red Bull Street Style history and a fresh name skyrocketed to stardom, as the UK’s Lia Lewis captured the ultimate title by defeating 2018 World Champion Aguśka Mnich of Poland in a tense final round.

    The event was just Lewis’s second World Final appearance; but even more astonishing, she only began working on freestyle tricks three years ago.

    The influence of dance and acrobatic backgrounds on the style of Lewis and third-place finisher Caitlyn Schrepfer of the USA confirmed an exciting direction for the sport and Lewis won Best Trick with a bridge-to-splits manoeuvre.

    Fans were shocked, however, when four-time World Champion and legend of the sport Mélody Donchet of France failed to make the podium. The French star, who tearfully accepted a long ovation on stage, hinted that it might be her last World Final.

    Of course, the athletes weren’t only facing each other. The judging panel in Valencia was a mighty line-up of freestyle title-winners assembled by the WFFA: Tobias Becs of Norway; France’s Séan Garnier, who in 2008 became the first-ever Red Bull Street Style champ; Michał Rycac of Poland; home Spanish star Javi Sanz and two-time Red Bull Street Style champion Kitti Szász from Hungary.

    In the male bracket, while the triumph of Norway’s Erlend Fagerli – just reaching his prime and already the greatest the sport has ever known – wasn’t unexpected, what was a surprise was how hard he had to work for it.

    After cruising confidently through the first battles, in the final he squared off with Jesse Marlet from the Netherlands, who had never before made it to the concluding round. With nothing to lose, the Dutchman delivered new tricks that pushed Fagerli into some uncharacteristic baubles. But in the end, the Norwegian and his breathtaking transitions were simply on another level.

    Third place went to Colombia’s Boyka Ortiz, an experienced contender and previous runner-up, but youngsters to watch earned big respect, too. French phenom Tristan Gac, not yet 20, won Best Trick honours with his upside-down sole-stall. Fellow teen Gabriel Parke, a fast-rising Brazilian sensation who is blazing a new path with imaginative twisty, rolling moves, also impressed.

    Fagerli, whose always-innovative brother Brynjar competed in the World Final as well, stated, “I want to say huge respect to Jesse. He’s one of the freestylers who keep pushing all the time to make this sport develop, and I was delighted to compete against him in the final.”

    Applauding the Spanish spectators, the triple World Champion added, “I love the audience. The energy has been electric all night, and it has been so good to compete here. We just love Freestyle Football!”.

    See it again! Rewatch the Red Bull Street Style World Final 2021 on Red Bull TV video on demand.

    Rewatch the Studio show on the WFFA official YouTube channel:


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    Words by Trish Medalen for RedBull.com; pictures by Gianfranco Tripodo for the Red Bull Content Pool.

    Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!

  • The WFFA confirms the team of judges for the Red Bull Street Style 2021 World Final

    The WFFA confirms the team of judges for the Red Bull Street Style 2021 World Final

    The stage is set, the lights are on and the battles are about to begin: the Red Bull Street Style World Final has finally arrived!

    This year, apart from a line-up of absolute superstars battling for the title of world champion on Saturday, November 20th in Valencia’s Palau de la Música, the event will also feature an incredible team of judges evaluating their tricks. Check the definitive list below!

    Remember to follow all the action of the Red Bull Street Style World Final in the Red Bull and WFFA channels: don’t forget to tune in to the WFFA Twitch for the pre-show on Saturday, November 20th at 18h CET!

    Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!

  • Becka Hugill and Marco Le Bouteiller win the first World Youth Freestyle Football Championship

    Becka Hugill and Marco Le Bouteiller win the first World Youth Freestyle Football Championship

    The future of Freestyle Football is incredibly bright: this is the happy conclusion of the first-ever World Youth Freestyle Football Championship, a unique tournament that reached its climax on Saturday, November 13th with the announcement of its champions in a special episode of FreestyleTV. After months of extremely high-quality battles featuring hundreds of young starts from all around the world, the team of judges has reached a final decision: the 2021 under-16 world champions are…

    Becka Hugill, from the United Kingdom, and Marco Le Bouteiller, from France!

    Their tremendous level, almost on par with their senior fellow freestylers, has earned them not just a prize in cash, but also a one-year sponsorship of the tournament partner brand, SWRL.

    In the female category, Japanese Hafuri Ito ended up second, and her fellow countrywoman Miu Ozaki took the third spot. In the male category, Brazilian Diego Emanuel won the silver medal, while Polish Olivier Grodecki finished up in the third position.

    To review the full results of the World Youth Freestyle Football Championship, including the videos of all battles, click on this link!

    Apart from the 1v1 battle competition, the World Youth Championship also offered three special awards to its participants: Best Trick, Most Improved Freestyler, and Best Freestyle Spirit. The winners of these awards were the following:

    • Best trick: Waka Nagamine, from Japan, and Marco Le Bouteiller, from France
    • Most Improved Freestyler: Isabel Wilkins, from the UK, and Olivier Grodecki, from Poland
    • Best Freestyle Attitude: Miu Ozaki, from Japan, and Shunpei Ono, also from Japan

    Experience again all the thrills of the battles in the special FreestyleTV episode that aired on the WFFA Twitch and YouTube channels: watch it below!

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    Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!

  • The WFFA announces the full lineup of participants for the Red Bull Street Style 2021 World Final

    The WFFA announces the full lineup of participants for the Red Bull Street Style 2021 World Final

    The 2021 edition of Red Bull Street Style, the most competitive Freestyle Football tournament in the world, is about to reach its decisive day! This week, the female Battle Pools have been completed, and with the definitive results available, the WFFA has announced the list of freestylers that will compete in the World Final on November 20th in Valencia, Spain.

    🎫  Click here to get your free tickets for the 2021 Red Bull Street Style World Final!

    This article offers the full lineup of athletes that will compete for the World Championship in the Final, as well as the definitive results of the Battle Pools. After the online battle stage, a total of 24 freestylers (16 men and 8 women) have advanced to the last phase of the tournament and earned the right to battle for the title in Spain.

    Finalists list

    Battle Pools results

    To review the results of the Battle Pools, please click on the links below:

      Male Online Battle Pools Results
      Female Online Battle Pools Results
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    For more details about this year’s edition of Red Bull Street Style, please check the corresponding Event Page on the WFFA website.

    For more information about the Red Bull Street Style tournament, please visit the official website at www.redbullstreetstyle.com.

    Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!

  • The WFFA announces the bracket of the 2021 Youth Championship knockout stage

    The WFFA announces the bracket of the 2021 Youth Championship knockout stage

    The first edition of the World Youth Freestyle Football Championship has advanced onto the online battle stage! The team of judges, led by superstars Melody Donchet and Charly Iacono, have selected the best 32 freestylers (16 boys and 16 girls) out of hundreds and hundreds of entries in the Qualification Stage. The tournament enters now its knockout phase, consisting of individual battles of 3 rounds, each of which allowing 25-to-35-second-long videos.

    From September 30th to October 11th, the participants will need to show their best skills if they want to progress to the Quarterfinals of the tournament. The female and male brackets are available in this article; participants will also find a video tutorial and a short guide on how to upload their videos to the official WFFA App at the end of the post.

    Please find all the relevant information below:

    Knockout stage

    Instructional video

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    Video upload guide

    To check the App usage guide that we’ve prepared for all Youth Championship participants, please click here!
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    More details about the tournament are available on the World Youth Freestyle Football Championship event page.

    Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!

  • The Youth Championship advances to the qualification stage and adds new prizes

    The Youth Championship advances to the qualification stage and adds new prizes

    Big news for all Freestyle Football fans: the brand-new World Youth Freestyle Football Championship is advancing to the next stage! After the signups phase, all registered participants will now be able to upload their videos and showcase their talent. The judges will then select only the very best male and female freestylers to advance to the round of Online Battles!

    The qualification stage will start on September 15th and end on September 21st. In order for their clip to be eligible, participants will need to stick to the requirements detailed in the official WFFA App. For more information on how to register and upload clips to the App, check the video and the guide available below!

    The WFFA has also announced further news: the Youth Championship will now feature three additional prizes, aimed at participants that show exceptional skills and attitudes towards the sport.

    The new categories include the following:

    • Best Trick, awarded to the two freestylers (girl and boy) that execute the most amazing trick of the tournament
    • Most Improved Freestyler, awarded to the two participants (girl and boy) that show a bigger progression during the tournament
    • Best Freestyle Attitude, awarded to the two athletes (girl and boy) that showcase the most respect for the values of the sport

    The winners of these three categories will win a prize consisting on a SWRL x WFFA Match Ball Pro, a pair of SWRL Evolve Pure FS Shoes, and the official certificate – all presented by the tournament sponsor SWRL.

    Instructional video

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    Video upload guide

    To check the App usage guide that we’ve prepared for all Youth Championship participants, please click here!
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    More details about the tournament are available on the World Youth Freestyle Football Championship event page.

    Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!

  • Red Bull Street Style World Finals head to Valencia for 2021 edition

    Red Bull Street Style World Finals head to Valencia for 2021 edition

    The world’s best freestyle footballers will welcome the return of fans as the Spanish city of Valencia has been confirmed as the host city for the 2021 Red Bull Street Style World Finals in November. Sixteen male and eight female freestyle footballers will entertain fans in a celebration of skill, style and diversity, with athletes from all corners of the globe taking to the stage.

    The pinnacle competition for the sport will be held in front of fans again for the first time since 2019 and will take place on Saturday, November 20 in the scenic Spanish city.

    🎫  Click here to get your free tickets for the 2021 Red Bull Street Style World Final!

    Those hoping to wow fans in Valencia are reigning male and female Red Bull Street Style champions Erlend Fagerli of Norway and Melody Donchet of France, who will both be eager to defend their crowns.

    Confirmation of Valencia comes as the draw for the seeding groups for the World Final – the Online Battle Pools – was held earlier this month which conjured up a number of intriguing match-ups, with 59 male and 20 female athletes vying for a place at the World Finals.

    In the stand-out group of the entire draw, Donchet has been drawn in Group C alongside a mixture of rising stars and older champions such as Chile’s Catalina Vega, fellow Frenchwoman Pola Gomez, Great Britain’s Lia Lewis, and Poland’s Kalina Matysiak. Also in action are American Caitlyn Schrepfer in Group B and 2018 World Champion Aguska Mnich from Poland, both of whom will be confident of progression to the World Finals.

    Ricardinho from Brazil in the RBSS 2018 World Final

    Group N of the men’s competition pits best friends Philip Warren Gertsson and Viktor Ludvig Olovson aka VLO against one another – the Swedish residents having known each other for over 15 years. In a men’s competition littered with talent, fans will also be able to watch Poland’s 2013 winner Szymon Skalski in Group G and 2019 finalist Sebastián Ortiz of Colombia in Group P. Elsewhere, Brazilian Gabriel Parke is considered a rising star to watch in Group A as is France’s Tristan Gac in Group L, who has entered the Freestyle Football scene with a bang.

    American champion Caitlyn Schrepfer said: “I am so excited for this year’s competition. I was heartbroken last year when I made a couple of small mistakes and I thought I had a great chance. I am looking forward to the competition and hoping to give the other participants a good challenge.”

    The WFFA President, Steve Elias, said: “We are thrilled to co-organise Red Bull Street Style yet another year! We believe the city of Valencia will offer an absolutely fabulous backdrop for the 2021 World Final and are really looking forward to celebrating the sport both with the athletes and the fans.”

    Frenchman Séan Garnier, the first winner of Red Bull Street Style back in 2008, added: “The beauty of Freestyle Football is that you just need a ball. You don’t need equipment, a motorbike or any other kit. I cannot wait to watch Erlend Fagerli again, who is going to take some beating this year. He is the full package. He has all the skills and is a fantastic performer to go with it. He is incredible and last year he took his game to the next level. He knows how to master his body with the ball.”

    For more details about this year’s edition of Red Bull Street Style, please check the corresponding Event Page on the WFFA website.

    For more information about the Red Bull Street Style tournament, please visit the official website at www.redbullstreetstyle.com.

    Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!

  • The WFFA announces the groups and calendar of the 2021 Red Bull Street Style Online Battle Pools

    The WFFA announces the groups and calendar of the 2021 Red Bull Street Style Online Battle Pools

    The 2021 edition of Red Bull Street Style, the greatest Freestyle Football competition in the world, has taken yet another giant step towards its World Final in Valencia, Spain in the next month of November. After a fair draw, the WFFA has announced the composition of the Online Battle Pools – the qualification stage in which the best 54 male and 20 female freestylers in the global scene will face each other in groups to determine who deserves a ticket to the Finals. The WFFA has also announced the rundown of the tournament, with the calendar of all upcoming battles.

    🎫  Click here to get your free tickets for the 2021 Red Bull Street Style World Final!

    This article offers a link to the current standings and results of the Battle Pools, as well as the full composition of the groups and a link to the complete calendar of this competitive stage. Participants will also find a short guide on how to upload their videos to the official WFFA App at the end of the article.

    Please find all the relevant information below:

    Standings and results

    The full battle calendars of both the female and male tournaments are available in the links below:

      Male Online Battle Pools Standings
      Female Online Battle Pools Standings
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    Male groups

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    Female groups

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    Tournament rundown

    The full battle calendars of both the female and male tournaments are available in the links below:

      Male Online Battle Pools Calendar
      Female Online Battle Pools Calendar
      To help participants upload their videos to the App, we’ve prepared a special guide. Click on the icon to check it out!
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    For more details about this year’s edition of Red Bull Street Style, please check the corresponding Event Page on the WFFA website.

    For more information about the Red Bull Street Style tournament, please visit the official website at www.redbullstreetstyle.com.

    Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!

  • Aguśka Mnich and Erlend Fagerli claim the title of 2021 Super Ball champions

    Aguśka Mnich and Erlend Fagerli claim the title of 2021 Super Ball champions

    “Can nobody defeat the Fagerlis?” This could be the epic title of the 2021 Super Ball, a tournament that reached its climax on Saturday, August 21st with an authentic exhibition of freestyle football. A selection of the best athletes in the world battled in no less than ten different categories and celebrated the sport with the global community after a particularly difficult year due to the Covid pandemic.

    In the male battle category, the Fagerli brothers were unbeatable until the Grand Final; Norwegians Erlend and Brynjar ended up first and second, respectively, and renewed their extraordinary record as the two most successful siblings in the history of freestyle football. Even with his magnificent performance, the 2020 Super Ball champion, Dutch Jesse Marlet, could not repeat the title this time and had to settle for third place.

    In the female Grand Final, Polish star Aguśka Mnich defeated British sensation Lia Lewis, who put up a tremendously impressive display in her first-ever Super Ball (and live competition) participation. Yet another renowned star of the sport, Yoanna Dallier from France, claimed the third spot.

    Super Ball offered plenty of spectacle in its many other categories as well. In the 1vs1 Panna KO competition, French Anas Boukami defeated Boston Jade, from the US, in the final; local Czech hero Martin Gajdos ended up third, and British Harriet Pavlou made history ending up in the fourth position – the first woman to ever reach this spot in the Super Ball Panna tournament.

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    The Sick Three challenge saw local Czech talent     Danny Prazak beat German Chris Bennet Bröker aka CBB in the final to claim the title, with an unexpected third-place finish: Tony Ma, from Hong Kong. Vasek Klouda, the Czech legend of footbag (a brother sport to Freestyle Football), also participated and landed an amazing combo, but the judges found it wasn’t according to the rules of the competition, so he couldn’t make it to the podium in the end.

    In the Routine competition, Nick Seyda from the USA took the crown, with Patrick Bäurer from Germany and Nicolas Rossier from Switzerland in the second and third positions respectively. 

    The Show Flow tournament, just like the male battles one, was claimed by Norwegian legend Erlend Fagerli. Crowd favourite Philip Warren Gertsson aka PWG and Álvaro López from Spain ended up second and third.

    In the Ironman category, Dutch Bodhi Bos defeated Polish Olivier Grodecki from Poland in the final; Ethan Audiot, from France, took the bronze medal. French-Guyanese Wiwi claimed the title of Kill The Beat champion.

    The Intermediate Battles saw Joshua Lockard from the USA taking the title, with Italian Giorgio Luppi and Belgian William Cochart finishing in the second and third spots. Last but not least, in the Rookie Battles, Alex Herbaut from France beat Dutch Mike van der Streek aka Mighty Mike in the Final; yet another Frenchman, Enzo Ruta, ended up in the third position. 

    The event, hosted at the Clarion Congress hotel in Prague, was live-streamed on the WFFA channels for the first time, with a luxury team of casters and commentators that included the likes of Pekko Piirto, Daniël Rooseboom, Paloma Mayo, Miran Pirner, Alex Hyland-Cid, Bailey de Regt, Mighty Mike and Kevin Medina. The 2021 Super Ball was judged by an elite team of officials led by Kitti Szász (the first female Head Judge in the history of the tournament) and consisting of Javi Sanz, Jordan Meunier, Mateusz Odrzygóźdź aka Lotar and Michał Rycaj aka MichRyc, as well as Miran Pirner, Pekko Piirto and Daniël Rooseboom. The tournament also saw the debut alongside the traditional Super Ball MC, Lorenzo Pinciroli, of promising names such as Nabil Hamza and Laura Biondo – the first time ever in which a female master of ceremonies co-hosted the Finals.

    Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!

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