The World Freestyle Football Association

Author: Jordi Mestre

  • Erlend Fagerli and Aguska Mnich take the crown as World Champions in Nairobi

    Erlend Fagerli and Aguska Mnich take the crown as World Champions in Nairobi

    Tournify Check the official results of the tournament on Tournify: click on the logo for more details!

    In the first-ever World Freestyle Football Championship to be held in the African continent, the most successful freestyler of all time did not disappoint: Norwegian legend Erlend Fagerli took his 10th title of World Champion after beating French rising star Tristan Gac in the male final and confirmed his status of absolute legend of the sport.

    In a spectacular venue, the Bomas of Kenya in the vibrant city of Nairobi, an enthusiastic crowd also witnessed the extraordinary feat of Polish superstar Aguska Mnich, who beat Dutch powerhouse Jasmijn Janssen in the female Final and secured her sixth World Championship. Laura Biondo, from Venezuela, and Jesse Marlet, from the Netherlands, took the bronze medals in their respective categories.

    The 2023 edition of the World Freestyle Football Championship, organised by the World Freestyle Football Association together with prestigious Kenyan agency Homeboyz, was the first World Final to take place under the new competitive structure of the Pulse Series, with qualification events happening across all continents in the world. For the first time as well, the event was broadcast on the TikTok channel of Italian football giants Juventus, where it achieved massive success.

    “I’m just… so happy”, said Erlend Fagerli, the newly-crowned Freestyle Football male World Champion. “It’s very special to win such a tournament right before retiring from the professional circuit. I wasn’t sure I was going to win at all – the level this year was incredibly high. It’s amazing how the sport has evolved since I started!”.

    “I’ve been working so hard for this… I almost can’t believe it happened”, said Aguska Mnich, the new female World Champion. “It’s truly a dream to be here and be World Champion again. I had many difficulties on the way here, but thanks to my trust in God, I’ve finally made it. I know it wasn’t me – it’s all thanks to Him.”

    The event week also included a series of legacy activities aimed at giving back to the local community in Nairobi, who generously supported the athletes during their time in the Kenyan capital.

    Experience again all the thrills of the 2023 World Freestyle Football Championship on the official YouTube channel of the WFFA:

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    For more information about the World Freestyle Football Championship, check out the official Tournify page of the competition or visit the corresponding Event Page    .

    For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!

  • Juventus Football Club confirmed as Media Partner for the World Freestyle Football Championship 2023

    Juventus Football Club confirmed as Media Partner for the World Freestyle Football Championship 2023

    The World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA) has announced today an exciting partnership with Italian football powerhouse Juventus and their Juventus Creator Lab which will see the most prestigious Freestyle Football event of the year, the World Freestyle Football Championship, broadcast live on the official TikTok channel of the club.

    The 2023 edition of the World Freestyle Football Championship will be hosted by the prestigious Kenyan agency Homeboyz Entertainment at the extraordinary Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi on November 25th. The event will be bringing together the top 32 freestylers on the planet for a unique display of skill and competitiveness.

    The World Finalists, coming from all continents, have qualified for the event through a series of six highly competitive regional qualifiers, the Pulse Series. Among the elite athletes who will face off in Nairobi are the two reigning Champions, Erlend Fagerli (Norway) and Caitlyn Schrepfer (USA), who took famous victories last year at the spectacular ancient Roman Amphitheatre of Pula, in Croatia.

    Juventus aims to continue its advocacy for freestyle football now supporting the ecosystem alongside the WFFA. After the first-ever freestyle challenge on TikTok in May 2023, won by the Brazilian Freestyle Football and Futsal player Adonias Fonseca, Juventus will now support again the freestyle movement, streaming on the same social media the official World Championship.

    “To have such a prestigious and iconic name in the Sports Industry wanting to collaborate in this way is very exciting for Freestyle Football”, said Dan Wood, Co-founder at the WFFA. “Juventus’ TikTok channel is one of the largest Football-themed channels worldwide; its extraordinary reach will allow fans all around the world to discover the amazing athletes at the World Freestyle Football Championship and to enjoy the event itself from a new and unique perspective.”

    “We are very excited to team up with the WFFA and the sport of Freestyle Football”, said Mike Armstrong, Juventus Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. “Juventus consistently strives for new innovative ways to connect with our fans globally, and this partnership allows us to take a more significant role within the freestyle football ecosystem celebrating and working alongside the best worldwide.”

    As an added bonus of the relationship, four of the World Finalists will have the opportunity to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy in January for a content creation experience in Turin. 

    About Juventus FC

    Founded in 1897, Juventus FC is one of the most popular and awarded football clubs in the world. All club’s records have been achieved under the ownership of the Agnelli family who have managed it for 100 years. 

    Juventus can also count on an undisputed global reach with 580 million fans worldwide including more than 101 million fans in Europe and with more than 155 million followers on various digital channels is the most-followed Italian brand. 

    Among the players that wore or that are currently wearing the iconic black and white striped jersey there are some of the greatest players of football history like the Italians Boniperti, Del Piero, Pirlo, Buffon, Chiellini, Chiesa and Locatelli and the international stars like Platini, Baggio, Zidane, Nedved, Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Vlahovic. 

    The club’s mission is to be a sport entertainment company committed to achieving success on the pitch and to enriching people’s lives by providing them with community, connection and emotional experiences.

    For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!

  • The vibrant city of Nairobi to crown the best freestylers on the planet at the World Freestyle Football Championship 2023

    The vibrant city of Nairobi to crown the best freestylers on the planet at the World Freestyle Football Championship 2023

    The World Freestyle Football Association has announced today the final details of the event that culminates the competitive season: the World Freestyle Football Championship, which this year will take place in the fascinating city of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

    The 2023 World Championship, organised together with the prestigious Kenyan agency Homeboyz, will be held at the Bomas of Kenya on Saturday, November 25th. The event will be broadcast live on the official YouTube, Facebook and Twitch channels of the WFFA starting at 15h EAT / 13h CET / 7am ET.

    The event week will include not just the highly anticipated World Finals, but also a series of legacy activities in Nairobi. These initiatives are aimed at giving back to the local community and spreading the word about the benefits of Freestyle Football for kids and teenagers.

    The World Freestyle Football Championship will bring together the best 32 freestylers on the planet, coming from all regions of the world through the six qualifying events of the WFFA Pulse Series:

    • Online Pulse Mombasa for Africa
    • Pulse Riga for Europe
    • Pulse New York City for North America
    • Pulse Córdoba for South America
    • Pulse Hiroshima for Asia-Pacific
    • Pulse Online for the rest of the world

    The list of participating athletes includes the two current World Champions, Caitlyn Schrepfer from the USA and Erlend Fagerli from Norway, as well as a collection of first-class talents from all continents:

    • Angelique Ferreira (South Africa) and Ali Yahia Ouahmed (Algeria), representing Africa
    • Melody Donchet (France), Aguska Mnich (Poland), Yoanna Dallier (France), Jasmijn Janssen (Netherlands) and Anastasia Bagaglini (Italy), as well as Tristan Gac (France), Jesse Marlet (Netherlands), Joan Sitjar (Spain), Tim Hoekman (Netherlands) and Nicolas ‘Nicox’ Rivière (France), representing Europe
    • Mathilde Fortier (Canada) and Yahaira Zapata (Mexico), as well as Patrick ‘Patshaw’ Shaw (USA) and Fahed Albreiki (USA), representing North America
    • Laura Biondo (Venezuela), Diana ‘Karol’ Rojer (Panamá) and Marisa Cintra (Brazil), as well as Sebastián ‘Machine’ Peña (Colombia), Sebastián ‘Boyka’ Ortiz (Colombia) and Julián ‘KMP’ Sosa (Colombia), representing South America
    • Moeka ‘Moe-K’ Sakurai (Japan), Mai Yasutake (Japan) and Miharu Miyoshi (Japan), as well as Jay Hennicke (Australia), Hiroyuki ‘Hiro-K’ Kaneko (Japan), Philip ‘PWG’ Warren Gertsson (Philippines) and Akinobu ‘Aki’ Komine (Japan), representing Asia-Pacific

    A team of international elite judges will evaluate the performance of the participants following the official Rules of Freestyle Football, available on the website of the Association. The list includes prestigious former freestylers and experts in the sport, namely:

    • Andrew Henderson, 2014 World Champion, from the UK
    • Kamal ‘Kamalio’ Ranchod, from South Africa
    • Yo Katsuyama, from Japan
    • Sven Fielitz, from Luxembourg
    • Andreas Cetkovic, from France

    “This is the first World Final after the implementation of the Pulse Series qualification system, and honestly, we couldn’t be more proud of how everything has been so far,” said Steve Elias, President of the WFFA. “Our partnership with a top-notch agency such as the Homeboyz ensures that the event will be nothing short of sensational. We really can’t wait to meet the athletes in Kenya and kickstart the competition!”.

    “It’s an honour for me to be able to defend my World Championship in such a captivating location as Nairobi” declared Caitlyn Schrepfer, current female World Champion. “I’ve been working hard this year to be at my best in Kenya and can’t wait to face the best female freestylers in the world there. No doubt it will be a fantastic experience!”.

    “We are honoured to host these international tournaments in Kenya”, added Myke Rabar, President of the Kenyan Freestyle Football Federation. “It highlights our commitment to promoting Freestyle Football, and in the meantime, it provides a platform to showcase our beautiful country and boost tourism”

    For more information about the World Freestyle Football Championship, follow the official channels of the WFFA or visit the corresponding Event Page.

    For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!

  • The WFFA welcomes a talent-studded panel in their new Advisory Board

    The WFFA welcomes a talent-studded panel in their new Advisory Board

    The World Freestyle Football Association has announced today the creation of a new tool of extraordinary value for the future of the sport: the WFFA Advisory Board, an external, independent organ committed to helping evolve the discipline holistically across all regions of the world.

    The newly created Advisory Board will include first-class experts in a variety of fields, from governance and sports development to marketing and communications, which will greatly help in growing the capacities of the current teams of the Association and shaping its short- and long-term strategy.

    The WFFA Advisory Board will consist of the following members:

    • Gabriel Behr Andrade: Paralympic Games Operations Senior Manager. Sport Management and Psychology expert working extensively on major sporting events worldwide
    • Patrick Casteau: Director of International Relations for OnLocation (Olympics and Paralympics). Co-Founder of the Football Business Academy
    • Daphne Chan: Consultant on Sports Media rights and Data and Research. Ex ESPN, International Paralympics Committee and SportCal
    • Sean Garnier: The first World Champion of Freestyle Football. A global social media icon (23+million followers) and visionary for the sport
    • Jürgen Griesbeck: Founder and CEO of Common Goal, the biggest Sport for Development movement worldwide
    • Nabil Hadi: Co-Founder and COO of Roster and Digital Nomad Labs. Web3 and Blockchain guru
    • Dr Hussa K. Al Khalifa: Long-standing member of the Bahrain Olympic Committee and Football Association. Social Responsibility Committee member of the AFC
    • Alex Lee: Serial Entrepreneur, Investor and Board Member of CalSouth. Working also in MMA and extensively across US Soccer
    • Carrie McNeill: Executive Director at CMC&CO. Sports Investment, strategy and merchandise specialist with extensive impact and knowledge of the Middle East markets
    • Datuk Stuart Ramalingam: Promoter of the first iteration of a world federation for Freestyle Football, F3, back in 2011. CEO of the Malaysia Football League
    • John P. Reynal: President and CEO at the Women’s Cup and creator of the Daytona Soccer Fest. International event organisation and management expert
    • Damjan Rudež: Director of the Sunset Sports Media Festival. Former NBA basketball player
    • Preeti Shetty: Board member of Brentford FC and CEO of Upshot. Social Impact expert
    • Fengze Yeh: Investor and Partnership Head for Park. Champion in Social Impact through sport and Web3 / Metaverse expert

    “The creation of the Advisory Board is a key step in preparing the WFFA for the future”, said Steve Elias, President of the WFFA. “Freestyle Football is already growing at an extraordinary pace, and adding such talented individuals to the orbit of the sport will surely help it accelerate even more. I’m really excited to see the results!”.

    “The members of the Advisory Board will doubtlessly bring huge value to the WFFA”, said Dan Wood, Head of Partnerships at the WFFA and main promoter of the Advisory Board. “Their vast knowledge will be extremely useful to build the capacities of the Association staff and multiply the possibilities of the whole organisation.”

    For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!

  • New year, new heroes: the WFFA launches the 2023 edition of the Youth Championship

    New year, new heroes: the WFFA launches the 2023 edition of the Youth Championship

    The World Freestyle Football Association has announced today the launch of the 2023 edition of one of its most exciting events: the World Youth Freestyle Football Championship, a global tournament aimed at male and female athletes under the age of 16.

    This year’s competition will take place on a fully digital basis between the months of November and December. In order to offer the best and most user-friendly experience to the athletes, the tournament will utilise the official platforms of the WFFA (namely GameDay for registrations and Tournify for results), as well as Whatsapp. 

    Following the tradition, the 2023 edition of the Youth Championship event will culminate in a live final that will be broadcast on Twitch, YouTube and Facebook: the best male and female u16 freestylers in the world will be crowned champions!

    A team of elite judges will evaluate the performance of the participants following the official Rules of Freestyle Football, available on the website of the Association.

    Here is the full rundown of the 2023 Youth Championship:

    • Registration period (November 1st to November 15th): All athletes wishing to participate will need to sign up using the corresponding GameDay widget
    • Qualification stage (November 16th to November 20th): All participants will be contacted individually via Whatsapp and asked to send their routine as a 30-second video
    • Circles announcement (November 28th): The participants who have made it to the Circles stage will be officially announced on the WFFA channels and notified via Whatsapp
    • Circles stage (November 28th to December 4th): The participants will be split into Whatsapp groups corresponding to the different Circles and will need to send 3 clips each
    • Finalists announcement (December 5th): The athletes who made it to the Finals (8 boys and 8 girls) will be announced officially on the WFFA channels and notified via Whatsapp
    • Live Finals (December 10th): The finalists will battle it out live on the WFFA Twitch, YouTube and Facebook channels 

    “We take great pride in presenting the community with the third edition of the Youth Championship,” said Minna Marlo, the Head of Development at the WFFA. “This competition holds a strategic significance for the WFFA as it provides an exceptional opportunity for up-and-coming talents worldwide to showcase their skills and gain valuable international experience. We can’t wait for the 2023 edition to start!”.

    “We can see how the tournament has firmly established itself on the calendar; it’s no longer us pushing it, but the freestylers themselves asking when it starts!” added Miran Pirner, Head of Judging at the WFFA and leader of the judging team at the Youth Championship. “Just like in previous years, we’ve assembled a top-notch lineup of judges to assess the participants’ skills. No doubt it will be another fantastic edition!”

    “It’s an honour for me to transition from participant to ambassador in this year’s Youth Championship,” stated Isabel Wilkins, the current Youth Championship and Super Ball champion. “Last year, the event gave me a great opportunity to show my skills and required me to push my limits, which in turn was super useful for other competitions. I would be delighted if I could inspire young freestylers to embark on a similar journey!”

    For more details about the 2023 edition of the Youth Championship, please visit the corresponding Event Page on our website!

    About the World Youth Freestyle Football Championship

     

    The World Youth Freestyle Football Championship is a global online Freestyle Football tournament aimed at male and female athletes under the age of 16.

    Conceptualised after a careful study of the needs of the community, the contest was designed to offer a platform for the best young talents to showcase their skills and reclaim their well-deserved place in the competitive Freestyle Football environment.

    For more details about the Youth Championship, please reach out to youth-championship@thewffa.org.

    For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!

  • The WFFA unveils the visual identity of the 2023 World Freestyle Football Championship

    The WFFA unveils the visual identity of the 2023 World Freestyle Football Championship

    The World Freestyle Football Association has unveiled the visual identity of the 2023 edition of its most competitive tournament: the World Freestyle Football Championship (WFFC), which this year will take place in Nairobi, Kenya in late November.

    This event, the climax of a Freestyle Football competitive circuit that has visited all continents this season, will feature the 32 best freestylers in the world (16 males and 16 females). The athletes who have made it to this year’s World Final have been selected through the Pulse Series, comprising 6 events across all inhabited continents —Africa, Europe, North America, South America and Asia-Pacific— plus an Online qualifier for those who couldn’t make it to a physical competition.

    This year’s edition of the WFFC will be held at the extraordinary Bomas of Kenya, in the capital city of Nairobi. The event will be co-organised together with the prestigious Homeboyz, the leading sports events and communications agency in Kenya and in the whole Eastern Africa region.

    Lucaso Škoda, Head of Operations at the WFFA, said: “The 2023 edition of the WFFC will be the first-ever with the new global format and under the full ownership of the community. This is yet another evidence of the growth and strength not just of the WFFA as an organisation, but also of the sport of Freestyle Football itself. We can’t wait to put out this extraordinary show to the world!”.

    For more information about the WFFC, please visit the corresponding Event Page on our website.

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

  • Burkina Faso, Cambodia and Jamaica join the Global Network

    Burkina Faso, Cambodia and Jamaica join the Global Network

    The most precious structure of the World Freestyle Football Association, the Global Network, keeps growing: three more countries —Burkina Faso, in Africa; Cambodia, in Asia; and Jamaica, in the Americas— have officially joined the list of communities that help the WFFA shape and evolve the sport of Freestyle Football around the world.

    Three renowned freestylers and respected figures in their local communities (Abdoul Zizi Kayorgo in Burkina Faso, Long Kim Heng in Cambodia and Adrian Thompson in Jamaica) will become the new Country Leaders of these three countries, the latest to join an organisation that spans over 100 nations in all inhabited continents.

    Pekko ‘PeGe’ Piirto, Head of the Global Network, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome yet three more nations to our Network. Each new country brings new ideas to explore and new challenges to tackle: we have no doubt that the three new Country Leaders will do an awesome job and help not just their local communities, but also the sport at a global level.”

    Steve Elias, President of the WFFA, added: “The Global Network is surely the most important tool we have to help Freestyle Football communities develop all around the world. It’s really exciting and rewarding to see it growing so quickly across all continents!”.

    The task to build the Global Network doesn’t end here: new additions are currently in the making, with individuals in several countries having presented their credentials to join the organisation. The Freestyle Football community can expect more exciting updates very soon!

    For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!

  • Moe-K and Jay Hennicke become the Asia-Pacific champions at Pulse Hiroshima 2023

    Moe-K and Jay Hennicke become the Asia-Pacific champions at Pulse Hiroshima 2023

    Tournify Check the official website of the tournament on Tournify: click on the logo for more details!

    WFFA Pulse Hiroshima 2023, the first-ever Freestyle Football Pulse Event to take place in the Asia-Pacific region, happened on September 16th at the impressive NTT Cred Hall in the city centre of Hiroshima, Japan. The tournament featured an intense 1×1 battle format, where the best freestylers competed to determine the champions of the male and female categories. The local crowd roared with excitement as athletes from a variety of countries across Asia and Oceania showcased their unique styles and cultures, both on and off the ball.

    In the end, local hero Moe-K, in the female bracket, and Australian star Jay Hennicke, in the male tournament, emerged victorious and secured their spots in this year’s highly anticipated World Freestyle Football Championship Finals in Nairobi, Kenya.

    The excitement did not end there, as six more freestylers (three men and three women) earned their places in the upcoming World Finals:

    The adventure of the Pulse Series is now heading to its last stop: the Online Pulse, a global, fully digital competition for all those freestylers who couldn’t join any physical event. The last two spots in the World Finals, one for men and one for women, are up for grabs!

    Experience again all the thrills of Pulse Hiroshima 2023 thanks to the official live stream of its Finals:

    For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!

  • An extraordinary week concludes with ‘Karol’ Rojer and ‘Machine’ Peña’s victory at Pulse Córdoba

    An extraordinary week concludes with ‘Karol’ Rojer and ‘Machine’ Peña’s victory at Pulse Córdoba

    Tournify Check the official website of the tournament on Tournify: click on the logo for more details!

    WFFA Pulse Córdoba 2023, the first-ever Freestyle Football Pulse Event to happen in Latin America, took place in the Argentinian city of Córdoba between August 30th and September 2nd. The competition, organised in cooperation with the Asociación Cordobesa de Freestyle Futbol, featured not just a 1×1 battles competition to determine the six South American representatives at the World Final later this year, but also a series of tournaments (Challenge, Sick Three, Panna 1×1, Show Flow, Iron Man & Woman, and Routines) for the Latin American community to showcase all their skills and passion for the sport.

    The qualifiers were held between August 30th and September 1st at the legendary Estadio Kempes, a massive stadium that was once an official venue for the FIFA World Cup 1978, with the finals happening on September 2nd at the Museo Metropolitano de Arte Urbano, located at the very centre of the city.

    The competition crowned two emerging stars of the sport: Diana ‘Karol’ Rojer, from Panamá, and Sebastián ‘Machine’ Peña, from Colombia, took the victories in the female and male categories respectively.

    The excitement did not end there, as four more freestylers (two men and two women) earned their places in the upcoming World Finals:

    The adventure of the Pulse Series doesn’t stop here, though, and the competition will travel now to Hiroshima, in Japan, to crown the Asia-Pacific regional champions and find six more World Finalists – a total of four ladies and four gentlemen.

    Experience again all the thrills of Pulse Córdoba 2023 thanks to the official live stream of its Finals:

    For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!

  • Caitlyn Schrepfer and Patrick Shaw take the victory in Pulse New York City 2023

    Caitlyn Schrepfer and Patrick Shaw take the victory in Pulse New York City 2023

    Tournify Check the official website of the tournament on Tournify: click on the logo for more details!

    WFFA Pulse New York City 2023, the first-ever Freestyle Football Pulse Event to take place in North America, happened on August 26th at the extraordinary American Dream entertainment centre in East Rutherford, NJ – just minutes away from the Big Apple. The tournament featured an intense 1×1 battle format, where the region’s best freestylers competed to determine the champions of the male and female categories. The local crowd roared with excitement as athletes from eight different countries across the Americas showcased their unique styles and cultures, both on and off the ball.

    In the end, two local heroes emerged victorious and secured their spots in this year’s highly anticipated World Freestyle Football Championship Finals in Nairobi, Kenya: Patrick Shaw and Caitlyn Schrepfer, both of US American nationality, took the victories in the male and female brackets respectively.

    The excitement did not end there, as two more freestylers (a man and a woman) earned their places in the upcoming World Finals:

    The adventure of the Pulse Series doesn’t stop here, though, and the competition will travel now to South America to crown the regional champions and find four more World Finalists – a total of three ladies and three gentlemen.

    Experience again all the thrills of Pulse New York City 2023 thanks to the official live stream of its Finals:

    For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!

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