Category: Announcements

The WFFA confirms its presence at the Commonwealth Esports Championships

The World Freestyle Football Association has announced today its presence at the forthcoming Commonwealth Esports Championships, happening in Birmingham (United Kingdom) between August 5 and 7, 2022. Thanks to the partnerships with the Global Esports Federation (GEF), the Association will participate in a dedicated Innovation Showcase area, shining light on powerful Active Esports technologies that are leading in the convergence of esports and sports.

“The Innovation Showcase at the first-ever Commonwealth Esports Championships will provide a live, interactive opportunity for these leading partners to share their technology and innovations with the athletes and ticket holders. The Global Esports Federation is proud to provide this opportunity and forum to connect, discuss and share these innovations,” said Paul J. Foster, CEO of the GEF. “Esports and its related sectors are built around communities, and we are proud to collaborate with leading innovators like Refract, Init Esports and the WFFA.”

The WFFA will showcase – in real life – what is captured on top football titles such as eFootball™ series and FIFA. Freestyle Football is positioned at the heart of street culture worldwide and its simple yet powerful call to action, ‘All you need is a ball’, represents the opportunity to promote and gamify active, healthy lifestyles anywhere.

“The participants and audience of Freestyle Football are entirely representative and relative to that of esports,” said Dan Wood, Co-founder and Head of Partnerships at the WFFA. “We adore the esports community and our strategy for the future is to integrate even more with esports by hosting IRL events inside game titles”.

“We are working on Active Esports gamified innovations to create a healthy balance lifestyle for athletes to enjoy”, Wood added. “This showcase at the CEC 2022 will allow us to publicly demonstrate our synergies with esports and reach some wider audiences at the same time. We are very excited, grateful to the GEF and truly honoured to have this opportunity.”

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

June 27, 2022
Judges, host, schedule… and much more: the WFFA announces all details of the upcoming US Open in Daytona
To register, visit the official page of the event at GameDay: click on the logo and sign up now!

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

The World Freestyle Football Association has announced today the final details of the upcoming WFFA US Open, a brand-new global competition that will take place at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida, USA on July 2nd and 3rd, 2022.

Structure

The WFFA US Open will include a 1×1 Battles competition with separate male and female brackets. The schedule of the tournament will be as follows:
- Friday, July 1st: Players’ arrival and meeting at the venue (exact timing to be communicated directly to participating athletes)
- Saturday, July 2nd, 1 pm ET: Qualification at the Fan Zone Stage
- Sunday, July 3rd, 1 pm ET: Finals at Victory Lane
- Sunday, July 3rd: Afterparty (exact spot and timing to be communicated directly to participating athletes)
The Finals of the WFFA US Open will be live streamed on the WFFA official channels. More information will be available on the Association’s social platforms as the competition comes close!

Judges
- Head of Judges: Andrew Henderson (United Kingdom)
- Judge: Laura Biondo (Venezuela)
- Judge: Charly Iacono (Argentina)
Host
- Daniel Dennehy (Ireland/USA)
Prizes

The event will offer its winners a total prize pot of $15,000 USD, which will be split among the champions, runners-up and third-placed athletes in both the men’s and women’s categories. The male and female champions will receive exactly the same amount.

The event will also feature a special competition, to be held during the Afterparty, in which a lucky winner will get a free trip to Super Ball to compete in the World Open in Prague between August 8th and 13th.

Handbook

Find all the information about the event in the Athlete Handbook! You can download it from the links below:
- US Open 2022: Athlete Handbook in English
- US Open 2022: Guía del Atleta en Español
For more information about the DAYTONA Soccer Fest, or to get tickets to enjoy all activities included in the event, check the official announcement on the WFFA website and visit the website of the festival at www.daytonasoccerfest.com!

Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!
June 22, 2022
The WFFA opens the registration process for Super Ball 2022
To register, visit the official page of the event at GameDay: click on the logo and sign up now!

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

The time has come! The greatest and most prestigious of all open competitions in the Freestyle Football circuit, Super Ball, has opened its registrations to allow the community to sign up for the 2022 edition of the event.

This year’s Super Ball will take place at the Clarion Congress Hotel in the city of Prague (Czech Republic) between August 9th and 13th. The event will include a variety of competitions, both for male and female freestylers of all levels and origins. The main innovations of 2022 will be the new female categories for all competitions and the first Freestyle Football Congress, a series of conferences, debates and presentations to discuss the present and the future of the sport with the global community.

This year’s edition of the tournament will include 8 disciplines:
- Freestyle Battles: the main competition of the event, a clash of individual quality and mental strength in which two athletes compete by showing their best skills to a team of 5 judges
- Freestyle routine: a showcase of individual mastery in which an athlete demonstrates their quality in sync with the music
- Double routine: a spectacle of synchrony in which two athletes show their most amazing combined moves
- Sick Three: a competition to find the very best combination of 3 consecutive tricks
- Challenge: a distinctive category in which athletes perform predetermined tricks at their highest speed; specially designed for lovers of fast combinations
- Show Flow: a competition for complete freestylers to demonstrate their absolute control over all aspects of the sport
- Iron Man: a marathon in basic lower body combinations – only for the toughest athletes!
- Panna KO: the legendary Street Football competition in which athletes must show their skills when attacking… and keep their feet together when defending!
To learn more about Super Ball 2022, check out the announcement article on the WFFA website, visit the corresponding Event Page or have a look at the official website of the series.

Freestylers coming to compete at Super Ball 2022 will have the chance to book a room at the same Clarion Congress Hotel to stay close to the action 24/7. To register for the event, click on this link: for more information, contact the organisers via email at superball@thewffa.org.

Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!
June 15, 2022
Super Ball 2022 to offer specific competitions for female athletes across all of its categories
To register, visit the official page of the event at GameDay: click on the logo and sign up now!

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

The World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA) has announced today the implementation of a new, key initiative in their global plan to promote equality in the sport of Freestyle Football. In order to offer female freestylers as many platforms as possible to show their skills and to support the development of the sport, this year’s edition of the biggest on-site competition in the global circuit, the 2022 Super Ball World Open, will offer a specific category for women in each and every one of its disciplines.

With this decision, the WFFA and the Super Ball organising committee are covering a historic request of the ever-growing female Freestyle Football community, whose count and competitive level have risen at an unstoppable pace in the last decade.

Minna Marlo, Head of Development at the WFFA, said: “The number of women competing at an elite level in Freestyle Football tournaments has increased dramatically in recent years. As the world governing body for the sport, we are fully committed to providing the necessary platforms to support and boost this growth, and hence we are really excited to offer this new opportunity to female freestylers”.

Lucaso Škoda, Head of Operations at the WFFA and Super Ball Chief Tournament Director, said: “Inclusion and diversity have always been ingrained in the spirit of Super Ball as a competition and as a community event, and hence for us it was just natural to expand the tournament to cater to the rising number of female participants. It makes us feel really proud to witness the development of the sport – and particularly, to be part of it!”.

About Super Ball

Super Ball is the largest Freestyle Football competition on the planet, a major factor in establishing the thriving global community enjoyed by millions every year. Officially sanctioned by the World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA), Super Ball offers no less than 7 different competitions across the length of a week, as well as workshops, lectures and meetings around the sport.

2022 will mark the 13th season in succession in which the Super Ball is held in the Czech Republic, a tradition that has become a yearly tribute to the local Freestyle Football community.

For general information or inquiries about the event, follow its official channels:
- Website: www.superball.world
- Instagram: @superballlive
- Facebook: Super Ball
- Youtube: Super Ball
For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!
June 9, 2022
The Pula Arena will host the 2022 Red Bull Street Style World Final: tickets available!
To buy your tickets for the World Final, visit the official page of the event at Entrio!

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

The long wait is over: the WFFA has finally announced officially the venue that will host the Red Bull Street Style 2022 World Final, the climax of the Freestyle Football season. This year, the magnificent Pula Arena, a 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre located in the city of Pula (Croatia) will become the backdrop of the event, happening on Saturday, October 8th at 15:30h CET.

Ticketing options for the event include the following:
- Early Bird (Adults): 50 HRK / 6.5€ (available from September 5th to September 24th at 23:59h CET)
- Regular Ticket (Adults): 75HRK / 10€ (available from September 25th to October 8th at 14:30h CET)
- Kids under the age of 12: free
Tickets for the event are already available on the Entrio platform at entr.io/RedBullStreetStyleWorldFinal2022.

About the Pula Arena

The most famous and important monument in the City of Pula, the starting and ending point of every sightseeing tour, is the Amphitheater, popularly called the Pula Arena, which was once the site of gladiator fights. It was built in the 1st century AD during the reign of Emperor Vespasian, at the same time as the magnificent Colosseum in Rome.

The ground plan is elliptical, the longer axis measuring about 130 m and the shorter one about 100 m. Gladiator fights took place in the central flat area called the arena, while the spectators could sit on the stone tiers or stand in the gallery. It is believed that the Amphitheater could seat about 20,000 spectators. Local limestone was used for its construction. In the Middle Ages it was the site of knights’ tournaments and fairs.

Today, it is the venue for many different events – Pula Film Festival, various concerts, opera, ballet, sports competitions… since its capacity is about 5,000 spectators. The underground passages, once used by the gladiators, nowadays host a regular exhibition of viticulture and olive growing in Istria in ancient times. The exhibits include reconstructions of machines once used for the production of olive oil and wine (mills, presses, vessels) and amphorae used for storing and transporting olive oil and wine.

About Pula

The city of Pula (or Pola, in Italian) is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia. Located at the southern tip of the Istrian peninsula, Pula is known for its multitude of ancient Roman buildings, the most famous of which is the Pula Arena, one of the best-preserved Roman amphitheatres. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing, shipbuilding, and tourism, and was the administrative centre of Istria from ancient Roman times until superseded by Pazin in 1991.

Nowadays, Pula is the ideal city for the best entertainment. Open-air terraces with great music, delicious food accompanied with a glass of fine Istrian wine, night walks through the lively city streets, charming narrow climbs in the historic centre and different types of music heard everywhere – Pula offers all of this and much more!

For more information about Pula, please visit the city Tourism Office website at www.pulainfo.hr.

For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!
June 3, 2022
The WFFA teams up with Horizm to boost the performance of Freestyle Football social content

The World Freestyle Football Association has announced a new partnership with Horizm, the digital audience specialists whose groundbreaking platform connects brands interested in reaching sports fans with rights holders looking for ways to better value and monetise their digital content.

Thanks to this new agreement, the performance of Freestyle Football content on social channels will be analysed thoroughly, and its commercial value will be assessed with much higher precision. This enhanced analysis, in turn, will lead to an improved service to partners and affiliates, as well as to a myriad of opportunities for individual freestylers and content creators in the space.

The partnership with Horizm is expected to become a key milestone of the WFFA’s global digitalisation plan, which so far has already seen the Association remarkably increase its social presence across new channels. The strategy has also included teaming up with a variety of first-class players in the space, including content agencies, tournament management providers and digital services platforms, among others.

Daniel Wood, Head of Partnerships at the WFFA, said: “We are very excited to welcome Horizm to the WFFA family. Their platform will bring great value to the Freestyle Football universe, including a wide range of opportunities for the freestylers to leverage their fantastic content in new and ingenious ways.”

Daniël Rooseboom, Head of Digital at the WFFA, added: “Having a solid digital strategy across all our activities, from communications to event management, is vital to our future growth. For this reason, a first-class tool such as Horizm’s will be a massive asset for us – we are really looking forward to starting to work together with them!”.

Sam Grimley, Global Head of Sales & Account Management at Horizm, said: “Freestyle Football is a sport rooted in youth culture; one that is native to social media and one where the top freestylers boast huge, highly engaged digital audiences. We’re really excited to be working with the WFFA to help them and the athletes involved realise their full digital potential.”

About Horizm

Founded in 2019, Horizm was born with the goal of being the number one digital audience platform for the global sports and entertainment industries; to revolutionise the way rights holders and brands operate in our new digital era and fully support them across their digital asset life cycles.

Through their proprietary Marketplace, Horizm connects brands interested in reaching sports fans with rights holders looking for ways to better value and monetize their digital content. Horizm Marketplace aggregates over $1.5bn of digital inventory, offering brands a convenient and effective route to target customers through the highly engaged medium of sports content.

This inventory is accessed through contracted agreements which see Horizm leverage artificial intelligence to provide sports and entertainment with the complete toolkit needed to value, benchmark and monetize their digital audience engagement. Predicated on a more rigorous, more holistic approach to managing and selling digital inventory, one that is rooted in understanding true market price, Horizm’s platform also enables rights holders, agencies and talent to drive more value for their partners and unlock new revenue streams from existing inventory.

Horizm is the chosen digital solution for leading football clubs such as Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Everton, Real Madrid, Juventus, Olympique Lyonnais, Benfica, Flamengo and Wolverhampton Wanderers along with the Portuguese Football Federation and other elite sports organisations such as Saracens, Cricket West Indies, Mumbai Indians, the FIVB, the FIH and the Australian Open.

For more information about Horizm, please visit https://linktr.ee/horizm.

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

April 27, 2022
The WFFA activates the signup process for the 2022 US Open

To register, visit the official page of the event at GameDay: click on the logo and sign up now!

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

The World Freestyle Football Association has opened today the registration process for the inaugural edition of the WFFA US Open, a brand-new event which will take place at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida, USA during the first DAYTONA Soccer Fest between July 2nd and 3rd, 2022.

The 2022 US Open will offer a spectacular 1×1 Battles tournament, with separate brackets for men and for women*, both evaluated by a team of elite judges that will be announced on the WFFA channels in the coming weeks. The qualifiers will take place on Saturday, July 2nd, and the Grand Final will be held on Sunday, July 3rd. The accumulated prize pool for winners goes up to $15,000 USD!

The registration fee is just $20 USD, and the signups form is already available through the WFFA registration platform.

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The first edition of the WFFA US Open will be organised in partnership with renowned sports agency Torneos and with the legendary Daytona International Speedway and aims to become a reference tournament in the international Freestyle Football scene.

For more details about the WFFA US Open, check out the Event Page on the official WFFA website.

For more information about the DAYTONA Soccer Fest event, check the official announcement on the WFFA website or visit the site of the event at www.daytonasoccerfest.com!

* NOTE: For the women’s tournament to take place in a separate bracket from that of the men’s, there will need to be at least 8 registered female freestylers.

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

April 26, 2022
The WFFA to bring Freestyle Football to Wave Sports + Entertainment’s FTBL channels

The World Freestyle Football Association has announced a new partnership with Wave Sports + Entertainment (WSE), one of the fastest-growing sports and entertainment companies with more than 110 million followers globally. As part of the partnership, WSE will showcase a selection of the best content from Freestyle Football events and athletes through FTBL, the voice of the global football community that takes fans inside the world’s biggest matches, to spotlight incredible tricks and “tekkers” done at home.

All newly created content, as well as a selection of classic clips, will be available across the FTBL brand portfolio, including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook.

Steve Elias, President of the WFFA, said: “Freestyle Football is not just a sport: it’s also a lifestyle that greatly relates to contemporary street culture. Freestylers, hence, are not just first-class athletes, but also creators of extraordinary content that links with music, dance and art: having a platform such as WSE’s FTBL presenting that content to its audiences is doubtlessly a great step forward for the global community.”

Daniel Wood, Head of Partnerships at the WFFA, said: “WSE’s FTBL is an ever-growing reference media brand, so partnering with them is great news for us at the Association. We have no doubt that this new agreement will help Freestyle Football content reach new and massive audiences, which in turn will help the sport develop all around the world”.

Seth Brody, Director, Rights & Content Partnerships at Wave Sports + Entertainment, said: “WFFA’s unique style and social-friendly content is perfectly aligned with WSE’s FTBL brand and our desire to showcase amazing moments from across the broader football landscape. We are excited to partner with the WFFA to adapt and deliver these visual and engaging moments to our audience of Gen-Z and Millennial fans.”

About Wave Sports + Entertainment

Founded in 2017, Wave Sports + Entertainment is a world-class sports and entertainment company serving modern-day fans via content, products, and experiences. WSE obsesses over sports, from the mainstream to more, bringing superfans the coverage, culture, commentary, and community they crave. With over 110 million highly-engaged global followers and a reach of over 500 million sports fans monthly, WSE has tapped into something incredibly powerful in record time.

Digital platforms love WSE, which is a top sports partner to Snap, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. WSE has earned bragging rights by creating some of the most popular sports media brands available on digital platforms today, including BUCKETS, FTBL, GYM HEROES, HAYMAKERS, and JUKES.

No matter the sport, WSE has got the fans covered with highlights, memes, takes, commentary, analysis, off-field culture, and stories on the players and movements that are shaping the world of sports.

To see the Wave Sports + Entertainment media brands in action, please go to www.wave.tv.

*Wave Sports + Entertainment is incorporated as Bullpen Sports Network, Inc.

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

April 14, 2022
The WFFA partners with IMAGO to make Freestyle Football content accessible all around the world
The World Freestyle Football Association has announced a new partnership with German photo agency IMAGO, the largest independent producer of sports content in Europe and one of the most renowned global photography and video producers in the world.

The new partnership will see a selection of the best content from major Freestyle Football events, including national tournaments, regional competitions and global opens, distributed through IMAGO’s online platform. Media outlets and news agencies from the five continents will be able to access the finest pictures and videos from official WFFA competitions immediately after their champions are proclaimed.

The newly created library of Freestyle Football content will be available very soon on the official IMAGO website at www.imago-images.com.

Markus Kohl-Habibi, CEO at IMAGO, explained : “We are proud to be partnering with the WFFA and endorsing their commitment to community driven development and education. We look forward to offering their Freestyle Football photography and video which is undeniably set to be a valuable and creative asset.”

Finja Nissen, Photographer Relations Manager at IMAGO, said: “We are very happy that the WFFA is now part of our network. Freestyle Football combines art with sport and promises unique images and videos. While our clients look forward to the cooperation, we from the Global Partner Team are also excited about the new content and look forward to a strong partnership”.

Steve Elias, President of the WFFA, said: “The Freestyle Football universe generates a neverending stream of first-class content, particularly in the shape of pictures and videos: for us, the association with a top-notch agency such as IMAGO is a fantastic opportunity to ensure that this content is made available for journalists and media from all over the globe – and consequently, the sport reaches new audiences worldwide.”

Dan Wood, Head of Partnerships at the WFFA, added: “We are really happy and proud to welcome IMAGO to the WFFA family. Their prestige and global presence as a content agency will bring tremendous credibility and awareness for the sport of Freestyle Football”.

About IMAGO

IMAGO is the leading German independent photography agency and the largest sports producer in Europe. Committed to visual inspiration, IMAGO endeavours for all partners to achieve more.

Born out of Berlin in 1997, IMAGO has evolved into a premium global content provider spanning News, Sport, Creative, Archive and Video. With partnerships central to their business, IMAGO strives for excellence, offering direct and expert access to their curated and unparalleled digital media globally. Advocating for diversity, depth and quality throughout.

For more information about IMAGO, please contact contact@imago-images.de or visit their channels:
- Website: www.imago-images.com
- Instagram: @imago.images
- Twitter: @imago_images
- Facebook: imagoimages
- Linkedin: imago-images
Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!
April 5, 2022
The WFFA opens the bidding process for the 2023 World Championship host city
The World Freestyle Football Association has announced today the opening of the bidding process for the 2023 host city of its most competitive tournament: the Freestyle Football World Championship. Over the last 12 years, this exciting and energy-packed event has travelled to fascinating countries such as Brazil, Japan, England, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Poland and the USA.

For the 2023 edition, all bidding cities will be required to follow a process that will allow the WFFA experts to evaluate their proposal, including not just the physical facilities they can offer to the participant athletes but also the values and adequacy of the candidacy.

This selection process will include four main stages, during which the candidate cities will be asked to provide key information about their proposal. The procedure will happen as follows:
1. Expression of interest: deadline April 29th, 2022
  1. Cities will be required to email partnerships@thewffa.org with an introduction to the candidate organisation and destination
  2. The WFFA will forward the candidate city a full requirements package, including the Code of Ethics of the Association to ensure the candidacy is aligned with the values of the sport
  3. Once the candidates have all details available, they will be asked to prepare a presentation to excite and cater to the needs of the sport, the event and its participants
1. Confirmation of shortlisted options: announced on May 13th, 2022
  1. The WFFA will contact the applicants individually; the best 3 candidates will be selected
  2. The WFFA Partnerships team will then set up a video call with the three selected cities to learn more about their proposal and organise a site visit
1. Site visits to all shortlisted options: happening before July 29th, 2022
  1. The WFFA Operations team will visit all shortlisted cities to understand the logistics and the logic of each option
1. Host city selected: communicated privately on August 15th, 2022
  1. The WFFA Partnerships team will notify the winning candidate privately
  2. The representatives of the winning city will be invited to the 2022 World Finals, happening on October 8th in Croatia, where the public announcement will be made
Once the process has been completed and the announcement has been made, the best male and female athletes in the sport of Freestyle Football will compete from January to July for the chance to qualify for the 2023 World Finals and be crowned the best in the world in the winning city.

Dan Wood, Head of Partnerships at the WFFA, explains: “Since its launch in 2008, the Freestyle Football World Championship has travelled to all corners of the globe and entertained hundreds of millions of fans. We want to encourage any destination worldwide to get creative and be a part of our future. The uniqueness of the venue options and the energy and support from the destination are what particularly interests and excites us.”

For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!
March 18, 2022

	To register, visit the official page of the event at GameDay: click on the logo and sign up now!
	Check the official website of the tournament on Tournify: click on the logo for more details!

	To register, visit the official page of the event at GameDay: click on the logo and sign up now!
	Check the official website of the tournament on Tournify: click on the logo for more details!

	To register, visit the official page of the event at GameDay: click on the logo and sign up now!
	Check the official website of the tournament on Tournify: click on the logo for more details!

	To buy your tickets for the World Final, visit the official page of the event at Entrio!
	Check the official website of the World Final on Tournify: click on the logo for more details!

Category: Announcements

Structure

Judges

Host

Prizes

Handbook

About Super Ball

About the Pula Arena

About Pula

About Horizm

About Wave Sports + Entertainment

About IMAGO