Tag: Steve Elias

The best Freestyle Football in South America comes back to Argentina with Pulse Córdoba 2024
The World Freestyle Football Association has announced today the dates and format of WFFA Pulse Córdoba 2024, the official South American Freestyle Football Championship and the continental qualifier for the World Finals of the sport.

This extraordinary event, organised in partnership with the Argentinian federation, the Asociación Cordobesa de Futbol Freestyle (ACFF), will take place in the vibrant city of Córdoba, in the province of the same name, between September 25th and 29th, 2024.

Unlike last year, Pulse Córdoba 2024 will be open to South American freestylers only, following the Regional Division of the WFFA in place since early 2022. This change is due to Pulse CDMX 2024 happening in Mexico, a country freestylers from all the North American region can access more easily than the USA in 2023.

Besides the 1×1 Battles competition acting as the qualifier for the World Finals, the Pulse Córdoba 2024 week will also include the Pan American Freestyle Football Open, a tournament for all freestylers from the continent which will feature the following categories:
- Challenge
- Sick Three
- Show Flow
- Iron Man & Woman
- Routine
- Panna 1×1
The venues of the different competitions, together with the lineup of judges and plenty of other details about this thrilling event, will be announced on the official channels of the WFFA and the ACFF in the coming weeks.

Steve Elias, president of the WFFA, said: “For us, it’s just marvellous to travel to Córdoba again after last year’s massive success. We are immensely thankful to the ACFF for their extraordinary job, as well as to the city council and its sports agency for their invaluable support. We have no doubt that the 2024 edition will be even more amazing than the first one!”.

Iris Santiago, secretary of the ACFF, declared: “Last year, we achieved one of our great challenges – providing a Continental Tournament where all the involved parties felt like true stars of the Freestyle Football World. Our city supports sports and gives us the opportunity to keep pushing to become a global reference point for Freestyle Football for all those who want to be part of this wonderful discipline. We will be happy to welcome all of South America to Pulse Córdoba 2024 and hope that the Pan-American Open Freestyle Football Tournament will also be a great challenge for all those who want to experience a week filled with all the extraordinary vibes that this great continent possesses.”

Héctor ‘Pichi’ Campana, Secretary of Sports of the Municipality of Córdoba, added: “It was a true honour to preside over the presentation of Pulse Córdoba 2023 last year. The good atmosphere and positive energy that was experienced there truly filled my soul. Freestyle Football is truly an art! We will accompany them again this year so that the competitors can enjoy another fantastic event and take away great memories of our city.”

Registrations are already open on the corresponding Event Page on the website of the WFFA. For more information, follow the official channels of the Association.

About the ACFF

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The Asociación Cordobesa de Fútbol Freestyle (ACFF) is the first civil Association of this sport in Argentina. Since its establishment in 2018, the ACFF member athletes have been part of the Federation of Land Sports, which brings together several extreme and alternative sports, all working together with the support of government entities to promote and support the growth of Freestyle Football.

For more information about the ACFF, please contact cordobafreestylefutbol@gmail.com or visit its channels:
- Instagram: @cordobafreestylef
- Facebook: Córdoba Freestyle Futbol
Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!
April 17, 2024
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!
November 14, 2023
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!
November 6, 2023
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!
November 1, 2023
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!

October 5, 2023
The WFFA relaunches the Freestyle Football World Rankings
The long-awaited news have arrived: after a thorough process of analysis and development, the World Freestyle Football Association has announced the re-implementation of the World Rankings for the sport of Freestyle Football after the hiatus due to the Covid pandemic between the years of 2020 and 2021.

This new iteration of the Rankings will feature an improved, fairer and more precise rating architecture. Created by the WFFA Innovation team, the new Rankings are based on the Elo system used in sports like tennis and chess. Instead of relying on tournament results, the new Rankings will only take into consideration individual battles between freestylers. This means that a freestyler’s position in the Rankings will be determined by their performance against other competitors; victories against higher-ranked freestylers will earn more points compared to wins against lower-ranked opponents.

The new World Rankings have been developed and will be implemented following the process detailed below:
- In the first stage, the mathematical system behind the World Rankings was thoroughly designed by the WFFA Innovation Team, led by Gabriel Massif, and is currently undergoing a series of rigorous tests to ensure its maximum reliability and accuracy
- In the second stage, the WFFA Sports Committee carefully generated a preliminary version of the World Rankings. Led by Gaetan Czaja, a team comprising esteemed members of the global community compiled a comprehensive roster of freestylers and assigned them positions according to their latest achievements on the competitive stage
- In the third stage, the preliminary World Rankings will be utilised to determine the positions of participants in the qualification stages of major WFFA official competitions held during summer 2023, namely Super Ball and the Pulse Series
- In the fourth stage, the outcomes of the battles in these tournaments will be input into the Rankings themselves, therefore making them the first officially ranked competitions with the new system
- In the fifth and final stage, the results from every WFFA-sanctioned event will be input into the World Rankings. This process, in turn, will continuously enhance the accuracy of the global standings as an increasing number of results are added
It is worth noting that only live battles (or, at least, those performed with both opponents responding live to each other, in a similar fashion as online live tournaments such as the Youth Championship Finals) will be taken into account for the World Rankings; non-live online battles will be left out to ensure the skills of the athletes are evaluated in the most transparent manner.

All freestylers and fans of the sport will be able to check the World Rankings on the specific page of the WFFA official website, which will be updated on a monthly basis. Freestylers registering for official competitions of the Association will be included in the Rankings automatically; competitive athletes who are not yet included in the standings will have the opportunity to submit their details and request their inclusion through a dedicated form on the same Rankings page.

Steve Elias, President of the WFFA, said: “We are really happy to bring back the World Rankings after an unfortunate yet unavoidable pause due to the pandemic, as we consider them a cornerstone of the development of the sport. We have no doubt that freestylers around the world will quickly embrace the new system!”.

Minna Marlo, Head of Development at the WFFA, said: “The community demanded the reimplementation of the World Rankings as a means of challenging themselves and finding an extra motivation to compete, and we heard them. We are positive that the new World Rankings will be instrumental in the further development of Freestyle Football.”

Gabriel Massif, Events Innovation Manager at the WFFA and a key figure in the creation of the new Ranking system, said: “We are very proud of the work we have done to develop the new World Rankings. We believe the Elo system is able to reflect the level of each freestyler with more precision than its predecessor. We are convinced that the new World Rankings will allow us to create fairer competitions, and hence we are very excited to offer them to the Freestyle Football community worldwide.”

About the Elo rating system

The Elo rating system, named after Hungarian-American physics professor Arpad Elo, is a methodology designed to calculate the relative skills of teams, athletes and players in zero-sum games. Originally created as a means to rate chess players, the system is currently in place in disciplines such as football, tennis, baseball and esports.

The Elo rating system uses the difference in the rating between two competitors to predict the outcome of their match; depending on how much difference there is between the players, the winner will take more or fewer points from the loser. If the player in a higher position in the ranking wins, they will only receive a few points; however, if it’s the lower-rated player who manages to secure the victory, many points will be transferred.

The Elo system, therefore, is not an absolute rating, but a method to calculate the level of a particular athlete (in this case, a freestyler) in relation to the rest of competitors – hence why so many disciplines have adopted it at their highest competitive level.

For more information about the activities of the WFFA, follow its official channels to get the latest updates!
July 21, 2023
Super Ball takes to the streets of Prague with a brand new and expanded location
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 biggest and most prestigious open competition in the Freestyle Football global circuit, Super Ball, will be back in 2023! This time, the event will feature a completely new and expanded outdoor location in the city of Prague, in the Czech Republic.

The 2023 edition of Super Ball will take place at Gutovka Park in the Czech capital, with the nearby Comfort Hotel Prague city East acting as the centre of operations. The best freestylers from all over the world, including an estimated 400 participants from over 40 countries, will gather between August 6th and 11th to show off their best skills in an attempt to be crowned champion across as many as 7 different categories for both male and female.

Over the week, the Comfort Hotel will also play host to the Freestyle Football Congress, a unique platform created by the World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA) to discuss and forge the future of the sport together with the global community.

Among the new features of this year’s edition of Super Ball will be a special opportunity for all under-16 freestylers to shine: the newly created NextGen category. This is a 1 vs 1 battle competition which will enable all young talents to showcase their potential and prove themselves on the biggest stage. Also, for the first time ever, the Grand Finals will be held on a Friday, a decision aimed at giving freestylers a full weekend to enjoy themselves with the global community.

Just like its predecessors, Super Ball 2023 will be an open event. This means athletes of all levels and nationalities will be able to participate. The signups process will open on March 1st and close on July 30th; there will be no extensions this year, so all athletes who haven’t signed up by the end of the registration period will not be allowed to compete.

To sign up for the event, check the official Event Page on the WFFA website or register directly via GameDay!

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This year’s edition of the tournament will include 7 disciplines, each of them with its male and female categories:
- Freestyle 1×1 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 the team of judges.
- Routine: a showcase of individual mastery in which an athlete demonstrates their quality alongside their music to impress and entertain.
- Double Routine: a spectacle of synchrony in which two athletes work together to show their most amazing moves combined.
- Sick Three: a competition looking for the best combination of 3 consecutive tricks.
- Challenge: athletes must complete tricks from a criteria list to pass through each round, getting progressively more difficult and a limited number of attempts; specially designed for lovers of fast combinations with the lower body.
- Kill the Beat: a competition in which freestylers need to mix their tricks with a set music track… in a live format!
- Iron Man & Woman: a marathon in basic lower body combinations and stamina – only for the toughest athletes!
Lukáš Škoda, Super Ball Event Director, said: “We are very happy to present an outdoors Super Ball again, retaking the tradition of massively successful years such as 2017 and 2018. Our priority has always been catering to the needs of the community, and hence we are really excited to incorporate the NextGen category and to move the Grand Finals to a Friday – we hope this will give athletes more time to rest and enjoy their time together!”

Steve Elias, President of the WFFA, said: “It’s an absolute pleasure and honour for the WFFA to organise the biggest open championship in the sport of Freestyle Football yet another year. Edition after edition, we keep witnessing the extraordinary growth of our discipline; moving to Park Gutovka will surely help increase the visibility of the event… and motivate the athletes to push the limits of the sport even further!”

Kitti Szász, former Freestyle Football World Champion and member of the Super Ball 2023 judges panel, said: “From a judging perspective, it’s awesome to observe how much the sport keeps growing year after year. After the much-needed opening of all disciplines to female athletes last year, I think the creation of the NextGen category is a new great step in the right direction: I’m really looking forward to judging the skills of its participants!”

The 2023 Super Ball will be organised in partnership with local event production company PJ Art Production, an alliance that has guaranteed high-quality standards and success for the last 10 years in a row. Following the tradition of recent years, the 2023 event will be hosted by renowned Italian speaker Lorenzo Pinciroli, an unmistakable face for the Freestyle Football community.

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.

2023 will mark the 14th season in succession in which the Super Ball World Open 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 Super Ball, please contact superball@thewffa.org or visit its official channels:
- Website: www.thewffa.org/events/superball2023
- Instagram: @superballlive
- Facebook: Super Ball
- Youtube: Super Ball
Stay tuned to the official channels of the WFFA to follow the latest updates!
March 1, 2023
The WFFA announces a brand-new structure for the 2023 World Championships

The World Freestyle Football Association has announced today the new format of qualifications for the official 2023 World Freestyle Football Championships: the Freestyle Football Pulse Series, a succession of highly competitive regional tournaments that will ensure all corners of the globe are covered and every single freestyler can compete for a spot in the World Final.

Following the announcement in October 2022 that the 2023 World Finals were to happen in Nairobi, Kenya, the WFFA has added today that 5 live regional events spread across the globe over the year will act as qualifiers and serve to identify who qualifies for the right to compete for the World Title.

After going fully online in 2020 to accommodate the global restrictions in travel and gatherings of people, and evolving into hybrid models in 2021 and 2022 where live and online qualifier stages were introduced, 2023 will see a fully live experience to best judge the talents in the sport of Freestyle Football. Also, for the first time, the qualifiers will be focused only on regional events, instead of National Qualifiers – a decision aimed at ensuring that every competition offers the highest quality and competitiveness to its participants.

The 2023 Freestyle Football Pulse Series will take place in Hiroshima (Japan), New York City (United States of America), Mombasa (Kenya), Riga (Latvia) and Córdoba (Argentina) between May and September 2023.

Freestylers will be able to choose whether they compete in a physical event or in the Online Pulse; those living in the Americas will also be able to decide whether they compete in the North (New York) or in the South (Córdoba). However, once a decision is made, there will be no second chance – no freestyler will be allowed to participate in two different Pulse Events in the same season.

The exact dates of the Pulse Events, plus all relevant information about each stop, will be released on the official WFFA social media channels as the competitions come close.

Once all events in the Pulse Series are over, the very best 16 men and 16 women from all corners of the world will be competing in November in Nairobi, Kenya for the World Championship title, which has previously been held by the likes of Sean Garnier (France), Lia Lewis (UK), Andrew Henderson (UK), Melody Donchet (France), Aguska Mnich (Poland) and Ricardinho Chahini (Brazil).

Steve Elias, President of the WFFA, said: “This new format is designed in response to popular demand from the athletes, as it aims to give all freestylers the best possible community experience and a fair, neutral stage for all to compete on”.

Daniel Wood, Head of Partnerships at the WFFA, said: “We are delighted to be teaming up with some fantastic regional partners to make this historical series of events a reality. A huge thank you goes out to our friends at Homeboyz Entertainment, Events DC, Mudita Sports and Ghetto Games, amongst many more: it’s going to be a huge year for Freestyle Football!”.

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

February 1, 2023
The Maldives join the WFFA Global Network

The World Freestyle Football Association keeps growing around the world: this November, the Maldives was confirmed as the newest member of the Global Network, an international structure that now includes 116 countries from all inhabited continents.

The new incorporation of the Maldives is the result of the agreement between the WFFA and local athlete and community leader Mohamed Saif Zahir, one of the country’s most successful and celebrated freestylers. The deal will help boost the development of the Maldives scene with the constant support and guidance of the WFFA.

Steve Elias, President of the WFFA, said: “We are extremely happy to welcome a new member to the organised Freestyle Football community worldwide: it’s really exciting to see how the sport keeps extending unstoppably at a global scale! We’re really looking forward to supporting the expansion of Freestyle Football in the Maldives and in the whole region”.

Mohamed Saif Zahir, the newly appointed WFFA Country Leader in the Maldives, said: “I am honoured by the responsibility of guiding and supporting the development of the local Freestyle Football community in my homeland. We have a number of rising talents that will definitely benefit from our affiliation with the WFFA: I can’t wait to start working with them and the Association to grow the sport in the Maldives!”.

Pekko ‘PeGe’ Piirto, Head of the Global Network at the WFFA and a leading figure in the establishment of the deal, said: “I can’t stress enough how proud the constant expansion of the Global Network makes me feel. The growth of our sport is a source of great joy and hope for the future. I’m certain that Saif will do an amazing job at helping the local community thrive and flourish!”.

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

November 17, 2022
Erlend Fagerli and Caitlyn Schrepfer conquer the Pula Arena in the 2022 Red Bull Street Style World Finals

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

Words by Trish Medalen for Red Bull Content Pool.

Freestyle Football fans were thrilled in Pula, Croatia, as the world’s 16 best male and eight best female freestylers put on a display of style and skill at the 2022 Red Bull Street Style World Finals.

In the men’s competition, the brilliant Norwegian brothers Brynjar and Erlend Fagerli went head-to-head in a tense final battle. Brynjar produced a great performance in his final global freestyle competition before retiring, but younger brother Erlend edged a close contest to win his fourth title and complete a historic three-peat in the men’s competition.

As the competition celebrated 10 years of female participation, American Caitlyn Schrepfer wowed the crowd with her acrobatic style and signature Cait-Flip, overcoming World Finals debutant Japan’s Miyoshi Miharu in the semis before beating one of the pre-tournament favourites and former world champion, Aguska Mnich, in the final to become the first female champion from the USA.

Speaking on her first-ever global title, Caitlyn said: “It is an incredible feeling and I feel so honoured. The final was such a close battle and Aguska is an incredible freestyler. Just to be on the stage with her is a great experience let alone being able to beat her. I am so proud to represent the USA on the global stage, particularly in a sport that continues to grow every year.”

Erlend said: “Right now this feels amazing, not only because I have won but because I was able to face Brynjar in the final. It was a dream come true for both of us to face each other in this amazing arena and I think we put on a great show. Today I would say that I didn’t necessarily win, but the Fagerli brothers did.”

In the battle for third place, 2021 champion Lia Lewis from the UK defeated Japan’s Miyoshi Miharu to claim the final place on the women’s podium, while in the men’s competition Colombian Boyka Ortiz beat Jeffry Chacón from Costa Rica for the second consecutive year.

The competition was judged by five of the most respected names in the freestyle football community including head judge Miran Pirner (Croatia), Fed Massignani (Italy), Tobias Becs (Norway), Michal Rycaj (Poland) and two-times World Champion champion Kitti Szász (Hungary).

This year saw the brand new Red Bull Street Style People’s Choice Award introduced, with fans around the world able to vote for their favourite female and male athlete from a range of clips from the Regional Finals. The first-ever Red Bull Street Style champion, Séan Garnier (France) was on hand to announce his fellow countryman Tristan Gac and Aguska as the inaugural winners of the People’s Choice Award.

The Red Bull Street Style World Finals capped off a remarkable weekend of Freestyle Football in Pula. With the organisers already looking ahead to 2023, during the event WFFA President Steve Elias announced that next year’s Freestyle Football World Championship Finals will be hosted by Kenya, marking the competition’s first return to Africa since 2010. Next year promises to be a ground-breaking year for Freestyle Football, as for the first time ever 16 female athletes will go head-to-head in the World Finals, marking a key moment of growth for the sport.

Experience all the thrills of the 2022 Red Bull Street Style World Finals again on the official WFFA YouTube channel:

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

October 8, 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!

Tag: Steve Elias

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