Freestyle Football World Championship returns for 2022
Red Bull Street Style, a global freestyle football competition, is back in 2022. This year, a thousand athletes from over 50 countries will compete in a tournament that will see a new sportive format, guaranteeing that finalists from up to five continents will enter the World Final for the first time in its history.
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Launched in 2008, Red Bull Street Style is, put simply, the art of doing tricks with a football. The competition aims to celebrate diversity and the urban style that’s at the heart of it.
The world’s best freestylers will once again be battling it out over an intense season to be crowned World Champions and South Africa is amongst the five regions (North and South America, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe) that will make it to the Regional Finals, a brand-new concept happening in late August that will determine the 16 men that will participate in the World Final on 8 October in Croatia.
Red Bull Street Style South Africa 2021 defending champion, Jabu ‘Mjepa’ Mdaka, who went on to compete at the global freestyle football event in Spain is set to defend his title in the Regional Qualifier to be held on the 23 April in Sammy Marks Square in the City of Tshwane.
Mjepa is looking forward to testing his mettle against the country’s top freestyle talent. “Red Bull Street Style 2022 is going to be tough because I've been watching and doing research on other South Africa freestylers and they are amazing and are hungry for the title. I’ve been training since last year preparing to defend my title and I’m looking forward to having my supporters cheering me on to encourage me to do my best,” he said.
The new format will see the return of in-person qualifiers, a series of events that will take place in specific countries to determine their champions. Most nations of the world, though, will select their best athletes through online National Qualifiers on the WFFA App.
The best athletes of each of the participating countries, including a specific Rest of the World qualifier for nations with smaller communities, will then advance to their respective Regional Qualifier.
Only the most skillful participants of each of the five regions (North and South America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe) will make it to the Regional Finals, a brand-new concept happening in late August that will determine the 16 men that will participate in the World Final on October 8th in Croatia.
In the women’s tournament, the competition will happen on a fully online basis. Female participants from all around the world will need to get through their respective Regional Qualifiers to make it to the Regional Finals in August: the very best eight female freestylers on the globe, coming from each of the five regions, will then earn a spot in the final event in Croatia.
“We are really happy to see this new format implemented”, said Steve Elias, president of the WFFA. “We want to give freestylers from all around the world the opportunity to compete in a World Final, and that’s why we believe the regionalised competition will become a hit for the community worldwide”.
The requirements to enter the competition via an Online Qualifier are simple: your videos must be no longer than 60 seconds overall. It also must be in horizontal (landscape) format and without edits. Everyone aged 16 and up is welcome to take part.
For submission details, deadline information and news updates on the Red Bull Street Style World Championship, go here.
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