SUBANG JAYA, 19 July 2011 : ’ The World Freestyle Football Championship (WFFC) Tour, Kuala Lumpur 2011 ’ hosted by Malaysia will take place at the Sunway Pyramid Shopping Centre from the 17 until 18 September this year and will be broadcasted live on Astro Arena was officially launched by the Youth and Sports Minister, Dato’ Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek in a grand ceremony at the Taylor’s Lakeside Campus today.
Freestyle football has been described as ‘the art of expressing yourself with a football’ where players perform various tricks using a football and any part of the body. While it is believed to have been around for many years, the sport surged in popularity after it was featured in a number af global advertising campaigns, such as the ‘Joga Bonito ’ campaign by Nike that featured Ronaldinho, Christiano Ronaldo and Edgar Davids.
WFFC is organized by the Freestyle Football Federation (F3), a world wide body for freestyle football, together with the Asian Freestyle Football Federation (AF3). The WFFC Tour is further supported by the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sports, through sponsorship of the event as part of their initiative to boost the appeal of sports to the Malaysian youth and promote the country as a world class sporting event destination.
“ We are very pleased to be kicking off this world tour in Malaysia and having the support of the government is fantastic. In a nation full of football fanatics, and also the country from which the game of sepak takraw originates, I am sure freestyle football will generate massive interest amongst Malaysians. The chance to watch so many world champions perform all of their best tricks will be something truly memorable for the fans,” said president of F3, Daniel Wood.
“ The WFFC Tour will be a real treat for football fans, but we would also like to involve Malaysians. Therefore, we will also be organizing the Malaysian Freestyle Football Championship,” said AF3 President, Stuart Ramalingam.
The Malaysian Freestyle Football Championship will interestingly have an online element which will be included where contestants will be able to send in videos of their best move in which the best 16 will be shortlisted for the finals.
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Dato’ Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said “ The World Freestyle Football Championships is a key initiative spearheaded by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to fuel interest and commercial investments into the Malaysian Sports Industry. It is a unique event. it is a world class event. It brings together people from all over the globe and it is a new event held for the very first time in our wonderful country. Overall it will draw the world’s attention to Malaysia as a country with great passion for freestyle football and also allows the world to take notice of Malaysia as the ideal venue for world class sporting events.”
This year’s WFFC Tour launch is a prelude to full blown series of performances that will see the top 16 freestyle footballers in the world tour of 10 cities each year.
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