Football: Kenya to host World Freestyle football finals next year

Oscar Litonde, popularly known as "Oscar the juggler" displays his freestyle ball juggling skills at Mainstream Sports Academy in Kawangware, in this photo taken on Friday, June 25 2021.Litonde, inspired by Brazilian star Ronaldinho, and the sport not being recognized in Kenya, the creative freestyle footballer chooses to showcase his talent on the streets of Nairobi, where he performs for onlookers [David Njaaga,Standard]

There is hope for the development of freestyle football in the country after the World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA) granted Kenya the right to host the 2023 World freestyle football finals.

The incoming World Finals which will mark the competition's first return to Africa since 2010 is set to attract more than 35 countries, a great sports initiative for Kenya.

"In 2022, the most prestigious of all freestyle football tournaments had a completely new format."

"To ensure that all freestyle cultures were represented in the World Final, the national champions joined a regional battle pool at the Regional Finals, an innovative hybrid concept that crowned the best freestylers of America, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe, who advanced to the World Final," said Red Bull, the official sponsor of the event.

"Stay tuned, because in 2023, the Red Bull Street Style World Final will be hosted in Kenya for the first time!"

In the 2022 edition, Erlend Fagerli of Norway and Caitlyn Schrepfer of the USA were the men's and women's winners of the 2022 World Final in Pula, Croatia, while Tristan Gac of France and Poland's Aguska Mnich of Poland were the winners of the first-ever People's Choice Award

Freestyle football is the art of juggling a football using any part of the body, excluding the elbows to the hands.

It combines football tricks, dance, acrobatics and music to entertain onlookers and compete with opponents.