Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Freestyle football
Freestyle football (football juggling and tricks) 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. The official governing body for this sport is known as the World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA).
The art of freestyle football can be traced to games of Southeast Asia such as chinlone, jianzi and sepak takraw, which have been practised for 2,000 years. Fundamental freestyle tricks such as the 'Neck Stall' and 'Around The World' were first popularly performed in the West by circus performers, notably including Enrico Rastelli and Francis Brunn.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Argentine footballer Diego Maradona famously brought his freestyle 'Life is Life' warm-up to international attention while playing for SSC Napoli. The ability to freestyle, however, was widely criticized at the time as not having direct relevance to playing the game of football.[citation needed]
At the beginning of the 21st century, several significant events helped elevate freestyle football with broader recognition. Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho starred in Nike advertising campaigns such as "Joga Bonito" (English: Play Beautifully), which popularized the ability to practice alone with a ball and develop new moves and tricks.
Inspired by Maradona, South Korean footballer Mr Woo sought to become a football entertainer. He established Guinness world records and performed at the 1988 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, and the FIFA World Cups in 1990 and 1994. Soufiane Touzani from the Netherlands introduced a new style of lower tricks, which were popularized through viral videos.[better source needed]
Footballer Sandy Levittas (a.k.a. Bambiball) was among the first women to share videos of her freestyle skills, which inspired more girls to take up the sport. Different styles were then developed such as lowers, uppers, sit-downs, grounds and blocking.
In 2015, Ronaldinho was recognized by the World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA) as ambassador for the sport.[timeframe?] Competitions have been organized across the globe and videos have been shared by over 80 million of people on a monthly basis.[failed verification]
In recent years, some of the top football players in the world have credited freestyle and street football cultures for helping to develop their talents. These athletes have included Neymar Jr, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimović.[citation needed]
Hub AI
Freestyle football AI simulator
(@Freestyle football_simulator)
Freestyle football
Freestyle football (football juggling and tricks) 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. The official governing body for this sport is known as the World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA).
The art of freestyle football can be traced to games of Southeast Asia such as chinlone, jianzi and sepak takraw, which have been practised for 2,000 years. Fundamental freestyle tricks such as the 'Neck Stall' and 'Around The World' were first popularly performed in the West by circus performers, notably including Enrico Rastelli and Francis Brunn.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Argentine footballer Diego Maradona famously brought his freestyle 'Life is Life' warm-up to international attention while playing for SSC Napoli. The ability to freestyle, however, was widely criticized at the time as not having direct relevance to playing the game of football.[citation needed]
At the beginning of the 21st century, several significant events helped elevate freestyle football with broader recognition. Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho starred in Nike advertising campaigns such as "Joga Bonito" (English: Play Beautifully), which popularized the ability to practice alone with a ball and develop new moves and tricks.
Inspired by Maradona, South Korean footballer Mr Woo sought to become a football entertainer. He established Guinness world records and performed at the 1988 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, and the FIFA World Cups in 1990 and 1994. Soufiane Touzani from the Netherlands introduced a new style of lower tricks, which were popularized through viral videos.[better source needed]
Footballer Sandy Levittas (a.k.a. Bambiball) was among the first women to share videos of her freestyle skills, which inspired more girls to take up the sport. Different styles were then developed such as lowers, uppers, sit-downs, grounds and blocking.
In 2015, Ronaldinho was recognized by the World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA) as ambassador for the sport.[timeframe?] Competitions have been organized across the globe and videos have been shared by over 80 million of people on a monthly basis.[failed verification]
In recent years, some of the top football players in the world have credited freestyle and street football cultures for helping to develop their talents. These athletes have included Neymar Jr, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimović.[citation needed]