Judges, top freestylers arrive in Lagos for African Championship
Former professional English footballer, John Fashanu; former Head of Lagos State Football Association, Waidi Akanni; and former Super Eagles Coach, Samson Siasia, Superstar actresses, Kate Henshaw and Tonto Dikeh were recently named as brand ambassadors for this year’s Championship.
The participants and judges for the first-ever African Freestyle Football Championship will arrive in Lagos today for the competition billed to start tomorrow.
Judges expected are Tobias Brandal Busaet from Norway, Gautier Fayolle from France and Szymon Maciej Skalski.
Daniel Wood World, the Co-founder of World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA), the umpire body, in addition to other members of the WFFA, including Lukas Skoda, the Director of Operations, will join them.
The championship will also host international freestyle professionals, including Guinness world record holder, Iya Traore and Female freestyle legend, Raquel Benetti from Brazil.
Nigerian freestylers competing in the tournament are also expected to arrive in Lagos today.
Chairman, Feet ‘n’ Tricks International, Valentine Ozigbo, yesterday said all arrangements for the competition have been concluded.
“We have everything covered because we have been on the planning for a long time.
Our target is to make participants enjoy the tournament while fans should also appreciate freestyle more.
“The entertainment aspect will also be excellent while we also expect our ambassadors to add colour to the event,” Ozigbo said.
Former professional English footballer, John Fashanu; former Head of Lagos State Football Association, Waidi Akanni; and former Super Eagles Coach, Samson Siasia, Superstar actresses, Kate Henshaw and Tonto Dikeh were recently named as brand ambassadors for this year’s Championship.
The qualifying rounds and Nigerian championship takes place on September 13 and 14 at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos, while the best 16 male and eight female freestyle athletes in Africa will emerge to battle it out at the grand finale on September 15, 2018.
This event is endorsed by World Freestyle Football Association and sponsored by Heritage Bank, Sprite, GAC Motors, MTN, Startimes, FIRS, Eko Disco, Goal.com among others.
Meanwhile, StarTimes has revealed that it would air the competition to its over 10 million subscribers across Africa, on ST Sports Focus channels 250/240.
“We are pleased to be able to provide a live coverage to our subscribers.
We are also broadcasting this event live on our mobile APP which makes it easy for non StarTimes subscribers to watch the games,” Tunde Aina, the Chief Operating Officer at StarTimes Nigeria said in statement yesterday.
