Coupe du monde

Red Bull Street Style 2012 World Final heads to Italy

The best freestyle footballers from around the globe will be showing off their extraordinary skills in a series of qualifying competitions around the world. The goal is to win berths to the 2012 Red Bull Street Style World Final in Taomina (Italy/Sept. 20-22), the world’s most important freestyle soccer tournament. The very best competitors from more than 50 nations will try to impress the jury by showing off stunning tricks. The rules are simple: 3 minutes, 2 players, 1 ball.

MILAN (Italy) – Red Bull Street Style is an exciting sport that combines soccer with rhythm and style. The rules of the sport that has grown incredibly popular in football bastions around the world in recent years are incredibly simple: 3 minutes, 2 players and 1 ball. Athletes go head-to-head, expressing themselves while showing off their various ball tricks with their bodies. The jury evaluates the athletes' style, technique, creativity in combination with music. Each battle follows the same format with each freestyler having 20 seconds to impress the judges before passing the ball back to his competitor. The top two from each group will progress to the last 16 stage, where they will battle it out on the final day, for the title Red Bull Street Style World Champion 2012.

The world final of Red Bull Street Style will take place in the spellbinding setting of the Greek Theatre in Taormina (Italy/Messina) from 20 to 22 September 2012. Built in the 3rd century B.C. by the Greeks - who in the 7th century B.C. had founded the colony of Naxos at the foot of the hill on which it lies - the theatre was subsequently renovated during Roman times. It is carved into the rock, and the backdrop to the stage is the Ionian Sea and Mount Etna.

For the first time there will also be a girls only competition this year. The favorites for this years’ title are from France, Norway as well as Mexico and Brazil. The location in Italy will be announced in March. In 2010 more than 5,000 athletes took part in 200 national qualifying tournaments.

In 2010 (Cape Town, South Africa) Anders "Azun" Solum from Norway upset France's Arnaud "Sean" Garnier, who had won the inaugural World Final in 2008 in Sao Paulo (Brazil). Solum won over a star-studded jury that included three-time Africa footballer of the year George Weah and was presented the trophy by Edgar Davids, the Dutch football legend. Now the battle for the 2012 Trophy is on!

Red Bull Street Style is a global competition for football freestylers who show their skills by doing incredible tricks and movements with the ball. It's all about individualism!
More Information: www.redbullstreeststyle.com
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