South Africa Ready for Freestyle Football Elite

As the last few national qualifying tournaments are held across the globe, no fewer than 56 countries have already elected their representative to fly the flag in South Africa just months before the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off. Indeed, when it comes to the number of countries involved there is no comparison with Red Bull Street Style – at the World Final almost twice as many nations as at “other football tournaments” will send their finest to battle it out head-to-head for the title.

The World Final will see the best freestyle footballers divided into groups for a two-day qualification phase, where they will compete against the other ballers in their group in head-to-head battles for a ticket to the final round. Each battle follows the same format: 3 minutes, 2 players, 1 ball, 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 2010.

The Event will take place in front of the seventeenth-century Castle of Good Hope, South Africa’s oldest surviving building, in the shadow of the iconic Table Mountain and just a stone’s throw from the Cape Town Stadium that will host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Cape Town is the largest and second-most populous city in South Africa, with an estimated 3.5 million people living in the city famous for its harbour and sandy beaches.

With so many nations competing, world-class experts are needed to judge the athletes’ performance according to the strict criteria of ball and body control, creativity and style in combination with the music. Former Juventus Turin, AC Milan and Barcelona midfielder Edgar Davids (NED will be joined as Head Judge by two more icons of the Beautiful Game to elect the world’s best freestyle footballer.

Back in 2008, Red Bull Street Style set the standard for international freestyle football competitions as no fewer than 45 countries battled it out at the World Final in São Paulo (BRA), with France’s Arnaud “Séan” Garnier flipping and tricking his way through to the final, where he defeated Yosuke Yokota from Japan in a close battle to become the first ever Red Bull Street Style Champion. Two years later, Séan is back to defend the title that changed his life – but it won’t be easy.

Schedule Red Bull Street Style World Final Cape Town 2010:
Saturday, 24 April 2010: Arrival of Athletes
Sunday, 25 April 2010: Practice Day
Monday, 26 April 2010: Qualifier Day 1 – Group Battles
Tuesday, 27 April 2010: Qualifier Day 2 – Group Battles
Wednesday, 28 April 2010: World Final – Top 16