On a cold day while walking through the streets, I bumped into a couple of kids doing silk tricks while juggling the ball. To my amazement they can do tricks in different combinations or what they call combo and link between them. Soccer tricks intrigued me and I started practicing some of them, well at least one of them. So I walked through the park to watch the boys play a good friendly game on a cold, rainy afternoon. Some of them, particularly in midfield, outplay defenders with silky skills that stump them. Cool soccer tricks and skills. On my way back, I watched some videos on Youtube, usually I got a link from my friend via email and immediately saw the video link and thought: “The guy is crazy for doing such tricks!”. I did research on these guys and found out that they are definitely freestylers.
Cool and silky tricks in different combinations during juggling or dribbling are what freestyle soccer is all about. A new and relatively new trend in the world of football. It’s addictive and delicious to see that most people perceive freestyling as a hobby rather than a professional activity. Freestylers usually practice their soccer tricks and work on their combinations to show off their skills to their friends and the world itself. Silky tricks and skills are recorded and edited into the video, including slow motion and credits, for uploading to streaming sites like Youtube. Freestylers even go one step ahead by performing in competitions and performances like commercials and documentaries.
A couple of well-known freestylers like Billy Wingrove, Abbas Farid, Soufiane Touzani and Palle participate in competitions and some of them even release their own DVD to teach newbies to freestyle football. Other forms of soccer such as beach soccer and futsal have flourished in the last 10 years. So can freestyle soccer follow the same steps to grow as a sport? I think freestyle soccer has hidden potential that hasn’t been tapped yet. Unless these potential actions are taken, freestyle soccer is prone to boredom. 5 factors that could impact the world of freestyle football:
1. Make it a “big” success
Performing irresistible cool silky football tricks in front of the audience in a live performance increases the reputation and recognition of freestylers worldwide. For-profit companies play a huge role in promoting these outstanding individuals to the world stage, much like Nike in promoting superstars like Billy Wingrove and Abbas Farid. These freestylers were often featured in Nike commercials alongside soccer superstars like Ronaldinho, Edgar Davids, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
TV shows play a crucial role in promoting freestylers by broadcasting informative documentaries about their lifestyle. For example, the BBC’s Match of the Day program featured a feature on Billy Wingrove and his freestyle lifestyle.
2. Involve the freestyler with the club through a contract
A simple and boring piece of paper that includes all the essential information about the commitment between a freestyler and the club to validate their relationship for an agreed number of years. The Freestyler’s role is spelled out in the contract, including his salary, privileges with the club such as access to the club’s stadium and training ground, and travel with the club.
Billy Wingrove, a British freestyler, has a contract with his childhood club, Tottenham Hotspur, which grants him the privileges of watching Tottenham games at White Hart Lane, access to their training ground and meeting the best players. Like Aaron Lennon.
3. Train and Travel with the Club
Under contract, freestylers are given access to the club’s training ground to take part in futsal matches with the first team or even teach players a few new football tricks like Billy Wingrove did with Tottenham Hotspurs.
When training, freestylers have the privilege of traveling with the club for away games or continental championships such as the Champions League. This allows them maximum exposure to different lifestyles and cultures in soccer and other things.
4. Training the players
Freestylers have the option to train either part time or full time.
A part-time freestyler teaches club players soccer tricks like Billy Wingrove did to former Tottenham player Robbie Keane.
The fun starts on a full time basis. A freestyler coaches the players on the freestyler football that is integrated into the club’s training regimen. He could influence the managers’ decisions about his training regimen, such as improving the team’s ball control and also traveling with the club on away games, as well as watching home games to monitor the team’s progress.
5. Halftime shows and team mascot
It’s a rarity in the world of soccer but more common in American sports like the NBA and NFL. However, halftime shows have evolved in the world of soccer recently, so freestylers have a chance to shine on the soccer field.
Maradona first did halftime shows during his Boca Juniors days. Similarly, Billy Wingrove did the same for Premiership pre-match entertainment and international friends involving England and Wales.
Freestylers also act as the team’s mascot to welcome new signings or as pre-match entertainment. Abbas Farid and his friend recently did a pre-match entertainment on freestyle with Ronaldinho. The fact that Ronaldinho stares all the time and cheers on those freestylers was a hilarious moment. So you could conclude that freestylers are related to but completely different from soccer.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that an impressive sport is embedded in freestyle football and the governing body, FIFA, must harness its full potential. An addictive hobby that can earn freestylers a lot of money for its uniqueness in producing exceptional combinations and incredible tricks that should be rewarded and why not. I think freestyle can be as good as football if these or other factors are put into practice.
