The largest promoter of freestyle football in Africa, Feet ‘N’ Tricks International, has unveiled the maiden edition of the Freestyle Unlocked Africa 2020 Championship which is first of its kind on the continent.
Valentine Ozigbo, the chairman of Feet ‘N’ Tricks International, in the company’s first virtual press conference held on Zoom revealed that the championship is going to be online and packed with prizes and surprises to “develop and nurture an art, a lifestyle, and a passion for many”.
Freestyle Unlocked Africa 2020 is the fourth installment of the annual football freestyle event.
Ozigbo expressed his passion and commitment to continue to grow freestyle football in Africa.
“We will not stop till an African emerges the World Champion, and we host the World Freestyle Football Championships in Nigeria and, who knows, it might even be in my home state of Anambra,” he said.
While noting that the world is going through a difficult time owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ozigbo explained that his passion for the development of the freestyle genre of football spurred him to find a way past the pandemic to continue a tradition which had become his passion.
He further stated that while most other sports had shut or scaled-down, freestyle football can go on very easily in a non-contact manner to respect the physical distancing rules.
President, Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, who joined the conference from Warri, Nigeria, delivered a goodwill message in which he echoed the praises and encouragement of Mr. Wood.
Mr. Pinnick said he viewed the event as an opportunity for youths to be gainfully occupied in a period where sports activities had been paused by most countries.