Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The grand finale of the 2020 Nigerian edition of the Freestyle Unlocked Africa will take place on Saturday, July 25.
The event was earlier slated to finish on Sunday, July 19, 2020, but the organisers, Feet ‘N’ Tricks International, extended it by one week, while the African Freestyle Football Championship finale will take place on Sunday, August 2, 2020.
Chairman of Feet ‘N’ Tricks, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, explained that the virtual freestyle football championship was extended based on the huge reception it received.
“We are impressed with the intensity of engagement with our platform by freestylers across the continent,” Mr. Ozigbo said.
“We have received entries for the competition from 21 countries in Africa and we also recorded an increase in female participation. These statistics confirm that our sport is one of the fastest growing type of football on the contient,” the respected business mogul added.
According to the sports promoter, due to the enormity of the response to the competition by fans and freestylers, the company is extending the competition “to allow for more robust engagement” and feedback from the panel of international judges.
“We have taken this decision in concert with our partners, the World Freestyle Football Association and we believe this can only be positive for all parties concerned,” Mr Ozigbo added.
The company launched a Nigerian Freestyle Championship for all Nigerians who entered competition which is the 4th annual games organised by Feet ‘N’ Tricks International.
“This is the championship within the championship which will see the Top 8 contestants in Nigeria, in both male and female categories, battle for the top prize in the Nigerian Championships,” Mr Ozigbo revealed.
“We are doing this to promote excellence among the freestylers in Nigeria and encourage them to up their game towards winning the World Freestyle Champ title in the shortest possible time.
“The grand prize for the Nigerian Championships of the Freestyle UNLOCKED Africa 2020 is N150,000, the 2nd place prize is N100,000 while the 3rd place prize is N50,000.
“In addition, all the top 8 contestants from Nigeria who enter for the contest, 16 in total, will receive a cash reward of N20,000 each,” the philanthropist said.
