Freestyle football: tricks, competitions and culture
From chinlone and circus juggling to Maradona's warm-up and Red Bull Street Style: the history, main tricks and competitions of freestyle football.
Freestyle football takes the part of street football that has nothing to do with winning, the tricks, and turns it into a discipline of its own. There are no goals and no opponents to beat, only a ball, a body and an audience.
What it is
Freestyle football is the art of juggling a football with any part of the body except the hands and arms. It combines football tricks with dance, acrobatics and music, both to entertain and to compete. Its official governing body is the World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA).
Where it comes from
The roots go back a long way. Freestyle can be traced to Southeast Asian games such as chinlone, jianzi and sepak takraw, played for around 2,000 years. In the West, basic tricks like the “neck stall” and “around the world” were first popularised by circus performers such as Enrico Rastelli and Francis Brunn.
Football players brought it closer to the game:
- In the 1980s, Diego Maradona’s warm-up routine to Life is Life at Napoli became famous. At the time, many said freestyle skills had nothing to do with playing football.
- South Korea’s Mr Woo, inspired by Maradona, became a football entertainer, set Guinness world records and performed at the 1988 Olympics opening ceremony and the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.
- In the early 2000s, Ronaldinho’s Nike “Joga Bonito” campaigns made practising alone with a ball look like an art form. In 2015 the WFFA named him an ambassador for the sport.
- Soufiane Touzani from the Netherlands popularised a new style of lower-body tricks through viral videos, and Sandy Levittas (“Bambiball”) was one of the first women to share freestyle videos, inspiring more girls to take it up.
Today, freestyle videos are shared by more than 80 million people a month, and players such as Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimović have credited freestyle and street football culture with helping develop their talent.
The main styles
Freestyle tricks are grouped into disciplines:
| Style | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Lowers | Tricks with the feet and legs while standing |
| Uppers | Head, chest and shoulders |
| Sit-downs | Tricks performed while seated |
| Ground moves | Ball on the floor; at best it looks like choreography |
| Blocking | Holding the ball with parts of the lower body, inspired by breakdance |
| Acrobatics | Inspired by circus, breakdance and gymnastics |
Some of the best-known individual moves are the Around the World (circling the foot around the ball in the air), the crossover, the neck stall, and named variations such as the Touzani Around the World and the Palle Around the World, a triple rotation created by Sweden’s Rickard “Palle” Sjölander.
Competition
The first major competition was Red Bull Street Style in São Paulo in 2008, won by Séan Garnier with a style the public had not seen before. Super Ball, held in the Czech Republic, became the first open world championship and the sport’s leading annual international event. The WFFA recognises world, continental and national championships, with formats such as battles, doubles, routines and challenges.
Keepie uppie: the basic skill
Every freestyler starts with keepie uppie: keeping the ball in the air with feet, legs, chest, shoulders and head. Records show how far it can be taken. Victor Ericsson juggled for 28 hours in Sweden in 2023; Abraham Muñoz ran the 2016 Mexico City Marathon in 5 hours 41 minutes without the ball touching the ground; and Dan Magness covered 30 miles across London in 2010, visiting the grounds of five Premier League clubs.
FAQ
What is freestyle football?
Juggling a football with any part of the body except the hands and arms, combining tricks with dance and acrobatics.
Who governs freestyle football?
The World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA).
What was the first big freestyle competition?
Red Bull Street Style, in São Paulo in 2008.
Conclusion
Freestyle grew out of the same places as street football: a ball, a wall and time to practise. For another trick-based street game, read about panna and the nutmeg, or explore the street football section.