Freestyle Football

FREESTYLE HISTORY

There are several theories about the invention of Freestyle football. The first opinion is that the sport was invented along with the football game itself in the 16th century in Britain because since the early beginnings people were trying to express their skills with the ball through freestyle. Other version says that the freestyle division comes from the circus performances. The first videos with such skills from a circus show were recorded in the third decade of the 20th century in US. The mainstream theory among the freestyle community considers the birth of the freestyle era during the turn of the century since when this freestyle discipline constantly continues to grow and spread.

FREESTYLE FOOTBALL

The only thing that football and freestyle have in common is the ball, there are no shots, no goalkeepers, no field, it is just the player and the ball. The main difference is in difficulty and creativity. Everybody is able to take part in a football match, but very few people are capable of performing any freestyle move. Currently there are about 500 freestyle tricks in 3 main categories. The first is upper body moves and includes arm and head rolls in combination with delaying the ball all over the head. Following category is lower body moves, which means kicks, delays and various dexterities with player`s legs. Moves from last category are performed while the player is sitting down or lying on the ground. The most important of them are lowers. The best freestylers can perform up to 3 revolutions with one leg. The fourth unofficial category are ground moves, which developed from street football. It is also known as "panna" game. 

FREESTYLE COMPETITIONS

Since freestyle football is very modern sport, it adapted the battle system from breakdancing. Two players face each other and take turns with the ball for certain amount of time and then they switch. The judges point at the winner who advances to the next round. Other official disciplines are routine, which is adapted from the sport of footbag as well as Big3, where the player shows 3 of his biggest tricks in a row. Every country has its own association, which organizes players and tournaments in the national region.