By Joe Chapman

WITH the absence of organised football events across Guyana and globally, compliments of the novel COVID-19 pandemic which has caused most players to become inactive, the Right Start Foundation of Linden is pressing forward to help promote and develop the game of football in Guyana by taking this initiative to host an open freestyle football Festival.

It had chosen the freestyle football which is an art of doing tricks with a football that transcends the sport into an art form. It is not just the fancy moves which will make it unique, according to the oirganisers, as it has its roots of freestyle football as a global phenomenon dated back to the 1980s, when the Argentinian football legend Diego Armando Maradona started performing them in his famous warm-ups.

Entries close this Sunday and all participants must be Guyanese living in Guyana 16 years or older. They are to record and post a video introducing themselves and showing their freestyle juggling skills no more than three  minutes long.

They can visit the Skill Thrill Freestyle Facebook Page for registration and upload videos. The winner will walk away with $100 000 and the runner-up $50 000.

Behind the fact that newly created national and continental tournaments which appeared in the mid-2000 gave freestylers a boost of motivation to train and develop their own style, it was in 2008, that this freestyle football made its definitive step forward thanks to the support of the famous Red Bull energy drink, which organised the first major global competition: ‘Red Bull Street Style’.

Its first champion was the French Sean Garnier, who won the title in Brazil with a unique approach that had never been seen before.

Right Start Foundation believes that starting this new football phenomenon can ultimately evolve into a new brand that all can enjoy especially during this global pandemic.

According to its executive director Colis Gifth, “It is therefore our desired intent to organise an open freestyle football festival with participants from all across Guyana, via a virtual platform, where there will be predetermined rules.”

He informed Chronicle Sport, “This festival will see participants submit a short video of their freestyle juggling, which will be judged and shortlisted to ten finalists who will then juggle off in the grand finale for coveted prizes.”

He added, “We are very optimistic that this undertaking will receive overwhelming response that can ultimately balloon to standards that could see Guyana being represented at international tournaments.

“With this initiative, it is our ultimate desire to partner with all the relevant stakeholders such as the Government of Guyana (GoG), Guyana Football Federation (GFF), World Freestyle Football Association (WFFA) and other corporate entities to establish a local association here in Guyana;.so that freestyle football can be played in an organised environment, where it can enter the mainstream sports, so that it can be developed into the brand we know it can become,” says Mr Gifth on behalf of his organisation which is using as its postal address – 122 Wisroc Housing Scheme.