The 2022 South African Freestyle Football Championship took place on the 27th August 2022. Hi-Tec has become synonymous with freestyle football in South Africa in recent years and are proud to be a part of an event that showcases the expertise and skills of many talented individuals in this growing sport. The South African Edition of the Freestyle Football Championships has increased in notoriety since its inception and is currently rated in the TOP 2 in Africa by the WFFA.
Freestyle Football is the art of doing amazing soccer tricks with the ball and is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. The 2022 edition was the first live event in over 2 years and was held at Maponya Mall in Soweto, Gauteng. With over R10 000 in Hi-Tec prizes in giveaways and sponsored gear, this years edition of the South African Freestyle Football Championships had open invites for other countries to participate, which included athletes from Mozambique and Zambia who flew in to participate in this year’s event.
“We didn’t only want the best. We also invited developing youngsters who can do one or two tricks so they can jump in and learn from the more skilled,” Ashley Mkhize – Head of WFFA for Africa.
He also said that WWFA is trying to improve the level of freestyle football in South Africa.
“We need to be up there with great countries like Poland and Brazil. We also want to grow awareness for this as we believe that since soccer is big in our country, it only makes sense to have the fun side of soccer freestyle like in other countries” he added.
The freestylers were judged on creativity, difficulty, control & all round originality by esteemed judges including Kamalio Ranchod, one of the original freestyle footballers and champions from Africa.
The competition took place in a 1v1 format with 3 rounds of 30 seconds each per athlete, the judges then picked a winner who advanced to the next round until the final round was reached. The doubles routine saw 2 athletes working together to deliver a high-level routine. The contestants had 2 minutes to showcase their skills and synchronization while working together as a tag team. Judges based this category the following criteria; creativity, synchronization, musicality, difficulty & originality.
In the end, Sipho Busakwe took 1st place, 2nd place went to Siyabonga Kubheka while Zilla Mofoko ended the competition in 3rd, winners for the Doubles Routine was awarded to Siyabonga Kubheka & Mzwandile. The fierce competitive nature of the finals along with the crowd at Maponya Mall in Soweto made the 2022 edition of the South African Freestyle Football Championships a memorable one.
Watch Highlights Here:
Written By: Casey Crow & Ashley Mkhize