History was made in Lagos at the weekend as McCarthy Obanor emerged the winner of the first edition of the Nigeria National Freestyle Championship accredited by the World Federation of Freestyle Football.
Apart from winning the sum of one million naira, Obanor also won for himself a brand new GAC car and will also represent Nigeria at the World Super Ball Championships in Prague, Czech Republic.
Obanor defeated 15 other contestants in the hotly contested men’s final, edging Mayowa Bababunmi, a medical doctor, to clinch the coveted prize.
In the female category, Rasheedat Ajibade, the captain of Nigeria’s Under-17 national team clinched the title, also winning one million naira.
Ajibade defeated Chidinma Okeke, another professional footballer, in another hotly contested final.
Apart from the winners, the final four were rewarded with cash prizes starting from the fourth position who both went home with the sum of N250,000 each in the men and women’s events.
Third place finishers were rewarded with the sum of N500,000 each and the first runners-up got N750,000 each.
Chairman of Feet ‘n’ Tricks International, organisers of the event, Valentine Ozigbo, promised a better outing in 2018.
“We are glad to have celebrated our home-grown freestylers in an extraordinary fashion, breaking a number of records from the most active participation of womenfolk in the competition of quality and volume of prizes to world class ambience down to the richness and diversity of judging panel.
“We have succeeded in creating role models for many other youths on this street, as through this medium, our youth will see in freestyling an opportunity to live a good life, build career, pursue their passion and pursue other goals in life,” Ozigbo said.
He used the occasion to appreciate all those who supported the competition, promising a better competition in 2018 and beyond
To demonstrate Freestyle Football as entertainment, the audience at Ikeja City Mall was entertained by the best of Nigerian musical artistes including Kcee, Timaya, Kaffy, Skiibii, Soma, Abiodun Koya and many others.
The event was also witnessed by top personalities in sport, entertainment and business, including former Super Eagles Captain, Nwankwo Kanu; Vice President, Nigerian Football Federation, Seyi Akinwunmi; former European Freestyle Football Champion, Daniel Mikolajek, and the President/Founder, World Federation of Freestyle Football, Daniel Wood.
