The City of Gold hosted the 3rd Red Bull Street Style regional qualifier at the Round House on Constitution Hill.
The historical site, previously the Old Fort Prison Complex, played host to a talented group of young freestyle footballers as they competed for a position at the National Final on the 14th June.
The culmination of old and new generation freestyle footballers resulted in an outstanding showcase of talent, flair and charisma, which played to the crowd’s approval. Sounds of DJ Thabo and Richard The Third provided the beats to accentuate the players performance, whilst DJ Switch commanded the mic and encouraged the guys to push their limits and creativity.
After the first round of eliminations, a total of 12 finalists were chosen to compete in the final battle rounds. Contestants had 3 minutes between 2 players to show their style and creativity to the judges.
The panel of judges consisted of football legends such as Thabo Mngomeni and Shakes Kungwane. Thabo captained Bafana Bafana from 1999 until 2002 while Shakes, a renowned national hero in the soccer community and former midfielder for Bafana Bafana was impressed with the level of talent shown today. Ryan Wilkisky from Kick Off magazine completed the judging panel.
After much deliberation the judges decided that the amount of talent in the final was of such a high quality that they chose 6 finalists to go through to the National Final.
The 6 winners of the Red Bull Street Style Johannesburg regionals are: Syed Muktasid, Sikhumbuso Mbatha, Ramonyake Kelvin, Kamal Ranchod, Saaelo Jali and Sello Ratefane. Each of these contestants will now have the chance to compete at the National Final on the 14th June.
“This is a great platform for young footballers to use their unique skills to make a name for themselves. There is a strong sense of community which sees contestants training and learning from each other. It’s really great to see such diversity”, said Wilkisky.
The next and last Red Bull Street Style regional qualifier is taking place in Durban on 7 June. After the Durban qualifier,16 of South Africa’s best freestyle footballers will meet to see who has what it takes to represent South Africa at the World Final in Sao Paulo, Brazil later in the year.
Tickets for the National Final in Johannesburg on 14 June are now on sale at Computicket. Tickets cost R50 and seating is limited so get your tickets early.
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