FC Bayern Freestyle Tournament kicks off for 2021!
FC Bayern is creating a big stage for talented youth players even in this time of coronavirus. In spring, the club is once again hosting its Freestyle Tournament on Instagram. The digital event has its origins in the annual FC Bayern Youth Cup, which is the largest and oldest youth football tournament organised by a club in the world. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, it has not yet been possible to hold the 2020 World Final in Munich. If conditions allow, this will be held in summer 2021.
However, Germany’s most successful club already launched a digital alternative last summer with the FC Bayern Freestyle Tournament, which was played out on the club’s global Instagram account. The digital Freestyle Tournament is supported again this year by Volkswagen. The car manufacturer has been involved in FC Bayern Munich’s youth programmes since the start of the 2020/21 season.
From 24 March, young people from different countries will once again compete against each other with their freestyle skills to be crowned this year’s freestyle champion or, for the first time, this year’s freestyle championess. The tournament will again take place in a battle format over four rounds. Over the next few days, our more than 25 million followers will vote round by round to determine the best freestyler, male or female.
Chinese champion into global final
The Chinese pre-selection took place on the official FC Bayern DouYin account, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok, from 9 to 13 March. Our more than 1.2 million Chinese followers were able to admire the tricks and skills of the best eight freestylers and vote for the winner. In exciting encounters, Zuli Haer finally came out on top. The boys were supported by our two FC Bayern Legends Giovane Elber and Claudio Pizarro. The winner this time came from team Elber. In additional to his starting place in the global Freestyle Tournament, Zuli Haer also won a visit to Bayern’s office in Shanghai.
As well as the FC Bayern Freestyle Tournament, Volkswagen will also be supporting many other national and international projects in the future, such as the FC Bayern Football Schools, the FC Bayern Kids Club and global coach training for the club’s various international youth programmes. In return, FC Bayern Munich will support Volkswagen’s diverse youth projects and youth initiatives, such as the Volkswagen Junior Masters.
The partnership with Bayern’s youth development is the perfect fit in Volkswagen’s wide-ranging football commitment. The car manufacturer supports numerous clubs and associations worldwide, starting with clubs at its production sites (VfL Wolfsburg, Eintracht Braunschweig), through to the German FA (DFB) and UEFA.
In all its partnerships, Volkswagen plays particular attention to supporting young talent, as in the FC Bayern Freestyle Tournament. Last year’s winner, Sidike Tando, will travel to the final of the European Championship in London this summer, provided the coronavirus regulations in place at the time allow that. This year, too, the best freestyler can expect an attractive prize of a trip for two to Munich with exclusive insights and experiences around the reigning European champions.