Sidike Tando is the happy winner of the first digital FC Bayern Youth Cup freestyle tournament. Sidike is from Togo, a West African state on the Gulf of Guinea with nearly eight million inhabitants. As the winner of the tournament, the young man from Togo can expect a fantastic prize. On 1 March this year, the FC Bayern Youth Cup took place for the first time in the capital Lome. Sidike was nominated by the Bayern representatives for the team to represent Togo at the world finals of the FC Bayern Youth Cup in Munich. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the world final in Munich could not take place as planned and will be rescheduled as soon as conditions permit.
In the past few years the freestyle tournament has taken place on the Marienplatz as part of the FC Bayern Youth Cup world final. The best freestyle footballers from each country compete against each other, and the player who receives the greatest applause advances one lap. This year the tournament was digitised and played on the FC Bayern global Instagram channel (over 21 million followers).
Over a million votes on Instagram
More than 30 stories were published from 19-23 July. Freestylers from the USA, China, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, Germany, Nigeria and Togo competed against each other in a randomly drawn knockout format. FCB followers could vote for 24 hours per duel, and the player with the most votes at the end would advance one round. More than a million votes were cast in total, a terrific result.
Sidike prevailed against the participant from China in the quarter-finals and met the freestyler from Germany in the semi-finals - a very close contest edged by Sidike. The final was an all-African battle - Togo against Nigeria. Thanks to the great support from Volkswagen, Sidike can look forward to a very special prize: in July next year, he will travel to London for the UEFA EURO 2021 final at Wembley Stadium, and we will accompany him on this unique experience!
The first digital FC Bayern Youth Cup freestyle tournament was a great success. FC Bayern would like to thank all participants and congratulate Sidike once again on his title.
FC Bayern coach training in times of coronavirus
Due to global travel restrictions, the planned international coach travels have been cancelled or postponed. In order to ensure the continuous transfer of the FC Bayern philosophy and the training theory of the record champions to our international partners, our coaches have developed an innovative training concept.
In exclusive small-group seminars, which are held digitally, our coaches exchange ideas with coaches from the USA, China, Thailand and Singapore on topics such as "the role of the modern coach", "season planning for youth teams of different ages" or "talent - identification and development". The first appointments for coaches from Ethiopia will be organised in the coming weeks. The seminars include presentations as well as open question and discussion panels.
We hope to be able to hold training courses and international coaching sessions in person as soon as possible. For the time being, these digital seminars are a wonderful opportunity to continue our close contact.
Topics of this article