Sunday May 14 saw the city of Kawasaki host the finals of Japan’s premier freestyle football tournament, the Japan Freestyle Football Championship 2017.
With one eye on the world stage, 32 of Japan’s top-class freestyle footballers gathered at LeFRONT in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, to put on a display of high-level trickery and style in a closely fought contest that saw eventual champion ‘Yo’ (real name, Yo Katsuyama) take out two-time winner ‘Ko-suke’, to claim his first crown.
Victory for ‘Yo’ also means an invitation to compete in the Asian Freestyle Football Championships for 2017, organized by the Asian Freestyle Football Federation (AF3).
Following the completion of Sunday’s final, the winner of the Red Bull Best Trick Competition was announced, with 2012 Red Bull Street Style World Final champion ‘Tokura’ awarded for his new ‘Tokura Clutch’.
Results of the Japan Freestyle Football Championship 2017
1) Yo
2) Ko-suke
3) Hiro-k
19 year old Yo (born in Nagano, Japan) is one of the world’s top freestyle footballers having made top eight at the World Freestyle Football Championship in Prague (Czech Republic) last year.
(Japan Freestyle Football Championship 2017, Yo)
(Runner-up, Ko-suke)
(Third place, Hiro-k)
The Japan Freestyle Football Championship 2017 was organized by JF3 (the Japan Freestyle Football Federation) in conjunction with Tokyo-based freestyle football event organizers and management company BALL BEAT.
Judges at this year’s contest were Austria’s Martin Schopf, Hungary’s Roland ‘Rocco’ Karászi, and South America’s No. 1 freestyler Charly Iacono out of Argentina.
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