An Al Hidd futsal player has won the chance to represent Bahrain in the upcoming grand finale for the world fightball championship which will be held in Dubai next month.
Hamed Ali, 25, defeated Fahad Sami, of Al Busaiteen, in the final of the Bahrain Qualifier for the championship organised by star freestyle footballer Arnaud ‘Sean’ Garnier as part of an Urbanball initative at a privately-owned football pitch in Sanabis.
“I am absolutely over the moon to have qualified for such a huge event,” Ali told the GDN yesterday. “I’m very excited and honoured to have the chance to represent Bahrain in the tournament.”
‘Fightball’ is a one-on-one football format, with two players and a goalkeeper. Urbanball is a unique street football ecosystem that supports the growth of street football, online and offline, and holds monthly fightball tournaments in different countries around the globe to discover the world’s best street footballers.
Frenchman Garnier, 38, a two-time street football world champion with more than 20 million followers and video views in excess of two billion across social media platforms, personally went around the kingdom to scout the best talent for the qualifier in the lead-up to the event.
“The turnout was extremely impressive,” businessman Falah Yusuf Salauddin, who owns Urban Avenue where the football pitch is located, told the GDN. “Close to 400 street footballers showed up, eager to meet Sean and excited at the opportunity to try and qualify for the grand finale.
“There were a few expats in attendance too and the intensity of the competition had to be seen to be believed. There were lots of little kids as well who were overjoyed when Sean interacted with them. They will remember that evening for the rest of their lives!”
Garnier, whose dream was to become a professional football player, signed with the prestigious French club, Auxerre FC at the age of 12 in 1996, and later on, played for Troyes. When several injuries forced him to abandon his dream, Garnier switched to showcasing tricks and skills and began to captivate the attention of national and international audiences.
In 2008, Garnier was declared the world champion at the inaugural Street Style World Finals in Sao Paulo, Brazil after he combined music, breakdance, somersaults as well as various football and basketball elements to his routines.
“It was a joy to meet him and an absolute honour to receive the winner’s trophy for the qualifier from him,” Ali said. “It means so much to me that I will be representing Bahrain at such a huge world event.”
Garnier’s easy way of interacting with local players, especially the younger ones, had won him even more fans, Salauddin added.
“You could see that he was enjoying himself as much as they were,” he explained. “Also, he was streaming the event live on his social media platforms so all those young boys and girls were seen in action online by potentially hundreds of thousands of his followers.”
Garnier, who is currently based in Dubai, has also created skill non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of different football techniques that will enable players to improve the performances of their characters in an upcoming play-and-earn game that will increase the popularity of street football players and deliver increased fan engagement.
Most of the revenue from the sale of an NFT of a street football character goes directly to the athlete. This has the potential to improve a player’s career and change their life along with growing the sport of street football.
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