The roots of freestyle football as a global phenomenon date back to the 1980s, when the Argentinian football legend Diego Armando Maradona started performing them in his famous warm-ups. During the 1990s, the sport gained popularity particularly thanks to two South Korean freestylers, Mr Woo and Kang Sung Min, but it was not until the dawn of the new millennium when freestyle football made a huge leap forward: TV commercials starring Ronaldinho and Mr Woo launched the sport towards a huge mainstream audience and helped reach a new generation of players.
The newly created national and continental tournaments which appeared in the mid-2000s gave freestylers a boost of motivation to train and develop their own style. In 2007, Red Bull Reaccion was ideated as 1:1 freestyle football battle in the LatAm region. In 2008, the concept evolved to the first truly live and global championship with qualifiers and a World Final event: Red Bull Street Style became the most respected platform for the best ballers worldwide to compete.
The inaugural Red Bull Street Style World Final event took place in São Paulo, Brazil. Sean Garnier (FRA) was crowned the first Red Bull Street Style champion after showing a breathtaking combination of athleticism and creativity with the ball.
The tournament returned with a lot of new faces. In Cape Town, South Africa, Azun (NOR) proudly won the trophy after defeating all his opponents in the battles.
The World Final event was hosted at the iconic Anfiteatro Romano in Lecce, Italy. A separate women’s competition was introduced and Kitti Szasz (HUN) was crowned the first female champion. On the men's side, Tokura (JPN) rose to the top.
The competition returned to Brazil, this time Salvador da Bahia, where Andrew Henderson (GBR) and Mélody Donchet (FRA) were crowned Red Bull Street Style champions.
The tournament returned two years later in the hyped location of Camden in London, which saw legends Charly Iacono (ARG) and Mélody Donchet (FRA) stand at the top of the podium.
The level and creativity of freestyle had sky-rocketed over the last years. At the World Final event in Warsaw, Poland, the Norwegian Fagerli brother Erlend and Polish Aguska Mnich brought their A-game and won!
Miami, USA, was the stage for the 2019 World Finals. In one of the best battles in freestyle football history, Ricardinho (BRA) bested Norwegian wonder-boy Erlend Fagerli to the title. Meanwhile Mélody Donchet (FRA) did the unbelievable and took her third Red Bull Street Style title.
The world was hit by a pandemic and the digital world took over. The climax of the first Red Bull Street Style saw 24 players from 11 countries battling head-to-head where Erlend Fagerli (NOR) and Mélody Donchet (FRA) proved their dominance once again.
In Valencia, Spain, the world’s best freestylers amazed the crowd, especially Lia Lewis (GBR), who skyrocketed to her first World Championship title, while Erlend Fagerli (NOR) defended his men's title.
The stunning arena of Pula, Croatia, was the iconic location of the Red Bull Street Style World Final 2022. Norwegian superstar Erlend Fagerli and Caitlyn Schrepfer (USA) amazed the judges with their artistic and powerful skills to take the titles.
