The ultimate global amateur football challenge is about to hit Geelong and it’s calling football fans across the region to come and put their skills to the test!
Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five is a global five-a-side tournament specifically designed to bring footballers from all over the world together to celebrate their passion and love of playing the world game – with the inclusion of now 60 countries across six continents hosting tournament qualifiers, the sporting event is one of the biggest amateur footballing tournaments in the world and this March has a qualifier coming to Geelong.
The tournament is open to teams of five to seven players aged 16 – 25 with each team being allowed two players over the age of 25. Around 1500 Australians took part in the event series in 2017, with the national final being won by Shepparton’s Ballers FC, sending them to Brazil to compete against each country’s best outfit.
This year there are 12 qualifying events across the nation which will see several teams battling it out for a spot in the National Final which will take place in Sydney on April 14th.The winning team from the national final will then travel to the Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr in Praia Grande, Brazil to play in the World Final – with the grand prize being a trip to Barcelona to meet the football legend himself, Neymar Jr.
Neymar Jr. is one of the world’s best footballers who made his professional debut at just the age of 17 and by 2012 had already been named South American Footballer of the year twice. Famous for being part of Barcelona’s legendary attacking Trio of Lionel Messi and Louis Suarez, he won the continental treble of La Liga, the Copa Del Rey and the UEFA Champions league and followed the next year by the winning the domestic double before moving onto play for Paris Saint-Germain in August of last year.
Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five is the brain child of the world renowned footballer and is heavily based on his childhood experiences of playing football in Brazil – and with the help of Red Bull and Alpha Elite Gear, the tournament has come to fruition.
“The tournament reminds me of my childhood and I am very proud of it. To win the five-a-side games and outplay them all, you need strategy and a good understanding of what the best moment is to attack and defend. A good defence is very important as well and can bring your team very far in the tournament,” he reveals.
If you think you and your friends have what it takes win your way to Brazil, head to www.neymarjrsfive.com/en/AU and register your team now!
If you’d prefer to watch the action instead, you can head down to Steampacket Gardens on Eastern Beach Rd on Saturday March 3rd at 12pm to catch all the action.
Written by Josh Dowling
