JEDDAH, 10 July 2007 — The final showdown of Snickers Street Skillz 2007, an alternative 3-on-3 caged football tournament, was held here on Friday. Teams from previous matches held around the region included Sharjah team from UAE, Doha team from Qatar, Jeddah and Riyadh teams that battled for tournament honors.
A total of 192 teams participated in the 2007 tournament, which kicked off at the beginning of May in Sharjah, followed by matches in Doha, Riyadh and Jeddah. Street Skillz was launched in 2006 with tournaments in Jeddah and Riyadh, but due to high demand from youths across the region it was rolled out across four cities this year.
During the tournament’s first two days, participants played with skills to win in competitive spirit. The spectator enjoyment reached its peak when the international British freestyler Dan Magness stepped in and gave a dazzling and unbelievable demonstration of ball control. At the end of the competition, Kaka team from Jeddah the battle against Snickers team. The 3rd place winner from Jeddah participated in the final game beating Doha team that won second place. The final eight teams were split into two groups to compete against each other so the first and the second winner of each group played the semifinals. The games witnessed a powerful and efficient participation for the first time by the GCC that showed an outstanding skillful level.
The four teams that qualified for the semifinal games were all Saudi. Thus, Zeidan team won the Snickers Street Skillz Tournament 07 Championship and walked away with a grand prize of SR7,000 with teams reaching second and third places being awarded SR5,000 and SR3,000 respectively.
Dan Magness, one of the world’s top football freestylers will be making an appearance at the Jeddah tournament to hype up the crowds and challenge players to match his unbeatable skills. Learning his football tricks growing up in the UK, Magness has honed them to perfection and put together an unrivaled football freestyle display which enabled him to beat 1,000 freestylers in a UK championship. He has performed at hundreds of half time shows for top football clubs including Manchester United and Chelsea and has trained some of World football’s biggest stars for TV commercials. The tournament, part of a long-term campaign to support and encourage young people to become active members of the community through sport, particularly football, will be staged next year, the organizers said on behalf of Snickers.
