Neymar Jr’s Five, the Brazilian football superstar’s signature 5-a-side tournament is back in the UK for 2018, and will be coming to London this March!
The tournament is back, bigger, better and more exciting than ever with players from more than 60 countries set to battle it out for the ultimate glory in Brazil. For UK based sides, the road to Brazil kicked off on February 21, and will be arriving to Shoreditch on Thursday 22nd March and Sunday 25th March.
While previously, only men’s and mixed sides were able to sign up for Neymar Jr’s Five, for the very first time, 2018 will see the introduction of an all-women’s tournament and Shoreditch has been chosen as one of the select places to host the women’s qualifiers!
The battle is all about fun, and enjoyment, with competitors having to be aged between 16-25, so perfect for students!
Neymar Junior -a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for French club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team.
The concept of the tournament, dreamt up by the Neymar himself, is distinctive and unique, making it all the more fun. The basic rules are: conceding a goal costs you one team player – with a team losing once all its players have been eliminated. The game only lasts for 10 minutes, which means both teams are going to have to get stuck right in from the blow of the whistle! If both defences are impenetrable, then the match is settled by a 1v1 shootout.
There will be 16 qualifiers taking place over the course of eight different locations, and successful teams from the local qualifiers will go on to compete in the national final in Birmingham on May 5, with the winning teams going on to compete in the global finals at the Instituto Projecto Neymar Jr in Praia Grande; Brazil, an academy set up by Neymar Jr himself to help those in surrounding areas take part in variety of sports.
The road to Brazil has begun with players from more than 60 countries and 6 continents set out to battle under the watchful eye of Neymar Jr. Last year, over 100,000 players from 53 countries took part in the competition and this year the countries participating has increased – with the inclusion of women – meaning even more teams will line up with the chance to be crowned champions!
Speaking of the event from the man himself, Neymar Jr said; ““What makes me really excited is that each edition brings more players from more countries so I’m glad to know that everyone wants to participate, and I feel happy to be part of it, this is what excites me the most.â€
“I’m very happy to increase the number of players, the number of teams signing up and the number of countries has also increased,â€Â he added. “It’s very big but I hope it can get even bigger. We have more teams than the World Cup, which has 32 teams.â€
So, what you waiting for? Strap on those boots and start scoring!
