Derby County fans can try their hand at former Brazilian legend Ronaldinho’s favourite sport this week as Teqball comes to town for the Teqball Tour.
Teqball is a skill football-based sport, designed in Hungary and played over a curved table. The sport is ideal for both professional footballers and amateur players alike and is fun for all the family.
A Teqball table will be positioned outside Pride Park Stadium before the Sky Bet Championship match against West Bromwich Albion from 10:30am on Saturday morning, ahead of the 12:30pm kick-off, and fans will be able to test their skills at the popular sport that has already been named as one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
Canadian popstar Justin Bieber recently joined a long list of stars from sport and entertainment who have taken up Teqball. The likes of Messi and Neymar have tables in their back gardens and Premier League clubs, such as Manchester United and Arsenal, have also embraced the sport in training as it helps players enhance their skills and ball control. João Felix, one-time Derby loanee Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford are just some of the other high-profile names who have declared their love for teqball.
Brazilian star Ronaldinho is already a famous Teqer and president of the Brazilian Teqball Federation and fellow-Brazillian Natalia Guitler was the most successful female at last year’s Teqball World Cup in Reims, France and has since become another famous Teqer of the sport, attending overseas events like the recent African Beach Teqball Cup and showcasing it to her thousands of social media followers.
The Teqball Tour hopes to see the table taken across all 72 Football League clubs this season as the skill-based game is showcased to fans across the UK.
Since its invention in Hungary in 2014, Teqball has grown to be played in 66 different countries and achieved official recognition from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA). FITEQ has a long-term goal of seeing Teqball included in a future Olympic Games across both the doubles and singles formats of the game.
Want to give Teqball a go this weekend? Head down to the area near Rammie and Ewie’s PlayPen at outside the DCFCMegastore from 10:30am on Saturday morning.