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Get set for the UWC Football Team Challenge, digital edition

12 May 2020

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – As the sports world grapples with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International University Sports Federation has found a way to bring its fans and athletes together on social media, first with the #FitATHome campaign and now, with an exciting University World Cup Football digital edition: the Team Challenge!

 

University of Malaga (ESP) stunned by University of the Republic (URU) in the men’s quarterfinalsIn November 2019, FISU had launched the first-ever University World Cup Football tournament in Jinjiang, People’s Republic of China, to great success and celebration. The pathbreaking tournament pitted the best university teams against each other in the world’s most popular sport.

 

So, we decided to repeat the fun and replay the tournament – in a different, digital format!

 

Participating teams from last November’s tournament were invited to submit one football juggling compilation that gives the impression of a seamless sequence but is in fact shot in individual homes and gardens, during this time of isolation and quarantine. The resulting videos will delight you – from the skill and style on display to the fun and humour quotient. In some cases, the sequence is so smooth it’s hard to imagine they were shot separately.

 

Here’s how it will work: the challenge kicks off directly with eight teams in the fray and the quarterfinal stages. We see no reason to segregate the men’s and women’s teams here, so it is a mixed-gender challenge.

 

Starting on Thursday, 14 May, we’ll play the full brackets over three rounds until the final to crown a digital UWC Football champion on 31 May. The two videos that go head-to-head in each quarterfinal will be revealed together, followed by voting and results on the FISU Instagram account. Although the challenge and the videos will be available on all FISU platforms, voting will happen only through an Instagram Story for 24 hours after the reveal of each matchup.

 

So, get set for kick off from various parts of the world, and enjoy the UWC Football Team Challenge. We may not be able to fast forward through this difficult part of 2020, but we can ensure the fun of university sports continues.

 

Participating teams (in no particular order):

  1. University of Ottawa, CAN (W)

  2. Autonomous University of Mexico, MEX

  3. University of the Republic, URU

  4. Bangkok Thonburi University, THA

  5. College of Asian Scholars, THA (W)

  6. Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg, GER

  7. IULM University, ITA

  8. University of Malaga, ESP

 

Bracket:

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