Sg to stage Ultimate Footbag Challenge in June

Singapore to stage Ultimate Footbag Challenge in June

It's fun, easy to learn, and could soon be the next big craze among youths.

Called footbag, it's a game involving a small ball - slightly larger than a golf ball - and made of leather or cloth and filled with beads.

Anyone, both young and old, can pick up the simple moves to get started in the sport popular in the US and Europe.

Now Asia could be the next frontier for the sport, as Singapore stages the Ultimate Footbag Challenge on June 25 at Velocity.

And the sport is getting a leg-up from the Singapore Sepak Takraw Federation, with the two games sharing many similarities.

"Footbag can also be a training base for sepak takraw. The way that the footbag being kicked, being trained by youths... (it's) the same format... So I believe that footbag can be an instrument for sepak takraw trainers to use this footbag for the sepak takraw players," said Abdul Halim Kader, president of the Singapore Sepak Takraw Federation.

The Singapore competition is one of endurance, with the participants having to use their legs to keep the ball in the air for five minutes.

Besides Singapore, similar competitions will be held in Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. A regional winner will be picked through online voting and that lucky winner gets an all-expense paid trip to watch a live Real Madrid soccer match.

Many Singaporeans may take to the sport easily, as it is very similar to another local traditional game called "chap teh".

Still the organisers are not taking any chances and are organising two workshops to get everybody familiar with the intricacies of footbag.

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~