EX Sports Powered the ‘Ultimate Urban Baller Challenge’ in a Partnership with Séan Garnier: 5 International Urban Ballers Competed in ABU DHABI

2021 Dec, 02     Abu Dhabi, UAE

Supporting the growth of niche sports, the first ever Urban Baller house reality event was launched in the heart of the UAE, bringing together 5 of the best freestyle football professionals to prove their skills in collaboration with the Dubai Fitness Challenge and No Filter DXB events.

‘The Ultimate Urban Baller Challenge’ was pioneered this year by two times World Freestyle Football Champion Séan Garnier, and powered by EX Sports, a digital marketplace for sports collectibles. The event happened from the 25th to the 27th of November and took part at the Dubai Fitness Challenge, #DUBAI30X30 Closing ceremony and Dubai Motor Show, #NoFilterDXB.

The participants were hand-picked and brought from Brazil, Belgium, Malyasia, Ivory Coast and the UAE. The 5 selected rising stars were Adonias Fonseca, Mehdi Amri, Zeem Ahmad, Titi Kone and Ammar Freez, who all gathered in the Urban House for 72 hours. Every day, they trained, competed in freestyle, panna football and futsal, going online 24/7 to prove they were worth the challenge and for one of them to win the grand prize of USD 10,000 Dollars.

The schedule recap:
• 1st day: on the 25th of November, the challenge was to produce creative content showcasing their talents, which were published simultaneously on @UrbanBall, @EXSports.io and independent athletes Instagram accounts. The audience got to vote for their favorite Urban Baller in the comments.

• 2nd day: on the 26th of November, the challenge was for the athletes to compete in a 1vs1 tournament between themselves at No Filter DXB, located in Dubai Harbour Marina. The tournament was held on the World’s largest floating soccer field, sponsored by Adidas and in collaboration with Gulf United.

• Final day: the 27th of November marked both the announcement of the winner of the ‘Ultimate Urban Baller Challenge’ and the closing ceremony of the most exciting fitness event in Dubai, Dubai Fitness Challenge. The activation included a 5vs5 futsal competition between the Urban Ballers and a local professional team, as well as a 1vs1 tournament with 5 football enthusiasts who dared to challenge the Urban Ballers through the EX Sports social media competition. Séan Garnier participated in the closing celebrations of the one-month fitness challenge by showcasing his signature football techniques and skills. This year saw more than 1.5million visitors participate in the Dubai Fitness challenge, doubling since its launch 4 years ago.

• Currently, from the 28th of November to the 23rd of December, a collaboration giveaway is running on EX Sports and Séan Garnier’s Instagram pages to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai.

After the series of the exciting challenges, EX Sports, Urban Ball and Séan Garnier will announce one lucky winner between 5 Urban Ballers who will earn a grand prize of USD 10,000 Dollars. The announcement will happen in mid-December on the new Youtube series launching on the Urban Ball channel.