A new fixture has been added to the global sporting calendar - the Balloon World Cup. We all know the "sport" of keepy-uppy ballooning. This is keeping a balloon in the air without letting it touch the floor. Spanish soccer star Gerard Pique loved this so much he made it into an international event. The first Balloon World Cup was held on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz is the first world champion. He beat Germany's Jan Spiess 6-2 in the final.
Mr Pique got the idea from TikTok videos. He watched clips of an American family playing the game during the COVID-19 lockdown. This developed into a local league. Pique then made the game global. Teams from 32 countries took part. The contests took place on a court full of living room furniture as obstacles. Pique said: "Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and try new things." There are hopes it could become an Olympics event.
Try the same news story at these levels:
Balloon World Cup - Level 5 or Balloon World Cup - Level 6
Sources- https://www.bbc.com/sport/58922689
- https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog-the-toe-poke/story/4497731/barcelonas-gerard-pique-organises-inaugural-balloon-world-cup
- https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news-reactions-gerard-pique-lays-into-his-team-mates-after-barcas-abject-defeat-20211003
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