Palm Springs, CA – Jan. 5, 2016
The second FootGolf World Cup kicks off on Wednesday, Jan. 6 at Pilar Golf Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Two hundred and thirty players from 26 countries have arrived from all corners of the world: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, El Salvador, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Paraguay, Portugal, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America, and host country Argentina.
Team USA represents the American FootGolf League (AFGL), the governing body for FootGolf in the United States. Sixteen players, coached by Marcelo Landau from Miami, FL, earned their way onto the team by competing in AFGL Pro-Am events, and the U.S. National FootGolf Championship. Each player’s trip to Argentina is paid by the AFGL, with uniforms provided by AFGL sponsor adidas.
The 2016 FootGolf World Cup is the largest and most competitive tournament in the history of the sport – it is what players and sports fans have been asking and waiting nearly four years to see. The event is organized by the Federation for International FootGolf (FIFG), the world’s governing body based in London UK, and hosted by the Asociacion Argentina de FootGolf (AAFG), one of the FIFG Member Countries in South America.
FootGolf is a precision sport played on golf courses, where players kick a soccer ball into a 21″ cup in as few shots as possible. Its name is a portmanteau of “football” and “golf”, the game combines the two sports, being more closely related to golf than soccer. The 54-hole World Cup competition has two categories: Individual (medal play – strokes) and Country Squads (match play with teams of four players) in three stages: Quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the finals.
The first FootGolf World Cup was played in Budapest, Hungary in 2012, with 80 players from eight countries and one category. The champion was local legend Bela Lengyel, who returns to Argentina to defend his title.
FootGolf fans around the world can follow the World Cup right here: http://www.fifgworldcup.com/.
About the American FootGolf League: Established in 2011, the AFGL is the founder and official governing body for the sport of FootGolf in the United States, as sanctioned by the Federation for International FootGolf (FIFG.ORG). With over 450 certified and accredited participating golf facilities, the AFGL is growing this new sport locally as well as promoting it nationally. The AFGL operates the U.S. Pro-Am FootGolf Tour, the U.S. FootGolf National Championship, and represents the United States in the official FootGolf World Cup. The AFGL also publishes “This is FootGolf Magazine” (www.thisisfootgolf.com), provides the only official FootGolf equipment in the U.S., and offers FFANS, the only recognized FootGolf handicap service at www.footgolffans.com. For more about the American FootGolf League, please go here: www.afgl.us.
To contact AFGL Marketing email: marketing@footgolf.net, or call 760-501-0100 ext. 108. Golf facilities considering adding FootGolf can contact Course Support at courses@footgolf.net, or 760-501-0100 ext. 104. For Tournaments and Events, 760-501-0100 ext. 106. Sponsors and advertisers can contact AFGL Marketing at marketing@footgolf.net, or 760-501-0100 ext. 108.
About Federation for International FootGolf. Founded in 2012, the FIFG is the governing body for the sport of FootGolf since June 2012. Based in London, U.K., its board of directors includes Michael O’Connor (UK) as president; Laura Balestrini (USA) and Gabor Gelencser (HUN) as Vice Presidents; Javier de Ancizar (ARG) and Lasse Eriksen as regular Board Members and near 40 national organizations from Europe; Asia; Oceania; Africa; North, Central and South America as Member Countries. For more information about the FIFG please visit www.fifg.org.
Contact:
Harvey Silverman, AFGL Director of Media Relations and editor of This is FootGolf Magazine. hsilverman@thisisfootgolf.com, 760.501.0100 Ext. 129.