Teqball

Players compete at the Word Teqball Series 2023 in Bình Định Province in June. The 2024 World Teqball Championship will be held in HCM City in December. Photo of organisers

HÀ NỘI — HCM City is set to become the global epicentre of teqball as it will proudly host the seventh edition of the World Teqball Championships from December 4-8.

After many rounds of selection among candidate countries, the Vietnamese city was chosen to be the next venue for the championship, affirming that growing popularity of teqball and its strong integration into the international sports family.

This prestigious event will gather the world’s best players for five days of thrilling competition in the heart of Việt Nam's financial and business district.

The championships, which will offer exciting competitions in five categories of men's and women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles, will be an extraordinary event, held entirely outdoors on the iconic Nguyễn Huệ Square.

“It is great for FITEQ to return to the Southeast Asian region after last year's success,” said FITEQ president Gabor Borsanyi.

“Việt Nam already proved how wonderful a host can be in Quy Nhơn and I truly believe that in the jaw-dropping HCM City we will witness a unique tournament.”

Việt Nam has quickly become a key destination for teqball, following the resounding success of the Teqball World Series Quy Nhơn, Bình Định Province, in June. That event, which took place on the beautiful beaches of Quy Nhơn, saw packed bleachers and enthusiastic crowds.

“We warmly invite athletes from around the world to join us in HCM City for the World Teqball Championships 2024, a special occasion marking the tenth anniversary of teqball," said Phạm Thị Kim An, CEO of Saigon Sport Investment Company Limited -- sponsor of the competition.

"In addition to the high-stakes competition, the event will offer a festival-like atmosphere. Spectators will be treated to a wide array of food trucks offering local and international delicacies and live concerts that will keep the energy high throughout championships 2024."

At the 2023 games in Bangkok, Thailand, the event drew a record number of 211 players and a record number of 61 participating countries and regions.

The organisers expect the records to be broken as athletes from over 90 countries and territories of all continents have registered, making the largest championship ever.

“With the latest world championship, we broke every single record in the books. HCM City is a great location and we are sure with the local organisers that history books will be re-written,” said Bela Muller, FITEQ Head of Communications.

Players take part in the 2023 championship in Thailand.

Recently, teqball has emerged as a trending sport, attracting millions of players from around the world and may even be included in upcoming Olympics.

Currently, this sport has been included in the official competition programme of the 33rd SEA Games in Thailand in 2025.

Teqball is a combination of football, volleyball, sepak takraw and table tennis. Three Hungarians -- former football player Gabor Borsanyi, businessman Gyorgy Gattyán and computer scientist Viktor Huszar -- are considered founders of the sport.

In 2014, teqball was officially launched in Budapest with former Brazilian football star Ronaldinho invited as an ambassador.

The FITEQ was established two years later and is now home to 156 members.

The Vietnamese organising board said the world championships will be a great opportunity to introduce the delights of HCM City to a wider community.

The tournament will be held along with a range of activities to introduce Vietnamese people, culture and cuisine to visitors.

There will have a mapping display entitled 'Hello Việt Nam!' with photos of many local and world culture heritage sites.

An exhibition of Vietnamese history, culture, and people will be set up at the HCM City Museum along with spaces for displaying unique cultural features of different regions along with interactive activities, art experiences and special dishes.

City tours will be conducted for participating teams with the hope they will learn more about Việt Nam and Vietnamese people as well as HCM City.

An investment promotion conference will be held on December 7 to connect and invite businessmen and investors including billionaire and co-founder of Teqball Gattyán to take part in projects in the fields of culture, sports, commerce and tourism. VNS