Tiger Street Football 2019 Finals With Rio Ferdinand @ TREC KL
On 27 July 2019, I headed to TREC KL for the Tiger Street Football Festival, where the grand finals of Tiger Street Football 2019 took place. The guest of honour was Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, the tournament’s ambassador, and the whole evening felt like a big street party built around football.
The Grand Finals
The tournament started with national qualifiers in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru, where 48 teams were narrowed down to the best eight. Matches followed futsal rules with a street-style twist, in a double-elimination format. In the end, Team Hyper Rich from the Klang Valley lifted the trophy and took home the RM10,000 grand prize, presented by Rio himself.
Playing With a Legend
Rio grew up playing on the streets of London, and he spoke about wanting to give young Malaysian players a bigger stage. The highlight for the winners was an exhibition match against Rio, whose team was made up of fans who won an Instagram football-tricks contest. The crowd loved every minute of it.
More Than Football
Even if you are not a football fan, the festival had plenty going on. There were skills challenges where fans could win merchandise signed by Rio and other legends, football jugglers, a cheerleading squad, and live music from RYOT JONES, Kaya and K-Town Clan.
For me, the best part was the street food. There were plenty of stalls to choose from, and nothing beats grabbing a bite and a cold drink while watching the action on the pitch. Events like this are a great reminder that football, food and music bring people together.
