19 Jun Shahril hit London for Global Tango League

adidas Tango League’s Most Valuable Player, Mohd Shahril Anuar had an experience of a lifetime when he joined the other winners from around the world at the first Global Tango League Event held in London, recently.

Shahril, fondly known as “Bulat” returned from London on June 5 after an eventful 5 days, was part of the TOT United A team that emerged victorious in the adidas Tango League which took place in KL on March 19.

After topping the Tango League Kuala Lumpur Leaderboard with a total of 43 match points and walking away with an adidas boot deal, Shahril also represented Malaysia at the Global Tango League Event with the aim of developing the next generation of football influencers.

The Global Tango League not only offers the Tango League city winners an opportunity to develop and cultivate their social influence, it also serves as a platform to help them build a career in football.

In London, the players were divided into four teams and guided through a number of special activations that brought out the maximum stadium to street experience. Every team had to complete several challenges with the help of an influential mentor, who acted as the team captain, in order to prove their abilities.

The mentors included World Freestyle Champion Sean Garnier, skill twins, Josef and Jakob El Zein, Los Desimpedidos’s Bolivia and Fred as well as Moscow’s most prominent street football crew, Street Madness.

Shahril expressed his excitement of having met these renowned football influencers who were inspirational mentors that imparted worthwhile input to their teams.

“Although it’s been a week since I’ve returned from London, I still feel excited whenever I recall meeting them. They were good mentors who really cared about the teams and shared loads of valuable advice with us.”

Some of the activities prepared involved street and cage challenges with the influencers, a YouTube Creators Studio challenge and the O2 Experience. All of them were aimed to help the players grow and improve their skills in various aspects of football.

The main highlight of the trip was when each Tango League winner took a trip down to Cardiff to catch the UEFA Champions League Final 2016/17 between Juventus and Real Madrid at the Principality Stadium. Other notable events included were the Nemeziz Event and Stamford Bridge Pitch Event in which the Tango winners enjoyed lunch while overlooking the pitch just before making their way into the stadium dressing rooms to prepare for a knockout competition played on the prestigious Chelsea FC home ground.

24 year-old Shahril commented on how this was certainly one of the best ordeals that happened to him as he learned and gained a lot of new experiences.

“I am thankful to adidas for this opportunity in competing in the Global Tango League. It’s by far the best and most memorable trip in my life because I came back feeling contented. I’ve learned so much from everyone and the invaluable experiences I’ve acquired will no doubt push me forward in the future.

The next Tango League competition expected to take place in the second half of the year will be a great window of opportunity for footballers by providing them a platform to showcase their outstanding skills through recreating a stadium match-day ambiance and professional playing circumstances.