Here's the best footballer you've never heard of

03 Dec 2014
Levon Biss


Andrew Henderson has performed at Old Trafford and appeared alongside Lionel Messi -- but you won't see him on Match of the Day. The 22-year-old Londoner is the three-time world champion of freestyle football, a fusion of competitive gymnastics and ball juggling. "It's like extreme football," he says. "Like dance, it's both a sport and an art form."

Henderson first got into freestyle football in 2006 after seeing a video and doubting the tricks were real. This year one of his own YouTube uploads -- in which he performs on the London Underground -- gained more than five million views. He credits the site as a key factor behind the sport's rise in popularity. "Back when I started, there were maybe ten professional freestylers in the world, and they were just seen as people who were really good at kick-ups. Now, it's a sport in its own right," he says.

Since its founding in 2011, the Freestyle Football Federation has expanded into 92 countries and now runs nearly 100 events a year. Next up is Red Bull Street Style in Brazil on November 13-15.

Henderson, who led the world rankings as WIRED went to press, is confident. "I've been working on this new trick," he says. "You block the ball between your calf and hamstring, then go into a handstand and pop it up to the sole of your foot and balance it there. That's something a lot of freestylers have thought impossible."