Teqball, the world’s fastest recognised sport combining football and table tennis, has appointed multi-award winning independent sports communications firm Macesport as its retained PR agency.
Invented in Hungary just three years ago, Teqball is already being played in over 42 countries worldwide and has become a popular addition to the training grounds of many Premier League football clubs including Manchester United, Chelsea FC and Arsenal.
Football superstars Neymar Jr. and Lionel Messi were spotted playing Teqball during their time off over Christmas and Jesse Lingard had a Teqball table at the launch of his clothing brand JLINGZ Be Yourself indicating the rapid rise of the sport.
Nottingham-based agency Macesport was initially brought on board in October to raise awareness of the sport within the UK, using the Second Teqball World Cup in Reims, France as the centrepiece. The media campaign reached over one billion people worldwide, with 57 pieces of coverage and 1.2 million views on the World Cup highlights reel. For the first time, all four UK nations were represented at the World Cup and moves are now underway to establish FITEQ (Fédération Internationale de Teqball) federations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to spur uptake of the new sport.
Ben Thompson. Macesport CEO, said: “It’s not often you get the opportunity to help grow a sport from the very beginning and we’re privileged to be working with the Teqball team to put down roots here in the UK.
“Teqball has all the makings of a fantastic spectator sport, with players exhibiting incredible skill, agility and mental aptitude, but also a game that complements existing sports like football, footvolley, futsal and even freestyle. We’re excited to see where we can take Teqball using our experience, industry connections and expertise across the PR, digital and events sectors.”
Teqball is the brainchild of former professional footballer Gábor Borsányi, who brought the idea to life with help from fellow co-founders Viktor Huszár, a computer scientist who designed the iconic curved table the game is played on, and György Gattyán, founder and owner of Docler Holding, Teqball’s business strategist.
Viktor Huszár, Teqball CEO and co-founder, said: “We see the UK as an important market for us and one we believe will embrace Teqball given the public’s love of football. Macesport executed an outstanding World Cup campaign for us and demonstrated their ability to deliver the Teqball message and drive mass awareness around the sport. We’re confident that Macesport’s expertise will help us to achieve our goal and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with them.”
Macesport will deliver a PR and digital communications strategy aimed at establishing Teqball within the UK, further legitimising Teqball as a sport in its own right and supporting the sales and marketing programme with content across owned and earned channels.
With endorsement from ex-professional footballers Robert Pires, William Gallas, Simao Sabrosa and Ronaldinho, Teqball is becoming widely recognised as both a football training aid and a competitive sport in its own right with ambitions to one day feature in the Olympic Games – a goal Huszár believes could become a reality by 2032.
Teqball became the world’s fastest recognised sport in August 2018 when FITEQ was officially recognised by the Olympic Committee of Asia. Upcoming events include international tournaments in Asia, Africa and a beach games in South America. Officials hope it will also be included in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Teqball adds to Macesport’s impressive client portfolio which includes the NFL, William Hill, Kitman Labs, Air Race 1, Fuel for Sport, Soccerex and formerly Vauxhall during its seven-year lead sponsorship of the England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales national football associations.
Visit https://macesport.com/ or for more information on Teqball go to https://teqball.com/
Watch highlights from Macesport’s 2nd Teqball World Cup campaign here.
