Dutch Panna Street Football Hits Merseyside

23 may 2009 The Dutch Panna street football tour touched down in Liverpool's city centre today. Williamson square was the stage for the tournament on Merseyside, where thousands witnesses the freestyle skills of the Dutch players and over 150 kids participated in the Panna knock out tournament. Mr Curtis Ali eventually won the day and a ticket to the Emirates with a spectacular Panna –nutmegging your opponent and retaining possession- within the first 10 seconds of the day's final game.

Dutch Panna Knock Out is a new form of street football from Holland. Panna is the Surinamese/Dutch slang for playing the ball through the legs of your opponents. This grass roots phenomenon originated on the streets of Amsterdam and is highly successful in fostering (cross) community cohesion.

On Williamson Square, Panna was witnessed by literally thousands of day trippers. As the crowd slowly grew, so did the excitement around the three pitches. Supported by scores of people each the final battle lasted all but 10 seconds as Curtis Ali nutmegged his opponent skillfully to accept his prize from Ian Perry, Consul of the Netherlands. Mr Perry added that he hoped that the winner in Liverpool would emulate his professional counterparts and "be the best not only in London but go on to be the best of Europe as per usual."

The next Panna tournament will take place on Sunday May 25 in Belfast at Custom House Square.