Billy Wingrove
Encyclopedia
Billy Wingrove is a British
football freestyler
and semi-professional footballer.
and cousin played for Arsenal
.
As he grew older he learned more tricks and became part of a network of young football freestylers in the London area. In 2003, Wingrove entered the Nike freestyle competition in London Earl's Court, and out of 6,000 contestants, he reached the semi-finals, losing out to Hee Young Woo
. Coca Cola, O2, Barclaycard
, Disney and Sky Sports
have all since used Wingrove for promotions or advertising.
Billy has performed his freestyle tricks and skills live on TV for Nickelodeon
, Blue Peter
and Central News as well as performing on BBC1's A Question of Sport
and Match of the Day
.
In 2005, Wingrove appeared in a KDDI
TV commercial with Japanese footballer Shinji Ono
. Shortly after this Wingrove appeared with Manchester United
's Wayne Rooney
for a Coca-Cola promotion and was also featured with J-League stars in Japanese football magazine Footival. Wingrove's work has also been featured in the UK magazines FourFourTwo
and Match.
Wingrove became the first football freestyler to be signed up as a professional "Football Freestyler" by a professional club when Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur signed him. Wingrove displays and teaches his freestyle tricks and skills for Tottenham's coaching in the community schemes, corporate sponsors and on the pitch for half time and pre-match entertainment for Premier League games. He has also appeared as half time entertainment for England international matches.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
football freestyler
Freestyle Football
Freestyle football, also known as freestyle soccer in North America, is the art of expressing yourself with a football, while performing various tricks with any part of the body...
and semi-professional footballer.
Profile
Wingrove comes from a footballing family, his father, played for Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
and cousin played for Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
.
As he grew older he learned more tricks and became part of a network of young football freestylers in the London area. In 2003, Wingrove entered the Nike freestyle competition in London Earl's Court, and out of 6,000 contestants, he reached the semi-finals, losing out to Hee Young Woo
Hee Young Woo
Hee Young Woo, also known as Mr Woo, was born . He is a former football player from South Korea. Born in Seoul, South Korea, at a very early age Woo realized he had football talent. Inspired by Diego Maradona and his unique ball control ability, Woo practiced and practiced to emulate the skill...
. Coca Cola, O2, Barclaycard
Barclaycard
Barclaycard, part of Barclays Retail and Business Banking, is a global payment business. The Barclaycard was the first credit card introduced in the UK, coming into service in 1966. It enjoyed a monopoly until the introduction of the Access card in 1972....
, Disney and Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
have all since used Wingrove for promotions or advertising.
Portfolio
Wingrove has been working as a "professional" football freestyler since the 2003 Nike Freestyle event in London.Billy has performed his freestyle tricks and skills live on TV for Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
and Central News as well as performing on BBC1's A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show which started on 2 December 1968 and continues to this day. It is currently recorded at The Studios, MediaCityUK...
and Match of the Day
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
.
In 2005, Wingrove appeared in a KDDI
KDDI
is a Japanese telecommunications operator formed in October 2000 through the merger of DDI Corp., KDD Corp., and IDO Corp. It has its headquarters in the Garden Air Tower in Iidabashi, Chiyoda, Tokyo....
TV commercial with Japanese footballer Shinji Ono
Shinji Ono
is a Japanese football player, who plays as a midfielder for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan.Known as Tensai, Japanese for "Genius", from his youth days, Ono is one of the biggest stars in Asian football, known for his vision, technique and superb passing...
. Shortly after this Wingrove appeared with Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
's Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...
for a Coca-Cola promotion and was also featured with J-League stars in Japanese football magazine Footival. Wingrove's work has also been featured in the UK magazines FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo is a football magazine published by Haymarket. Published monthly, costing £4.50, and at about 164 pages long, it published its 200th edition in February 2011...
and Match.
Wingrove became the first football freestyler to be signed up as a professional "Football Freestyler" by a professional club when Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur signed him. Wingrove displays and teaches his freestyle tricks and skills for Tottenham's coaching in the community schemes, corporate sponsors and on the pitch for half time and pre-match entertainment for Premier League games. He has also appeared as half time entertainment for England international matches.