Official Song, Match Ball put on display at Istanbul event

The Istinye Park Shopping Mall in Istanbul proved the place to be on Saturday drawing a bumper crowd to see Turkish indie rockers Gece perform Yıldızlar Buradan Yükseliyor, the Official Song for the FIFA U-20
World Cup Turkey 2013.


The Official Song, which translates as Building Bridges for Rising Stars, was performed as part of an Official Launch along with the unveiling of the adidas Cafusa Match Ball, which has been selected as the tournament’s Official Match Ball. It will be the fourth time overall this ball is used in a FIFA tournament following the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013, the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup 2013 and the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2012

As part of the festivities, a giant version of the adidas Cafusa was unveiled to celebrate the launch of the Official Match Ball for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013, the first of ten giant adidas balls that will be on show across Istanbul and in well-known locations in each of the tournament’s Host Cities.

Well-known Turkish television presenter Yalçın Çetin was on hand to host a panel of experts in a football discussion and the entire event, which was attended by a number of local dignitaries including the Chairman of the Organising Committee for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Jim Boyce. The event was aired live across the country by Turkey’s national broadcaster, TRT.

Combining music and football
Sony Music artists Gece (which means ‘Night’) are a popular band throughout Turkey and they received an enthusiastic welcome at Istinye Park, one of Istanbul’s most glamorous shopping locations. According to Turkish Football Federation (TFF) General Secretary Prof. Dr. Emre Alkin, the event captured perfectly the dynamism of the upcoming tournament and highlighted the strong bonds shared by music and football.

Alkin said: “Football and music come to mind when we think about entertainment. We witnessed an amazing event here at Istinye Park on Saturday, one that combined football, music and, of course, our nation’s youth and it really did begin our journey to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 in the best possible way.”

In addition to the launch of the Official Song and the Official Match Ball, there was also an incredible display of freestyle football by professional freestyler Murat Barutcu and his Turkish group.

The freestyle theme was continued when the Official Song and Match Ball Launch culminated in a World Record being broken by the freestyle footballers Jeremy Lynch and Bill Wingrove. The duo, under the close scrutiny of officials from the Guinness Book of World Records, broke their own World Record for the number of keep-ups that can be done with sole of the foot while balancing on the back of another person. The previous record stood at 88 touches in a minute and the pair achieved 125 touches to break the record.

Described as “a very important milestone on the road to organising a great FIFA U-20 World Cup” by Local Organising Committee Chairman Servet Yardımcı, the occasion also presented the first opportunity for fans to buy tickets for the tournament, which takes place across Turkey from 21 June to 13 July.