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Billy Wingrove

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Billy Wingrove
Wingrove at an event prior to the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final
Born
William Jonathan Wingrove

(1982-12-17) 17 December 1982 (age 41)
London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation(s)Freestyle footballer
footballer, YouTube
Years active2003–present
Known forF2Freestylers, YouTube
Spouse
Katie Wingrove
​
(m. 2010)​
Children3
Association football career
Position(s) Midfielder, forward
Youth career
2002–2004 Enfield Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2009 Ware
2009–2010 Cheshunt Corinthians
2010–2014 Hoddesdon Town
2014–2015 Broxbourne Borough
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Jonathan 'Billy' Wingrove (born 17 December 1982) is a freestyle footballer and former semi-professional footballer.[1] He is best known for the YouTube channel he runs with fellow freestyle footballer and friend Jeremy Lynch as the F2Freestylers, which has over 10 million followers across all social media platforms.[2][3]

Biography

Wingrove's father, Alan Wingrove, played in the youth set-ups of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. His cousin, Greg Lincoln, was a first team squad member for Arsenal, but never made his debut for the club.[4]

Wingrove played youth football for Enfield Town, and then semi-professionally for Ware.[5][6] Wingrove decided to pursue freestyle football as he was making more money for an hour's worth of tricks, than he would had he kept on with semi-professional football (although he would occasionally play for other clubs, including Hoddesdon Town).[7] After developing his footballing skills for a number of years, Wingrove became part of a network of young football freestylers in the London area.[8][9] 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 Woo Hee-young. Wingrove has since featured in various promotions for brands such as Coca-Cola, O2, Barclaycard, Disney and Sky Sports.[10][11]

Solo career

Wingrove became the first freestyler to be signed up as a professional "Football Freestyler" by Tottenham Hotspur.[12] Wingrove displayed and taught 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.[13] He has also appeared as half time entertainment for England international matches.[14][15]

F2Freestylers

After performing at ceremony, Wingrove and close friend Jeremy Lynch decided to begin performing together as a double act known as the F2Freestylers.[16][17] They have given performances at various venues including Manchester United's Old Trafford, Chelsea's Stamford Bridge and Norwich City's Carrow Road.[18][19]

Wingrove and Lynch also run a YouTube channel as the F2Freestylers, which currently boasts over 10 million subscribers. They give tutorials of various football skills and have collaborated with various footballers including Lionel Messi, Neymar, Mesut Özil, Eden Hazard, Ángel Di María, Steven Gerrard, Luis Suárez, Gerard Piqué, Riyad Mahrez, Demarai Gray, Frank Lampard, Diego Costa and Raheem Sterling.[2]

In 2016, the F2Freestylers debuted on television in the United States, with their series It's Called Football on NBCSN. Produced by Whistle Sports, the first two episodes premiered on 26 December 2016 and featured Chelsea and Arsenal.[20]

Personal life

Wingrove is married to wife Katie, with whom he has three children. Their daughter Amelie was born on 2 October 2009,[21] while their son Roman was born on 3 March 2015[22] and a 2nd daughter Dusty.

References

  1. ^ "Support & Advice". Sport England. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  2. ^ a b "F2Freestylers reach a MILLION Subscribers !!!". F2 Freestylers / YouTube. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  3. ^ "From teenage rejects to YouTube stars". The Times. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Billy Wingrove Biography". Sport England. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Living for kicks". The Independent. London. 4 July 2004. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  6. ^ Bandini, Paolo (9 November 2007). "Cup progress putting Ware on the map". Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  7. ^ Dickinson, Matt (3 June 2016). "From teenage rejects to YouTube stars". The Times. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Billy Wingrove Biography". Sport England. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  9. ^ Conchie, Peter (4 July 2004). "Living for kicks". independent.co.uk. The Independent. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Spurs juggler happy to be a control freak". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
  11. ^ "Who is Billy Wingrove on Soccer Aid 2019?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 January 2019. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  12. ^ "Spurs juggler happy to be a control freak". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
  13. ^ "Who is Billy Wingrove on Soccer Aid 2019?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 January 2019. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  14. ^ "Who is Billy Wingrove on Soccer Aid 2019?". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 January 2019. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  15. ^ "Ace Billy stays on the ball". Examiner Live. Retrieved 20 January 2022. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
  16. ^ "The F2". The F2. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  17. ^ "Football Freestyle Double Act The F2 | FIFA Ballon D'or Performance". F2Freestylers / YouTube. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  18. ^ "The F2 at Old Trafford". F2Freestylers / YouTube. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  19. ^ "Anglian Home Improvements bring celebrated football freestylers back to Carrow Road". Norwich City Football Club. 13 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  20. ^ "It's Called Football premieres Dec. 26 on NBCSN".
  21. ^ "@Billywingrove on Twitter: "My Daughter Amelie's 3rd birthday today. Happy smiles all around"". Twitter. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  22. ^ "@Billywingrove on Twitter: "Roman is born! Well done to my beautiful @klwingrove for being so strong and giving me the greatest gift in the world"". Twitter. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.

he is a genius

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