Ronaldinho launching worldwide street football league

Brazil great Ronaldinho is launching a worldwide street football league to give talented young players an opportunity to showcase their skills and follow the same path to stardom as the former Barcelona player.

The Ronaldinho Global Street League will begin in “late 2023,” organizers said Saturday, and will initially feature a social media tryout process where street football players of all ages can upload their best skills and tricks in a bid to join one of the competition's teams.

Head-to-head matches and skills competitions will be staged in major cities across the world and teams will compete in a league for the title of “RGSL Champions” and to become part of what will be called the Ronaldinho Globe Street Team.

“We believe there is massive value in the space — and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to support the players of the future,” Ronaldinho said in announcing the venture. There were no specifics about the likely location of the events or the precise start time.

Ronaldinho, a two-time world player of the year, has linked up with sports agent and former player Roberto de Assis Moreira and Sophie Watts, the co-founder of Mike Tyson's Legends League, to launch the league.

“Ronaldinho and I grew up in an underprivileged community in Brazil," Moreira said. "We know first-hand the power of street football in empowering youth and are fully dedicated to discovering and supporting street soccer players around the world through RGSL.”