adidas has launched a new urban football centre in South Africa to give local footballers the opportunity to grow their game in a state of the art facility.

THE BASE Jo’burg is the ultimate football venue – the only place in South Africa where players can play multiple formats of the game, test quality adidas product, watch some of the countries’ best talents, and their favourite professional teams weekly.

The facility has a variety of unique features created to match the way the game is played today. These include 4-a-side and 2-a-side pitches, Pana court, media room, a dedicated skills area and a game room.

‘We saw the need of a place where young footballers can grow and showcase their creativity and flair of the game. An opportunity for us to interact with our core consumer, not just at a store level, but a way to experience the brand on a more personal level,’ said Adrian de Souza, Head of Football at adidas South Africa.

‘This is a new chapter. A way to inspire creators to change the game, not only giving them the tools, but a platform to create and inspire a new generation of footballers from all walks of life,’ said De Souza.

Unlike other countries, adidas South Africa has stepped up the game, introducing an interactive digital element to THE BASE. Players will be registered through fingerprint recognition technology, which will track entries to the venue, as well as each player’s in-game statistics.

Aiming to make it more accessible, the venue will be available free of charge to schools, and open to all from Wednesday – Sunday, 15:00 until late, opening earlier on weekends.

TANGO LEAGUE

adidas has also introduced the new TANGO LEAGUE concept at The Base. Launched in London last year, the Tango League is an adidas tournament held at Football Bases across the world, and this is coming to Africa for the first time.

This league is a series of tournaments to be held at the venue in Johannesburg from 2017 to 2018, with 8 teams per day participating, starting Saturday, 25 March 2017.  The tournaments are aimed at finding creators between ages of 16- 24 to be part of the adidas community.  All communications, including registrations will be done through social media.  The league’s MVP player could stand a chance to be invited to adidas’ global events as well as winning a boot deal.

For further information please follow @adidasZA on twitter and Instagram to join the conversation.