World Cup winner and double FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho showed he still had the skills at the Coque sports centre in Kirchberg on Tuesday afternoon when he played a quick game of Teqball. The new sports craze combines table tennis and football on a specially designed playing platform. Created by three Hungarians, Gabor Borsany, Viktor Huszar and Docler Holding founder Gyorgy Gattyan, the game is licensed by Docler, which has its headquarters in Luxembourg.

The Teqball table serves as a training tool for both professional players and amateur enthusiasts. It tests technical skills, dexterity and stamina, but is also fun to play. Ronaldinho, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002, was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005 while with Barcelona, with whom he also won the Champions League. He is the global ambassador for Teqball, which he describes as the perfect fusion between technology, player skill and sports. “I am thrilled to be part of Teqball. The sport really does pay homage to football in all the right ways, emphasizing the best parts while forgoing the less exciting segments of the game,” he said.

Other famous Teqball players include Marco Materazzi, Lothar Matthäus, Gianfranco Zola and Zico. Luxembourg’s Teqball ambassador is former international Roby Langers, who won 73 caps for the Red Lions and also played in the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 in France. He said of the new game, “You are required to have some technical skill to be a good player, but the game itself is much more forgiving. This will encourage new players to continue the game even if they find themselves on the losing side more often than not.”