France stars gather at Paris's TikTok mini-pitch

UEFA EURO 2020 ambassadors Christian Karembeu, David Trezeguet and Ludovic Giuly joined freestylers and influencers at the launch of the TikTok mini-pitch in Paris on Monday, an event that was streamed live on the hugely popular @EURO2020 TikTok account.

The stylish urban mini-pitch is located at heart of Paris's chic 18th district, and has been redesigned in the social network's branding by artist Vincent Bargis to feature special vertical goals echoing TikTok's video format. "It's a good initiative to combine art and sport," said Karembeu, a world and European champion with France. "The two things go well together and football is an artform too. This pitch will also help young people in the neighbourhood."

France greats Karembeu, Trezeguet and Giuly teamed up with freestylers like Yoanna Dallier and Victor Blanchard to showcase their skills, with TikTok France's director of public affairs and government relations, Éric Garandeau, explaining: "We wanted to create an event and make something useful for local people. Funding the renovation of a pitch and branding it in TikTok's colours made sense as TikTok is a creative platform."

The mini-pitch in Paris's 18th district

Two five-a-side teams gave a one-hour demonstration on the new pitch; Trezeguet and Giuly were on the white-shirted side, while Karembeu played for the black-shirted team. Having led 6-2 at half-time, the whites' lead was cut to 6-5 in the second half before they put on a final spurt to win 9-5.

Before and after the game, one subject was on everyone's lips: the UEFA EURO 2020 round of 16 tie between Les Bleus and Switzerland. "I think it will be a comfortable victory tonight," predicted Giuly. "This is the moment where we will really launch our EURO campaign." Trezeguet, who scored France's winner in the EURO 2000 final, agreed: "France have great talent; they are the most rounded team, so they'll go through."

Karembeu was equally confident, and felt that Belgium's win against Portugal on Sunday would help Les Bleus to focus. "This result should serve as a warning," he said. "We need to be focused against Switzerland. This generation of Les Bleus is hugely talented and I know Didier Deschamps is leading this squad with the objective of winning the EURO."

Short-form mobile video app TikTok is a Global Sponsor of UEFA EURO 2020. TikTok is one of the most downloaded apps in the world. Available in more than 150 countries, and in 75 languages, the platform is committed to building a fun, positive and embracing community by encouraging users to share their passion and creative expression through short-form videos.

More than 3 million fans follow the official EURO 2020 TikTok account, which offers daily videos featuring the special moments, reactions and celebrations of EURO, while an innovative Live programme pairs creators with legends and goes behind the scenes of a tournament that is thrilling fans globally.