Members of Tekkrew, from left, Joseph Diaz, Zein Khitamy, Jesus “Chuy” Navarro, Yamileth Alberto and Chaymae Qaddouri are photographed during a portrait session at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
What began as hours spent alone with a soccer ball has grown into a community that spans continents.
Tekkrew, a Houston collective of freestyle soccer athletes, is made up of members whose roots stretch from Morocco, Kenya, Colombia, Mexico and Qatar. They found each other through freestyle soccer, an art form that blends juggling, dance and acrobatics into a style of play where every athlete develops a signature all their own.
As Houston hosts the FIFA World Cup, the group is performing at fan festivals, community events and matches across the city, introducing thousands of fans to a side of soccer that rarely takes center stage.
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Member of Tekkrew, Joseph Diaz performs freestyle soccer during a private preview of the FIFA Fan Festival Houston in East Downtown Houston, Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
For Zein Khitamy, that moment has been years in the making. Before there was Tekkrew, there was Khitamy and a soccer ball beneath the Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park.
For nearly a decade, he has returned to the same stretch of concrete to practice. It’s where Houston’s breakdancers, dance crews and other artists gather to train. Around him, dance crews rehearsed choreography, breakdancers work through routines and music drifts across the park. With few freestylers in Houston, he found inspiration in the artists who shared the space.
Zein Khitamy performs freestyle soccer tricks during a practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
(left) Member of Tekkrew, Zein Khitamy performs freestyle soccer during the Futbolito en el Barrio neighborhood tournament in Houston’s Second Ward, Friday, May 22, 2026. (right)
“I draw a lot of inspiration from break dancers,” Khitamy said. “It’s the balance between art and sport.”
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His freestyle journey began in Saudi Arabia, where he and a friend were among the first freestylers in Jeddah. When he came to Houston, there wasn’t a community waiting for him.
After meeting Joseph Diaz and later connecting with Jesus “Chuy” Navarro, Khitamy slowly found other freestylers scattered across the city.
Joseph Diaz performs freestyle soccer tricks during a practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026. (left) Chaymae Qaddouri performs freestyle soccer tricks during a practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026. (top right) Members of Tekkrew, from left, Zein Khitamy, Joseph Diaz, Yamileth Alberto, Jesus “Chuy” Navarro and Chaymae Qaddouri practice freestyle soccer at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (bottom right)
When Chaymae Qaddouri moved from Morocco to Houston, she practiced on her own. One day, she posted a freestyle video on TikTok. Joseph Diaz saw it.
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“He commented on my video and asked, ‘Hey, are you in Houston?’,” Qaddouri said.
The comment led to her first practice with the group.
“At some point, we just became family,” she said.
Members of Tekrew, from left, Jesus “Chuy” Navarro, Zuhair Ali, Joseph Diaz, Zein Khitamy, Yamileth Alberto and Chaymae Qaddouri are photographed during a freestyle soccer practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
‘Freestyle is poetry’
For Zuhair Ali, the search took even longer.
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After moving from Qatar, he spent nearly two years looking for people who shared the same passion.
“For a long time after moving to Houston, I didn’t have a community,” Ali said. “It was always a struggle trying to find people to play street soccer with.”
Zuhair Ali trains at Eastwood Park in Houston, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
To him, freestyle became more than another version of soccer.
“I feel like freestyle is poetry,” he said. “Not written poetry, but poetry with your feet. It’s your own creativity. It’s your own expression.”
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Clockwise from left; Member of Tekkrew, Chaymae Qaddouri is photographed at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026., Member of Tekkrew, Zein Khitamy, Member of Tekkrew, Jesus “Chuy” Navarro, Member of Tekkrew, Yamileth Alberto.
Raquel Natalicchio / Houston Chronicle
Clockwise from left; Member of Tekkrew, Chaymae Qaddouri is photographed at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026., Member of Tekkrew, Zein Khitamy, Member of Tekkrew, Jesus “Chuy” Navarro, Member of Tekkrew, Yamileth Alberto.
Raquel Natalicchio / Houston Chronicle
Unlike many of the other members, Diaz grew up in Houston. Raised by a single father alongside his brothers, they had soccer as a constant in their home. Freestyle gave him another way to connect with the game, one that allowed him to create something entirely his own.
Diaz sees that individuality every time the group trains together.
“You can’t really copy anyone in freestyle,” he said. “Everyone has their own style and their own way of expressing themselves.”
Zuhair Ali performs freestyle soccer tricks during a practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
He often thinks back to something Khitamy once told him: If he were freestyling in an all-black outfit, a black shirt, black pants, black shoes, and even a mask, he wouldn’t want people to recognize his face. He’d want them to recognize the way he moved.
Members of Tekkrew, from left, Zein Khitamy, Joseph Diaz, Yamileth Alberto, Jesus “Chuy” Navarro and Chaymae Qaddouri practice freestyle soccer at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Joseph Diaz performs freestyle soccer tricks during a practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Zein Khitamy performs freestyle soccer tricks during a practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Members of Tekkrew, Yamileth Alberto, left, and Joseph Diaz wave to the crowd as Chaymae Qaddouri performs freestyle soccer during a private preview of the FIFA Fan Festival Houston in East Downtown Houston, Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Member of Tekkrew, Zein Khitamy performs freestyle soccer during the Futbolito en el Barrio neighborhood tournament in Houston’s Second Ward, Friday, May 22, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Member of Tekkrew, Yamileth Alberto is photographed at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Member of Tekkrew, Chaymae Qaddouri is photographed at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Member of Tekkrew, Jesus “Chuy” Navarro is photographed at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026.
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Member of Tekkrew, Joseph Diaz is photographed at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Member of Tekkrew, Zein Khitamy is photographed at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Member of Tekkrew, Zein Khitamy is photographed at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Members of Tekrew, from left, Jesus “Chuy” Navarro, Yamileth Alberto, Zuhair Ali and Chaymae Qaddouri practice freestyle soccer at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Yamileth Alberto performs freestyle soccer tricks during a practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Zein Khitamy performs freestyle soccer tricks during a practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Chaymae Qaddouri performs freestyle soccer tricks during a practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
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Zein Khitamy stretches before a freestyle soccer practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
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Left to right, Zein Khitamy, Joseph Diaz, Jesus “Chuy” Navarro and Chaymae Qaddouri warm up before a freestyle soccer practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Zein Khitamy performs freestyle soccer tricks during a practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Joseph Diaz performs freestyle soccer tricks during a practice at The Water Works at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Friday, April 24, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
“Being able to do that, whether in public or on my own, is amazing because I feel like I’m making art,” he said. “It’s like painting a canvas.”
Becoming part of the World Cup
The World Cup has given Tekkrew a larger audience than any of them imagined. For Qaddouri, performing before World Cup crowds wasn’t something she ever thought possible.
“Now I’m part of the World Cup as a performer before the games,” she said. “I always dreamed about coming to watch the games, but I never dreamed about actually being part of them.”
Members of Tekkrew, Chaymae Qaddouri, left, and Yamileth Alberto perform freestyle soccer during a private preview of the FIFA Fan Festival Houston in East Downtown Houston, Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Moments after Tekkrew walked off the stage following its first performance at the FIFA Fan Festival Houston, 6-year-old Miguel Ulloa ran through the crowd toward the group. He recognized them from watching their freestyle videos on TikTok. His mother, Ashley Leza, lifted her phone as Miguel proudly wedged himself between the athletes for a photo, eager to stand beside the athletes he’d only watched online.
Members of Tekkrew, from left, Yamileth Alberto, Chaymae Qaddouri and Joseph Diaz pose for a photo with Miguel Ulloa, 6, who recognized the group from social media, as his mother, Ashley Leza, 33, takes the picture during a private preview of the FIFA Fan Festival Houston in East Downtown Houston, Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
After they posed for the picture, Qaddouri and Diaz stood off to the side, wiping away tears.
For years, they had posted videos online without knowing who might be watching. They described this moment as the first time they had truly seen the impact of years spent practicing in parks, parking lots and posting videos online.
“I know people come to our events and think, ‘Maybe I can do that. Maybe I can try,’” Diaz said. “That’s beautiful.”
For Jesus “Chuy” Navarro, the recognition is rewarding because it wasn’t what brought them together.
“We’ve worked for years without expecting any type of reward,” Navarro said. “We’re not doing it for the money. We’re doing it because we enjoy what we do. We have a passion for it.”
Member of Tekkrew, Zein Khitamy performs a freestyle soccer trick as, from left, Joseph Diaz, Jesus “Chuy” Navarro, Chaymae Qaddouri and Yamileth Alberto watch during a practice at the Harrisburg Art Museum in Houston, Saturday, May 16, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Years ago, they practiced alone in different parts of the world. Today, they practice together in Houston.
“We’re all people from different places,” Khitamy said, “but we’re representing the same place. That’s Houston culture.”