To support the launch of a Nike Mercurial, this was an EMEA-wide hunt for the fastest grassroots players.

On a specially designed course that tested speed with and without the ball, Nike Academy players set the pace; heats were held across all of Europe’s major cities; the winners then converging on the Manchester Regional Stadium (in the shadow of the Etihad) to race to be crowned the fastest in Europe - under the watchful eye of Nike-speedster and then Man City player, Jesus Navas.