Panna Knock Out

What Panna Knock Out does

Panna Knock Out is a privately held Dutch sports and entertainment organization founded in 2001 and headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands (Koperslagerstraat 16, 3077 MD Rotterdam). It operates as the world's premier platform for 1v1 street football played in an octagon cage (7m diameter), codified under a proprietary two-ruleset Rulebook — "Classic" for local, city, national and qualification tournaments, and "World Finals" (exclusive to the global championship) which adds a three-judge skill panel and Video Assistant Referee (VAR). The defining mechanic is the "panna" (nutmeg): ball played through an opponent's legs = instant knockout win, subject to intentionality and possession rules. The company was co-conceived with Edgar Davids and Nike's Edwin van Zanen in the mid-1990s, evolving from the original "NIKE Panna K.O." into an independent street football movement.

The core product portfolio centers on the annual World Finals in Rotterdam (Men, Ladies since 2020, Next Gen since 2024) along with qualification tournaments, the Dutch Open Championship, the European Championship (since 2012), the World of Streetfootball, PRO Cups with professional footballers (Wijnaldum, Willems, El Khayati, Drenthe), and KNVB Street Football Games. Supporting products include the Panna Knock Out Official Merchandise Shop (panna.shop), the Official Rulebook, and a Media Hub. A Legacy Weekend (October 2026) at Fenix Museum Rotterdam commemorates 25 years of the brand and 30 years of modern street football.

Panna Knock Out monetizes through four streams: (1) event registration fees (€14.95 early bird with limited-edition T-shirt, €14.95 standard); (2) merchandise sales (branded apparel and the Panna Knock Out x Monta Street Streetmatch ball); (3) Panna Cash prize money (€50–€500 per knockout during World Finals Ruleset B); and (4) sponsorship and partnerships with elite football clubs (Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Galatasaray, Celtic, Ajax, Feyenoord, ADO Den Haag), the Dutch FA (KNVB), Laureus and Dutch embassies/consulates. Distribution is event-driven and community-led, leveraging social media (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook — 100K+ followers combined), direct-to-consumer registration via Tournify, and a global network of qualifiers across 31+ countries. The company is privately held, employs 11–50 people, has not raised external funding, and has no disclosed revenue.

Name

Panna Knock Out

Legal name

Panna Knock Out

Website

https://pannaknockout.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Panna Knock Out is a Rotterdam-based, privately held global street football platform that operates 1v1 cage tournaments under a proprietary two-ruleset Rulebook and hosts the annual World Finals championship. It serves male, female, and youth players across 31+ countries via community-led events, club partnerships, and branded merchandise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Event Registration Fees: Participants pay registration fees to compete in World Finals qualifiers and tournaments. Early bird pricing at €14.95 includes limited edition T-shirt.
2. Merchandise Shop: Online shop (panna.shop) sells official Panna Knock Out merchandise including the official street match ball.
3. Panna Cash Rewards: Prize money system where Panna Cash rewards range from €50 to €500 during World Finals Ruleset B competitions.
4. Sponsorship and Partnerships: Brand partnerships with companies like Arsenal FC, Galatasaray, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Celtic and corporate sponsors for tournaments and events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Panna Knock Out organizes and operates 1v1 street football cage tournaments under two proprietary rulesets (Classic Ruleset A for local/national/qualifier events and World Finals Ruleset B for the global championship), anchored by its annual World Finals championship in Rotterdam featuring Men, Ladies, and Next Gen categories. The company also runs qualifying tournaments, community PRO Cups and KNVB Street Football Games, and sells official branded merchandise (including the Panna Knock Out x Monta Street Streetmatch ball) through its panna.shop storefront.

Product overview

Panna Knock Out is a global street football platform built around 1v1 cage tournaments. The core offering is the Panna Knock Out Tournament Platform, which hosts competitions under two rulesets — Classic Rules (for local, city, national, and qualification tournaments) and World Finals Rules (for the global championship). The product portfolio centers on flagship events including the annual World Finals (featuring Men, Ladies, and Next Gen categories), the World Finals Qualifier (powered by Tournify), the Living Legends Tournament, and Open Battles. The organization also runs recurring tournaments including the Dutch Open Championship Panna, European Championship, World of Streetfootball, PRO Cups, and the KNVB Street Football Games. A Legacy Weekend commemorative event celebrates the culture's milestones. Supporting products include an Official Merchandise Shop (panna.shop) selling branded apparel and the official Streetmatch ball, and a Media Hub aggregating photo albums and social media content. The Official Rulebook documents the game's two rulesets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• World Finals Annual World Championship event held in Rotterdam featuring three competitive categories — Men, Ladies, and Next Gen — where the world's best street football players compete for world titles across multi-day qualifier and knockout stages. Launched in 2020 as the highest stage of the game, with a panel of 3 skill judges added to reward attacking play, creative skills and entertainment value.
• World Finals Qualifier Qualification tournaments that allow players to earn spots at the World Finals through bracket competition, managed via the Tournify platform, with limited spots allocated per category. Early bird registration at €14.95 includes a limited-edition Rotterdam Street Culture Week T-shirt.
• Legacy Weekend (Celebration Weekend) A commemorative event on October 24–25, 2026 at the Fenix Museum in Rotterdam celebrating 25 years of Panna Knock Out and 30 years of modern street football, featuring historical exhibitions, documentary screenings, unique battles, talks, and community gatherings.
• Open Battles Open-registration bracket competitions held across multiple cages during the World Finals qualifier day, where participants compete to earn a spot in the Sunday main event.
• Living Legends Tournament An invite-only 3v3 tournament held during the World Finals weekend featuring both veteran and new-generation street football players, with free public entry.
• World of Streetfootball A flagship international street football event featuring players from multiple countries competing in panna and freestyle formats, with past editions attracting attendees from 20+ countries and thousands of participants and visitors (e.g., 15,000 visitors and 1,000+ participants in 2019).
• Dutch Open Championship Panna The national open championship tournament for Panna Knock Out in the Netherlands, open to all participants and held at major venues such as Jaarbeurs Utrecht; e.g., 2005 edition held on the Grote Markt in Haarlem.
• European Championship Panna Knock Out The continental European championship tournament for Panna Knock Out, first held on 27 May 2012 in Beverwijk, pitting the best players from European countries against each other.
• PRO Cups Community tournaments organized with professional football players — including Georginio Wijnaldum, Jetro Willems, Nasser el Khayati, and Royston Drenthe — who return to their home neighborhoods to host Panna Knock Out events.
• KNVB Street Football Games Large-scale events combining all facets of street football including panna, freestyle, 5v5, and innovative formats like Football Darts and Skills Spot, with thousands of participants and visitors; e.g., 2016 Rotterdam edition drew 5,000+ visitors.
• Panna Knock Out Official Merchandise Shop Official Panna Knock Out branded merchandise store selling limited-edition T-shirts (e.g., Rotterdam Street Culture Week participant edition), the official Panna Knock Out x Monta Street Streetmatch match ball, and other branded products.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Arsenal FCflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Following the UK Tour 2008, Panna KO visited the Arsenal Cruyff Court Bergkamp in London where Arsenal coaches were impressed by the game and skills of Dutch players. In 2009, Arsenal became partners, producing community Panna Knock Out tournaments.
• ADO Den HaagcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Since 2006, Panna Knock Out organized tournaments for Dutch professional football clubs including ADO Den Haag, Ajax, AZ, Feyenoord, NEC, Heerenveen and Willem II.
• AjaxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional club partnerships for community Panna Knock Out tournaments since 2006.
• FeyenoordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional club partnerships for community Panna Knock Out tournaments since 2006.
• Celtic FCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership during UK Tour and subsequent community Panna Knock Out tournaments.
• Liverpool FCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership during UK Tour and community Panna Knock Out tournaments.
• Real MadridcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership with Real Madrid for community Panna Knock Out tournaments.
• GalatasaraycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2009, Panna Knock Out introduced the sport to Galatasaray in Istanbul at the request of Dutch consulate, with trainers Frank Rijkaard and Johan Neeskens.
• LaureusflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaureus and Panna Knock Out started collaboration in 2013 to use the social impact of Panna Knock Out. Legend Edwin van der Sar, ambassador of Laureus Nederland, signed the cooperation agreement.
• KNVBcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKNVB street football ambassadors (Jeand Doest, Nasser El Jackson, Tom Vegter, Rocky) tour and engage kids with freestyle, ground moves, street dance, breakdance and freerunning. KNVB Street Football Games held in Rotterdam (2016) with 5,000+ visitors.
• Monta StreetcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to release the official Panna Knock Out x Monta Street Streetmatch ball in 2019. All sales were donated to organize panna events worldwide.
• Dutch Embassies and ConsulatesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Dutch embassies and consulates to organize international tournaments in Switzerland, UK, Macedonia, Morocco, Brazil, and other countries.
• TournifycoreTechnology or IntegrationTournament registration platform powering World Finals 2026 qualifiers, enabling players to sign up and register for limited competition spots.
• Fenix MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner for Celebration Weekend (October 24-25, 2026) celebrating 25 years of Panna Knock Out and 30 years of modern street football.
• Edgar DavidsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed by Edgar Davids and Nike, Panna Knock Out was conceived together with street soccer players from Amsterdam in the mid-90s.
• NikeflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal co-creator of Nike Panna K.O. with Edgar Davids in the mid-90s. First tournament organized in 2001. Legendary Nike Panna K.O. tournaments followed until 2006.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• M.I.O. World: International 1v1 street football organization running branded '1v1' events and rankings. Comparable in format (1v1 cage/arena street football), competitive structure, and target player demographic as Panna Knock Out.
• Red Bull Street Style: Red Bull's flagship international street football freestyle tournament. Directly comparable as a globally recognized 1v1 street football competition with a major brand sponsor, structured ruleset, and world-championship framing targeting the same player and fan base as Panna Knock Out.
• Neymar Jr's Five: Global 5-a-side street football tournament series associated with Neymar Jr. Comparable as a branded, international street football competition with qualifier-to-world-final structure, leveraging a celebrity athlete partnership to drive participation and sponsorship.
• World Freestyle Football Championship: International governing-style event for competitive freestyle football. Comparable as a globally recognized competition in the street football family that targets the same broader urban football player ecosystem and sponsorship landscape.
• Super Ball: Open-format street football tournament series (originating in Czechia) attracting international teams and players. Directly comparable as a competitive street football event operator running open and pro divisions, with a similar tournament-driven content and sponsorship model.
• AND1: Heritage streetball brand and mixtape tour. Closely analogous to Panna Knock Out as a culturally rooted, ruleset-driven urban 1v1 competition format that grew from street culture into a global, sponsor-supported competition property.

Broad incumbents

• Kings League: Gerard Piqué-backed 7-a-side football entertainment league. Comparable as a newer, well-capitalized urban-football entertainment property competing for the same digital-native football fan attention, sponsorship dollars, and creator-driven media model, but operating at a larger scale and with bigger media rights ambitions.
• Red Bull Half Court: Red Bull's 3x3 street basketball tournament series. Comparable as a Red Bull-organized urban cage/half-court competition format with global qualifiers, sharing the same urban-sports sponsorship playbook and target youth/urban audience as Panna Knock Out.

Others

• Copa90: Football culture media brand covering street, grassroots, and supporter football globally. Comparable as a content and community-led platform that monetizes the same street football fan base through media, partnerships, and event activations adjacent to Panna Knock Out's tournament business.

Regional players

• F3 (Freestyle Football Federation): International federation organizing and governing competitive freestyle football events and world championships. Comparable as a governing/event-organization layer in the broader street football ecosystem that Panna Knock Out operates in, though focused on freestyle rather than cage panna.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@pannaknockout
• Facebookfacebook.com/pannaknockoutofficial
• Instagraminstagram.com/pannaknockout.official
• TikToktiktok.com/@pannaknockout
• Xx.com/pannaknockout
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pannaknockout

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Panna Knock Out