THE exciting new Baller League returns TONIGHT with a variety of famous faces involved.
The six-a-side spectacular has been a major success in Germany – where it was set up by Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski – and kicked off in the UK last week to great excitement.
YouTuber-turned-boxer KSI has been unveiled as the president of the UK version, with streaming sensation iShowSpeed guiding the US.
A stunning advert – which mimics the famous Nike Brazil ad from the 1998 World Cup – revealed football legends such as John Terry and Luis Figo will act as managers of teams.
Match of the Day alumni Gary Lineker, Micah Richards and Alan Shearer will also take charge of a team, as will Arsenal Invincibles Freddie Ljungberg, Jens Lehmann and Robert Pires.
Ian Wright and Chloe Kelly have a side competing, as do Alisha Lehmann and Maya Jama.
Sidemen stars Miniminter and Tobi, plus YouTubers AngryGinge and Sharky are also managers.
Brit Award winner and platinum-selling superstar Dave will take charge of Santan FC, while fashion icon Clint 419 will manage FC Rules the World.
Baller League CEO, Felix Starck said: “Baller League is a brand new way to consume football.
“We're redefining how the game is played by bringing an exhilarating and authentic approach to football, and one that will appeal to current fans along with future generations.
“Baller League is all about forward-thinking, aggressive, hyper-exciting football. We're about creating a version of the game that's impossible to ignore – thrilling, bold and packed with excitement.”
After the tournament kicked off with Night 1 last week, teams are now able to include WILD CARD players from tonight.
John Terry and his 26ers were losers on the opening night, while AngryGinge's Yanited looked excellent in a 7-2 win.
SunSport also picked out some of the best players to watch after the first round of action.
What is Baller League?
Baller League is a weekly indoor football tournament – consisting of legendary footballers and other famous stars managing the teams.
Twelve teams will play in six-a-side matches, with the top four teams of the league advancing to the final play-off in June to be crowned the champion.
The entertaining format will be similar to Gerard Pique's Kings League from Spain and the German version of the Baller League.
When is Baller League coming to UK?
- The first night of Baller League took place on Monday, March 24.
- Matches then run for 11 consecutive Monday nights until June.
- Each night is made up of six 30-minute matches.
- London's Copper Box Arena will host all the games
What are the Baller League rules?
- Matches will be played in a six-a-side format on a smaller indoor pitch.
- Each half will be 15 minutes long.
- Shock rule twists will be introduced for the final three minutes of each half, including a three vs three format, long-range goals counting as double, and goalkeepers not allowed to use their hands.
- These rule twists for the final three minutes will be randomised.
- MLS-style one-vs-one penalties are to be used.
- 12 teams in the league, with the top four going through to the playoffs.
- The league begins in March 2025, with the final four play-offs taking place in June.
- Wild card players will be introduced from Night 2 (March 31).
Is Baller League on TV and can it be live streamed?
- After UK broadcasting rights were left unknown for a few weeks, it has now been confirmed that Sky Sports have signed a one-year deal.
- Matches can also be watched on NOWTV.
- Every match will be broadcast on the channel and hosted by Chunkz and Olivia Buzaglo.
- Baller League UK's official YouTube and Twitch channels will also stream all the action.
- Coverage gets underway at 5.15pm with the first match of the night set to kick-off at 5.35pm.
- Alternatively, SunSport will LIVE BLOG all the action as it happens.
Who is playing in the Baller League?
26ers – managed by John Terry
- Squad – J'ardell Stirling, Bilal Sayoud, Sak Hassan, Kojo Apenteng, Marcel Lewis, Jordon Ibe, Matt Chizzum, Emmanuel Rowe, Justin Dass, Spike Stegel, Vladislav Platinov, Jack Crook.
Deportrio – managed by Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and Gary Lineker
- Squad – Bakary Sako, Adam Dawson, Francis Gerald Mapolo, Zach Fagan, Marvin Sordell, Charlie Kuehn, Tommy Scott, Raphael Gas, Alex Dyer, Ruben Singale, Tristan Goodridge, Leo Serri.
FC Rules the World – managed by Clint 419
- Squad – Michael Ndiweni, Josh Harrop, Tareiq Holmes-Dennis, Kevin Gonzalez, Oliver Bosworth, Karim Kamhouri, Erghis Pepy, Onuchi Oki, Yusuf Shentu, Alamiji Oluma, Sandro Kamara, Festus Chalet.
M7 FC – managed by Miniminter
- Squad – Jesse Waller-Lassen, Femi Akinwande, Stefan Ilic, Jean Belehouan, Toby Bull, Sam Fitzgerald, Arjun Young, Ramez Gonzalo, Arin Zaha, Lewis Garcia, Henry Wise, Zion Nditi.
MVPs United – managed by Alisha Lehmann and Maya Jama
- Squad – Lorenzo Spinelli, Ashton Peltier, Jake Chambers Shaw, Ross Derham, Josh Misoki, James Canton, Alfie Matthew, Declan McCarthy, Jay Beckford, Joe Edwards, Dwayne Suel, Esteban Salgado.
N5 FC – managed by Jens Lehmann, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg
- Squad – Owen Locke, Adrian Mariappa, Brian Ly, Charlie Wakefield, Dayo Adekayo, Chris Arba, Imran Kahani, Michael Class, James Alabi, Troy Molunda, Freddie Berrati, Callum Charlton.
Santan FC – managed by Dave
- Squad – Michael Hill, Richard Kesey, Dominic Voss, Erick Kenco, Ranell McKenzie Lowes, Jamell Abou-Bakare, Rico Okinari, David Upu, Abdullah Gervardi, Jack Wilson, David Solidemi, Luka Valentine.
SDS FC – managed by Sharky
- Squad – Bruno Andrade, Bayley Brown, Ody Alfa, Cole Da Silva, David Marques Castanho, Calvin Dickson, Big John, Camillo Astreppo, Finley Chadwick, Michael Felibe, Hussein Mahdi, Tyler Edmundson.
Trebol FC – managed by Luis Figo
- Squad – Montel McKenzie, Vani Da Silva, Ciaran Clark, Isaac Modi, Ethan Oke, Reggie, Emi, Ryan Gorwell, Jordan Brown, Shani Omed, Aaron Steven, Nathan Bowen.
VZN FC – managed by Tobi Brown
- Squad – Henri Lansbury, Kurtice Herbert, Jerome Sinclair, Remy Mitchell, Montel McKenzie, Florian Kastrati, Michael Olive-Wigan, Barrell Mensah, Ethan McClear, Diego Dombaboni, Jami Kheresi, Luka Barusic.
Wembley Rangers – managed by Ian Wright and Chloe Kelly
- Squad – Domingos Pires, Check Fayum, Ben Long, Stuart Cook, Oliver Cannon, Juan Pablo, Ruben Junior, Luke Gambin, Kaylen Kofi, Braden Shaw, Joseph Diomande, Nabid Eshari.
Yanited – managed by AngryGinge
- Squad – Kadell Daniel, Michael Hector, Mohammed Mahyoub, Remy Clerima, Percy Kiangebeni, Medy Elito, Max Pitman, Harry Cain, Henry O'Shea, Daniel Thompson, Daniel Woods, Pharrel Mensah.
Baller League schedule and results
Matchday 1: March 24
- Game 1: Yanited 7-2 N5
- Game 2: FC RTW 4-5 MVPs United
- Game 3: SDS 5-2 26ers
- Game 4: Trebol 4-6 Santan FC
- Game 5: M7 3-2 Wembley Rangers
- Game 6: Deportrio 6-3 VZN
Matchday 2:March 31
- Game 1: MVPs United vs M7 – 5.35pm
- Game 2: Wembley Rangers vs VZN – 6.35pm
- Game 3: N5 vs Deportrio – 7.35pm
- Game 4: 26ers vs Yanited – 8.35pm
- Game 5: Santan FC vs SDS – 9.35pm
- Game 6: FC RTW vs Trebol – 10.35pm
Matchday 3:April 7
Matchday 4:April 14
Matchday 5:April 21
Matchday 6:April 28
Matchday 7:May 5
Matchday 8:May 12
Matchday 9:May 19
Matchday 10:May 26
Matchday 11:June 6
Final Four Day:June 11
