Who is J’ardell Stirling? Semi-pro footballer playing for John Terry’s 26ers in Baller League

JOHN TERRY selected J’ardell Stirling for his 26ers Baller League side at his first opportunity.

SunSport has the lowdown on the defender looking to take his career to new heights during the exciting tournament.

Who is J’ardell Stirling?

The 26-year-old centre back, J’ardell has featured for a range of semi-professional outfits, including Haringey Borough, Walthamstow FC and Wingate & Finchley.

Having played most of his career in the Isthmian League, the dominant defender wants to try and take his career up a level with a larger platform like the Baller League.

Taken under the wing of Champions League winner and ex-Chelsea captain, John Terry, and playing alongside former Liverpool starlet Jordan Ibe, the 26ers cement themselves as a solid team with a good chance of success in the Baller League.

How to watch Baller League and what are the rules?

• The action starts on Monday, March 24 and will be aired in the UK on Sky Sports.
• It will also be live streamed on YouTube and Twitch.
• Matches are six-a-side on a small indoor pitch – each match lasts 30 minutes, with two 15 minute halves.
• There are certain rule changes with the final three minutes of matches going to 3vs3, long-range goals counting as double and goalkeepers not allowed to use hands.
• Hockey-style penalties – with players running one-on-one – will be used
• 12 teams are in the competition, with six matches weekly.
• Four teams then head to a grand final.
• SunSport will live blog matches every week.

Baller League squads in FULL

26ers– 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 – 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 – 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 – 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– 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 – 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 – 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 – 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– 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– 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 – 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 – 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.