The Baller League is back for Season 2, live on Sky Sports! Find out all you need to know on how it works, what’s changed and which famous faces are taking part!
Sky Sports and Baller League UK have extended their partnership into a second season of the six-a-side competition, meaning fans can watch every match from London’s Copper Box Arena live on Sky Sports on Monday evenings. For the first time, watchalongs will also feature on select matchdays on the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.
From new managers including Daniel Sturridge and Idris Elba to the fixture schedule and format, here’s all you need to know…
What is the Baller League?
The Baller League began in Germany, created by entrepreneur Felix Starck and aided by Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski. It is a six-a-side indoor football competition, with the first UK season taking place at the Copper Box Arena in London.
The influencer-led league – headlined by KSI for the UK version – sees former Premier League players, futsal players and celebrities face one another in 12 teams to win the Baller League. Each team battles it out for 11 weeks to determine the final four. The winner is decided in a final four play-off, with two semi-finals setting up the final.
The action returns on Monday October 27 with the final matchday of the season, ahead of the final four, due to take place on January 5.
Baller League rules – how does it work?
Each team has 12 players to choose from – selected in a Ballers League draft – with halves that are 15 minutes long.
There are no corners – if the ball goes behind off the opposition three times, a penalty is awarded to the attacking team (’90s MLS-style!) – and in the final three minutes of each half, different rules are added.
Those ‘gamechangers’ include a 3 vs 3 format, long-range goals scored from behind the offside line counting as double and goalkeepers unable to use their hands.
Matches will take place every Monday for 11 consecutive weeks, before the top four teams in the league standings battle it out in the semi-finals and final to crown the champion. The first season saw Sharky’s SDS FC lift the trophy after a 4-3 victory over MVPs United in the final.
What’s new?
The second season returns with new faces as Chloe Kelly’s Clutch FC, Idris Elba’s Rukkas FC and Niko Omilana’s NDL FC join the competition.
There will be another new face on the sidelines too, with former England striker and Sky Sports expert Daniel Sturridge joining Micah Richards to manage Deportrio FC.
Former players John Terry, Jens Lehmann, Robert Pires, Alan Shearer and Ian Wright also return to the dugout, alongside Miniminter, Tobi Brown, Sharky, AngryGinge and Maya Jama who will manage alongside Como Women’s Alisha Lehmann.
Baller League UK Season 2 fixtures
Matchday 1
Game 1: 26ers vs Yanited
Game 2: N5 vs NDL FC
Game 3: Deportrio vs Wembely Rangers AFC
Game 4: SDS FC vs VZN FC
Game 5: Rukkas FC vs MVPs United
Game 6: M7 FC vs Clutch FC
Baller League UK Season 2 dates and full match schedule
Matchday 1: October 27
Matchday 2: November 3
Matchday 3: November 10
Matchday 4: November 17
Matchday 5: November 24
Matchday 6: December 1
Matchday 7: December 8
Matchday 8: December 15
Matchday 9: December 22
Matchday 10: December 29
Matchday 11: January 5
Final Four: TBC
Baller League UK Season 2 teams and managers
- 26ers – managed by John Terry
- Deportrio – managed by Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge
- NDL FC – managed by Niko Omilana
- M7 FC – managed by Miniminter
- MVPs United – managed by Alisha Lehmann and Maya Jama
- N5 FC – managed by Jens Lehmann, Robert Pires and Eman SV2
- Rukkas FC – managed by Idris Elba
- SDS FC – managed by Sharky
- Clutch FC – Managed by Chloe Kelly
- VZN FC – managed by Tobi Brown
- Wembley Rangers – managed by Ian Wright and Alan Shearer
- Yanited – managed by Angry Ginge
Baller League squads and players
26ers
Franchise: J’ardell Stirling, Bilal Sayoud
Designated: Ebenezer Addo-Kufuor, Emmanuel Robe, Kojo Apenteng, Connor Wood
Team Baller: David Oupoh, Serine Sanneh, Nabeel Ghannam, Pharrell Mensah, Sam Meisel, Eligijus Dapkus
Clutch FC
Franchise: Albie Sheehan, Evans Kouassi
Designated: Addison Garnett, Michael Hill, Destiny Ojo, Eddie Allsopp
Team Baller: David Solademi, Keir Dickson, Dillon Barnes, Erick Kenko, Jordan Lazenbury, Ethan Oke
Deportrio
Franchise: Richard Afrane-Kesey, Francis Gerard Mampolo
Designated: Adam Dawson, Josh Harrop, Marvin Sordell, Kevin Gonzalez
Team Baller: Daniel Atherton, Jack McConnell, Zach Fagan, Alex Dyer, Henri Lansbury, Joleon Lescott
M7 FC
Franchise: Toby Bull, Stefan Ilic
Designated: Sam Fitzgerald, Zaid Al-Hussaini, Zion Nditi, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas
Team Baller: Femi Akinwande, Mohammed Mahyoub, Jordon Thompson, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Bayli Spencer-Adams, Joshua Abbott
MVPs United
Franchise: Timmy Abraham, Montel McKenzie
Designated: Josh Rusoke, Jake Chambers Shaw, James Caton, Tommy Scott
Team Baller: Lorenzo Kevin Spinelli, Daniel Wood, Tyrone Marsh, Vani Da Silva, Nathan Okome, Robbie Burton
N5 FC
Franchise: Martyn Waghorn, Jack Young
Designated: Declan McCarthy, Angus MacDonald, George Nikaj, Jean-Baptiste Fisher
Team Baller: Hani Berchiche, Callum Charlton, Chris Arthur, Ross Derham, Nathan Holland, Nile Ranger
NDL FC
Franchise: Amine Sassi, Ciaran Clark
Designated: Amin Belaid, Isaac Modi, Dominic Vose
Team Baller: Aaron Steavens, Jordan Antonio Brown, Kamel Sassi, Ruben Junior, Amadou Kassarate
Rukkas FC
Franchise: Mussa Bham, Casey Shann
Designated: Ergys Pepaj, Jezreel Davies, Taufee Skandari, Toby Aromolaran
Team Baller: Dara Dada, Seth Locke, Luqman Kassim, Bruno Andrade, Michael Hector, Brandon Barker
SDS FC
Franchise: Mauro Vilhete
Designated: Camilo Restrepo, Hafed Al-Droubi, David Marques Castanho, Alfie Matthews
Team Baller: Michael Folivi, Calvin Dickson, Finlay Chadwick, Youssef Chentouf, Nya Kirby, Tarik Gidaree
VZN FC
Franchise: Yasin Ben El-Mhanni, Scott Kashket
Designated: Kurtis Cumberbatch, Ola Ogunwamide, Hamza Semakula
Team Baller: Michael Onovwigun, Luka Marusic, Daniel Bowry, Eric De Melo, Joshua Parker, Melvin Minter
Wembley Rangers AFC
Franchise: Cheikh Thiam, George Isaac
Designated: Domingos Pires, Jack Connors, Callam Gardner, Danny Bassett
Team Baller: Ben Long, Charles Yiadom Kunado, Sandro Camara, Dominic Morgan-Griffiths, Ismat Sumbal, Alfie Mansell
Yanited
Franchise: Bryan Ly, John Bostock
Designated: Calum Butcher, PK Humble, Remy Clerima, Jesse Waller-Lassen
Team Baller: Max Pitman, Harry Cain, Kadell Daniel, Medy Elito, Ahoora Heydari, Abdulahi Abdulazeez
