Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
An ex-Wolves and West Brom player has been selected to play in the new Baller League.
Former Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion winger Bakary Sako has been called up to the Baller League, a new indoor football tournament coming to the UK.
In a draft that took place on Monday night, Sako was among those selected in the first round. The 36-year-old was chosen by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, who have been selected as the managers of one of the teams – Deportrio.
Hide Ad
Sako, a cult hero for his time in the Premier League and Championship, is set to say farewell to his 11-a-side playing days in order to take part in the Baller League. The winger is currently contracted to French fourth tier club FC 93 Bobigny following brief spells at Saint-Etienne and APO Levadiakos.
Former Wolves winger Bakary Sako has joined the Baller League, where he will be managed by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.Former Wolves winger Bakary Sako has joined the Baller League, where he will be managed by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards.
Former Wolves winger Bakary Sako has joined the Baller League, where he will be managed by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards. | Getty Images
Best known for his time at Wolves, Sako contributed an impressive 38 goals and 35 assists in 124 appearances for the Old Gold between 2012 and 2015. The Malian had three successive seasons of great success in the Wanderers setup - two in the Championship and one in League One - before making the move to Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
Sako may not have scored anywhere near as many goals at Selhurst Park but he certainly made his presence known with his pace and flair. In a move not so popular with Wolves fans, however, Sako did briefly play on loan at Black Country rivals West Bromwich Albion where he featured six times.
What is the Baller League?
The competition will run weekly with a dozen teams headed by football legends and current YouTube stars. The likes of John Terry, Luis Figo and Ian Wright have already been announced as managers, alongside popular YouTubers such as Miniminter and Angry Ginge.
Hide Ad
Matches are set to take place weekly as the tournament makes its way to England after originally starting in a German format. All 12 teams will play one another in six-a-side matches and the top four in the league standings will progress to the play-offs in May, where the first champion will be crowned.
In a modern twist, the rules differ to the usual six-a-side you’ll be used to. The halves will be 15 minutes long with the final three minutes of each half seeing the teams reduced down to three players, with the goalkeepers not allowed to use their hands in that time.
Who are in the squads?
The 12 team names have been announced as 26ers (managed by Terry), Deportrio (managed by Shearer, Richards and Lineker), FC Rules the World (managed by Miniminter), MVPs United (managed by Alisha Lehmann and Maya Jama), N5 FC (managed by Jens Lehmann, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg, Santan FC (managed by Dave), SDS FC (managed by Sharky, Trebol FC (managed by Luis Figo), VZN FC (managed by Tobi Brown), Wembley Rangers (managed by Ian Wright and Chloe Kelly) and Yanited (managed by Angry Ginge).
As per Sky Sports, the broadcaster that will be showing every match live, the full squads for each team are as follows.
Hide Ad
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.
Hide Ad
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.
Hide Ad
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.