Baller League: PK Humble, Angry Ginge and a glimpse into the ‘future of football’ after matchday one | Football Newsnews24

An invincible, a rapper and a YouTuber walk into a room…

Except the room is the Copper Box Arena and there’s no punchline.

Monday night marked the inauguration of Baller League UK. Walking distance from West Ham’s London stadium, fans arrived in their numbers to watch their favourite social media personalities and footballing icons take on a slightly different role.

They talk the talk but were forced to walk the walk when the likes of John Terry, Angry Ginge, Sharky, Jens Lehmann and Dave led their teams of footballing talent from across the pyramid onto the artificial turf for a six-a-side match-up – with a twist, of course.

From game-changing rules, to personalities thriving and familiar faces in attendance, the opening night of the Baller League did not disappoint.

It reminds players of their roots

The best thing about six-a-side football is that there is no hiding. The speed and intensity mean that everyone has to be involved and therefore, both their skills and shortcomings are exposed. You better not be seen taking a poor touch or getting nutmegged, as the crowd will not let you live it down.

Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana was in attendance, loving every little bit. He wasn’t involved on the night, but he definitely wanted to be. It reminds him of his past, that cage football atmosphere, and how he learned the game.

“It’s exciting because we see a lot of skill,” Fofana told Sky Sports.

“It’s just 6v6, and it’s good. It’s a small pitch, so we see the very technical players. When I see football like this, it reminds me of a lot of things that people can’t see. When you’re young, you play in a cage like this, you play just 6v6, you enjoy it.

“We see good shots, strong tackles as well. It’s nice to see different football because it’s a little bit different to the Premier League.”

Arsenal’s Chloe Kelly, who took charge of the Wembley Rangers, shares the sentiment. Anyone who’s watched Kelly play knows she carries that flair. Even down to her penalty technique, hers game is about expression.

“For me, coming from cage football where I grew up playing to this, it’s great to see,” Kelly told Sky Sports.

“It’s enjoyable seeing the players playing with such flair. There’s aggression, but controlled aggression as well, but the flair is unreal and I think that’s what’s exciting about the Baller League, that freedom of expression.”

Quality on display

The players that took part on the night have all been involved in the game at some level and that showed. Squads were assembled including former Premier League players, futsal players, free agents and released academy players.

Manchester United academy graduate Josh Harrop, playing for RTW FC, was involved as well as former Liverpool winger Jordan Ibe, representing John Terry’s 26ers and ex-Aston Villa man Henri Lansbury for VZN FC.

Tasked with keeping up with them was former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg.

“I expected the quality,” Clattenburg told Sky Sports.

“What you’ve got to remember is there are ex-professionals but also young skilful players that have not made it into the highest level. But that will be because maybe different things, maybe injury, maybe they’ve just never got the chance but not a lack of quality.

Clattenburg refereed at the highest level, including the Euros, Champions League and FA Cup finals, alongside his lengthy career in the Premier League. But how does refereeing in the Baller League compare?

“It’s massively different. It’s unique, it’s fast. When you’re in the Premier League or when you’re a referee in 11-a-side football, you get time to relax a bit and get a chance to get your breath going.

“But because this is so fast-flowing, so exciting, so much going on. There was just so much action, so much physicality.”

‘Jinky Mi Jinky’ goes global

PK Humble stole the show. His Yanited side, manged by Angry Ginge, took on Jens Lehmann’s N5 side and put them to the sword with a 7-2 win. The scorer of the first Baller League goal? None other than ‘Mr Jinky Mi Jinky’ himself. The Hashtag United player put his silk on display as he jinked through the N5 defence and slotted home his effort.

It’s been some week for PK Humble, who also this week won the second season of the Inside reality show hosted by the Sidemen, a group of British YouTubers. His goal and celebration have racked up over 5m views across Sky Sports’ social media channels alone. A viral sensation.

The future of football is now?

There’s a different take on refereeing the game. Coaches are able to throw in a white flag to challenge referee decisions. In this case, the official will be sent to a screen to review the challenge. Once a decision is made, the referee then announces the decision to the crowd.

The referee announcement may sound familiar, given the fact that it was trialled during this season’s Carabao Cup semi-final and final.

“I love the white-flag review rule,” Clattenburg said. “We’ve been talking about that for years in VAR where managers can have a challenge.

“I think people get frustrated, and certainly in the Premier League, the time it takes to make the decisions. They’ve tried one or two things where they open the mic to the stadium, but what?

“To tell them that the player was in an offside position? I think everybody works that out. I think it could be a bit more in-depth speech from the referee, like we’ve got here.”

Sky and Baller League have announced a one-year broadcast partnership which will see Sky Sports and NOW become the TV home of the new indoor six-a-side competition in the UK, in an exciting new era of football.

Every match from the inaugural UK season will be shown live on Sky Sports linear channels on Monday nights from the Copper Box Arena in London, hosted by Chunkz and Olivia Buzaglo.

The competition begins on March 24, with the top four teams taking part in the semi-finals and final to determine the season’s winner.