Latest news with #FelixStarck
CNA
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Baller League CEO sees his format as return to 'old football'
LONDON :The CEO of the fast-growing Baller League says its style of fast-paced, small-sided, digital-oriented football is a return to the sport's grassroots not a betrayal of them. "We are the old era of football," Baller League boss Felix Starck told Reuters, saying his organisation's format harks back to the exuberance of kids playing with cones on streets. Critics say the Baller League, along with the similar Kings League, are a gimmicky distortion of the traditional 90-minute game, adding new rules and mixing online personalities with ex-professional players in teams. But Starck, in an interview with Reuters this week, said that football had been transformed into a 'product' and was therefore in need of a return to the "most-played sport in the world, which is small-sided football". The entrepreneur, whose Baller League began in Germany in 2024, hopes a new governing body will emerge for the format to ensure quality as well as entertainment. The Baller League expanded to the UK this year and wrapped up its first season last month, with online influencer Sharky coaching his SDC team to victory in a competition streamed by more than 1 million viewers on YouTube. The Baller League will also set up goalposts in the U.S. this year where, Starck said, "Football never kicked off' compared to traditional American sports. Starck said Spain was another logical future market, even though it is also the home of the Kings League, founded by Spanish international Gerard Pique. 'NOT AN EXPANSION RACE' But, the Baller League boss cautioned, 'This is not an expansion race ... We go to a country if we think it's going to be profitable and not just to go for expanding reasons. "Hype is the easiest thing to create but you have no sustainability ... longevity." Starck said the Baller League was more authentically sport-focused whereas other formats had "goofy Mario Kart rules". Though the Baller League has marketed itself as a "new era of football", the CEO said actually it also embodied the "old era". "We're trying to build a governing body around the most played sport in the world and give it some respect that it deserves and not have a president that never kicked the ball in his life take a penalty for no reason," he said, referring to a Kings League rule that allows club presidents to take penalties.
The Star
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Baller League CEO sees his format as return to 'old football'
LONDON (Reuters) -The CEO of the fast-growing Baller League says its style of fast-paced, small-sided, digital-oriented football is a return to the sport's grassroots not a betrayal of them. "We are the old era of football," Baller League boss Felix Starck told Reuters, saying his organisation's format harks back to the exuberance of kids playing with cones on streets. Critics say the Baller League, along with the similar Kings League, are a gimmicky distortion of the traditional 90-minute game, adding new rules and mixing online personalities with ex-professional players in teams. But Starck, in an interview with Reuters this week, said that football had been transformed into a 'product' and was therefore in need of a return to the "most-played sport in the world, which is small-sided football". The entrepreneur, whose Baller League began in Germany in 2024, hopes a new governing body will emerge for the format to ensure quality as well as entertainment. The Baller League expanded to the UK this year and wrapped up its first season last month, with online influencer Sharky coaching his SDC team to victory in a competition streamed by more than 1 million viewers on YouTube. The Baller League will also set up goalposts in the U.S. this year where, Starck said, "Football never kicked off' compared to traditional American sports. Starck said Spain was another logical future market, even though it is also the home of the Kings League, founded by Spanish international Gerard Pique. 'NOT AN EXPANSION RACE' But, the Baller League boss cautioned, 'This is not an expansion race ... We go to a country if we think it's going to be profitable and not just to go for expanding reasons. "Hype is the easiest thing to create but you have no sustainability ... longevity." Starck said the Baller League was more authentically sport-focused whereas other formats had "goofy Mario Kart rules". Though the Baller League has marketed itself as a "new era of football", the CEO said actually it also embodied the "old era". "We're trying to build a governing body around the most played sport in the world and give it some respect that it deserves and not have a president that never kicked the ball in his life take a penalty for no reason," he said, referring to a Kings League rule that allows club presidents to take penalties. "I don't believe we're building the same thing ... We should entertain on the pitch with the sport. And respect where the sport came from and how it evolved." (Reporting by Streisand Neto; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
The Sun
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Baller League Finals format and rules explained
Ballers League reaches its climax as we approach the final at the O2 Arena in London on June 12, 2025. The top four teams from the season will face off to determine the winner — here's everything you need to know about the Baller League finals. 3 3 What is Baller League? Baller League is a dynamic, influencer-led six-a-side indoor football competition that originated in Germany in 2024. It has rapidly expanded to the UK — and will soon have a franchise in the US. The league was created by entrepreneur Felix Starck, along with the support of professional footballers Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski. The aim was to blend traditional football with entertainment and appeal to a younger, more digital-savvy audience. Twelve teams play in six-a-side matches, with the top four advancing to the final play-off in June to be crowned the champion. 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." How does the Final Four work? The four teams with the most points after 11 matches qualify for the Baller League Final Four. Ruben Dias and Maya Jama's romantic debut at Baller League match There will be two semi-finals to determine the final, with the team who placed first in the league stage playing fourth, while second plays third. In the event two teams are tied after 11 matches, the order will be first decided by goal difference, then goals scored, followed by the result between the two sides in question. If, after these three stipulations, the two sides are still level, a shootout will determine who progresses. In the event of a draw in the Final Four after the regular 30 minutes, a penalty shootout is held in which each team initially provides three takers. Baller League is all about forward-thinking, aggressive, hyper-exciting football Baller League CEO Felix Starck If the shootout ends level, it will become sudden death until a winner is established. Who is involved in Baller League? YouTuber-turned-boxer KSI is the president of the UK version. Among the football legends and celebrities managing teams this season, John Terry is in charge of 26ers, while Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker and Micah Richards jointly manage Deportrio. Clint 419 is the manager of FC Rules the World, and Miniminter (Simon Minter from the Sidemen) leads M7 FC. MVPs United is managed by Alisha Lehmann and Maya Jama, and the trio of Arsenal Invincibles — Jens Lehmann, Robert Pirès and Freddie Ljungberg — manage N5 FC. Brit Award-winning artist Dave (Santan Dave) is at the helm of Santan FC, with YouTuber Sharky managing SDS FC. Luís Figo leads Trebol FC, and Tobi Brown (TBJZL from the Sidemen) manages VZN FC. 3 Wembley Rangers is managed by Ian Wright and Chloe Kelly, while Yanited is under the guidance of YouTuber Angry Ginge Who has qualified for the Baller League Final Four? Just four teams remain from the 12 that started on Matchday 1 back in March. Deportrio topped the standings on goal difference after 11 rounds of action-packed fixtures. MVP United narrowly missed out on top spot by one goal, but they have secured their place in the final four. Yanited and SDS FC complete the sides competing for Baller League glory on the night of Thursday, June 12, 2025 — with fans set to be treated to even more thrilling action at the O2 Arena. Organisers have confirmed a Legends vs Creators match has been booked in with some blockbuster names taking part. Baller League Final Four fixtures As they finished top of the standings, Deportrio will face the lowest-ranked side in the Final Four, which is SDS FC. The team that is victorious will face the winner of MVPs United vs Yanited in the grand finale.
The Irish Sun
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Baller League Finals format and rules explained
Ballers League reaches its climax as we approach the final at the O2 Arena in London on June 12, 2025. The top four teams from the season will face off to determine the winner — here's everything you need to know about the Baller League finals. Advertisement 3 Deportrio, managed by Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker and Micah Richards, topped the standings during the regular season Credit: Getty 3 Maya Jama and Alisha Lehmann's MVP United will also feature in the final four Credit: Getty What is Baller League? Baller League is a dynamic, influencer-led six-a-side indoor football competition that originated in Germany in 2024. It has rapidly expanded to the UK — and will soon have a franchise in the US. The league was created by entrepreneur Felix Starck, along with the support of professional footballers The aim was to Advertisement read more on baller league Twelve teams play in six-a-side matches, with the top four advancing to the final play-off in June to be crowned the champion. 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. Advertisement Most read in Football "We're about creating a version of the game that's impossible to ignore — thrilling, bold and packed with excitement." How does the Final Four work? The four teams with the most points after 11 matches qualify for the Ruben Dias and Maya Jama's romantic debut at Baller League match There will be two semi-finals to determine the final, with the team who placed first in the league stage playing fourth, while second plays third. In the event two teams are tied after 11 matches, the order will be first decided by goal difference, then goals scored, followed by the result between the two sides in question. Advertisement If, after these three stipulations, the two sides are still level, a shootout will determine who progresses. In the event of a draw in the Final Four after the regular 30 minutes, a penalty shootout is held in which each team initially provides three takers. Baller League is all about forward-thinking, aggressive, hyper-exciting football Baller League CEO Felix Starck If the shootout ends level, it will become sudden death until a winner is established. Who is involved in Baller League? i s the president of the UK version . Advertisement Among the football legends and celebrities managing teams this season, MVPs United is managed by Brit Award-winning artist Dave (Santan Dave) is at the helm of Santan FC, with YouTuber Sharky managing SDS FC. Advertisement 3 Wembley Rangers is managed by Who has qualified for the Baller League Final Four? Just four teams remain from the 12 that started on Matchday 1 back in March. Advertisement Deportrio topped the standings on goal difference after 11 rounds of action-packed fixtures. MVP United narrowly missed out on top spot by one goal, but they have secured their place in the final four. Yanited and SDS FC complete the sides competing for Baller League glory on the night of Thursday, June 12, 2025 — with fans set to be treated to even more thrilling action at the O2 Arena. Organisers have confirmed a Legends vs Creators match has been booked in with some blockbuster names taking part. Advertisement Baller League Final Four fixtures As they finished top of the standings, Deportrio will face the lowest-ranked side in the Final Four, which is SDS FC. The team that is victorious will face the winner of MVPs United vs Yanited in the grand finale. Semi-final 1: Deportrio vs SDS FC Semi-final 2: MVPs United vs Yanited Final: SF1 winner vs SF2 winner
New Statesman
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Statesman
Football for the KSI generation
KSI (left) and YouTube All Stars' Chunkz (right) in action. Photo by Kieran Cleeves/Alamy The LCD screens at Stratford's Copper Box Arena ignite: images of football legends – Luis Figo, John Terry and Gary Lineker – followed by the hyper-famous YouTuber iShowSpeed, and his Mancunian rival, Morgan 'Angryginge13' Burtwistle. 'Is this a new era of football?' beseeches the on-pitch announcer, at a crowd which mostly consists of pre-teen boys and dads in beige tracksuits. 'There's more goals, more twists…' he continues to a smattering of polite whistles. 'How do you get on the Wi-Fi here?' whispers an older woman behind me. This is Baller League, a new sports entertainment venture which plans to bring football in line with the short-form content-sphere, eschewing both traditional media models and the very rules of the game. The brainchild of German Bundesliga veterans Mats Hummels and Lukas Podolski, in conjunction with an obscure 'film producer' named Felix Starck, Baller League is attempting to rewrite football for the attention-deficit era. The brand's implication is that the once-beautiful game has become boring; too streamlined, too data-fied, too many cautiously recycled attacks and not enough lollipop stepovers. So, Baller League rips up the constitution: there are six players in a team, the matches are 30 minutes long, with 15-minute halves and rolling substitutions. There are no corners, but if the ball goes behind the goal line three times, the attacking team is given a penalty. VAR survives the DOGE-esque rule-shred, but it is reimagined tennis-style, on the basis of appeal, rather than dictated by sports boffins and retired refs in Stockley Park. In an echo of the bizarre 1990s Major League Soccer innovations, special 'gamechanger' rules are introduced in the last three minutes of a half to up the ante. These include reducing the teams to 3 vs 3, doubling the points for long-distance goals, and even forbidding goalkeepers from using their hands. It's all very odd, very loud, and very Gen Z. Imagine Sunday League, revamped by WWE's Vince McMahon and your twelve-year-old nephew. Right now, Baller League appears to be in the ascendancy. Tonight's event is sold out (impressive seeing as it's a Monday evening during term time), and Sky have purchased the broadcast rights for a very pretty penny (£25m according to one off-record source). On his LinkedIn page, Felix Starck boasts of further eight-figure investment. Household name ex-pros like Figo and Terry, as well as Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, have signed up as 'managers', while Premier League jailbirds Troy Deeney and Nile Ranger have re-laced their boots to appear as 'wildcards'. An American version is also in the works – featuring Ballon D'Or Winner and former resident of the Paraguayan penal system, Ronaldinho. But looking at the queue for merch, and listening to chatter in the stands, it is not the wizened ex-pros people are here to see, but the influencers. Among them: Sharky from The Beta Squad, Simon 'Miniminter' Minter, multi-hyphenate content clown KSI (who doesn't coach a team, but is tangentially involved), and the bafflingly famous Angryginge – who has become the real star of the project with his Mourinho-esque touchline antics and camera-mugging. Tonight though, there is a spanner in the works. Angryginge is not here, and neither is the TV presenter Maya Jama, co-manager of MVPs United. Nor are Lineker, Wright, or Luis Figo (who hadn't shown up once at the time of my visit) There are whispers of a feud with Starck, and grumblings amongst the fans, but also, a much larger sense that nobody is particularly arsed about it. Still, there are contractual obligations to uphold, and ex-Manchester City full back and Match of The Day pundit Micah Richards leads his team out against Clint 419, founder of the cult streetwear brand Corteiz. Both Richards and Clint are big names among the gathered demographic, but the squads they preside over are a peculiar mix of the never-quite-made-its and the didn't-even-have-a-chancers; ragtag bands of non-league journeymen, ex-Arsenal academy talents, Futsal stars, viral 'cage ballers'. (There are some with pedigree, such Marvin Sordell, the former Watford and Team GB striker turned mental health advocate.) Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe The opening match kicks off, and the first thing that strikes me is that the players are good. Very, very good in fact; pinging diagonals, drilling balls into the top corner, executing flicks and dummies and tricks with abandon. The format is designed to highlight 'ballers': those with real footballing technique, but perhaps not the physicality, professionalism or luck that the boys in the big time possess. So far, so nice to watch, but across a 30-minute game, it becomes a bit of a melee. The size of the pitch and the unceasing nature of the game means that it's hard to pick up on the macro tactics, the individual performances, and the mano a mano battles that define a game of 'real football'. It's too much, too fast, at far too small a scale. Because there is no chance to breathe, a 3-0 lead feels like nothing at all, and is almost immediately reduced to one during a convoluted gamechanger phase. During a break, I start to consider what Baller League is pushing against. It is probably something like Mikel Arteta and Enzo Maresca's style of football; dogmatic systems of possession, pressure, release and restraint. Listening to the hype blasting off the tannoy, I'm reminded of the early days of the UFC, when Dana White promoted his sport as an antidote to Klitschko-era boxing, which he declared dull, with fighters not 'going forward anymore' and instead spending their time in grinding, technical clinches. There is a definite sense of 'Make Football Great Again' in play. As curious as their methods are, Baller League are not outliers in this school of thought. There is a widely held belief that this year's Premier League season – with a decidedly half-built Liverpool team coasting to a title – was a particularly tedious one, while the Champions League didn't get going until the semi-finals. The likes of Ruud Gullit and Marcelo Biesla have bemoaned what the game has become, and in recent years there has been a nostalgia cult around what the Premier League used to be, with endless references to the unpredictable 'Barclaysmen' of old: Morten Gamst Pedersen, Jay Jay Okocha, Hugo Rodallega. Baller League is trying to fill this void by creating their own stars, but at time of press, the closest thing they have to an icon is 'PK Humble', an all-shooting, all-dancing attacker (who was recently released by Enfield Town having scored one goal in 33 games). More than the game, though, it's the atmosphere it sorely lacks. Because, beyond the pantomime jeers at Angryginge, and Ian Wright forcing some post-game handbags a few weeks back, nobody actually supports a Baller League team, or cares what happens in the league. The overwhelming impression is a version of football without tribal allegiances, or 'skin in the game'. To my Premier League-addled, thirty-something mind, it conjures up the same plainness and futility of drinking a non-alcoholic beer, or sitting through an open mic night. There is a glaring lack of threat, or emotional investment at the heart of it. But clearly there are believers in this project, and a certain amount of thirst for something like this to exist. To understand what Baller League is attempting, you have to look at what KSI and the Paul brothers have done with their massively successful Misfits Boxing promotions. In lieu of real sporting quality, they have cleverly created a behemothic content machine, one which spits out personalities, disputes, narratives across a highly marketable multi-platform model, that is entirely native to their target audience. The problem is that Misfits boxing will always provide the opportunity to watch KSI get a right hook in the chin, whereas Baller League largely consists of ex-Morecambe Town midfielders taking wild potshots in a strangely low-stakes atmosphere. Then again, the audience seem to be enjoying themselves. It's not quite the Belgrade derby, but there is real anticipation in the rafters. The crowd is also young, dripped-out (a lot of tech fleece, 2009 Barcelona shirts) and diverse in a way that most professional football crowds are not. My guess is that a lot of this comes down to accessibility. My ticket cost £15, bought just a few days before. Compare that to my trip to suffer Chelsea vs Djurugarden the week before – which cost me £40, and a visit to see a 69-year-old man who has been going home and away since 1979 – and you can see both the problem with top level football crowds, and a tantalising opportunity for the disruptors. Walking back to the station, still light outside, through the half-realised vision of the Westfield shopping centre, with its ping pong bars, eSports hubs, bubble tea cafes, it occurs to me that Baller League is just part of a new leisure reality. One which is both plugged-in and physical at the same time, a new version of entertainment which fuses sport, tech, celebrity, gaming and spews it all into hard content. Baller League may collapse under the weight of its own hype soon enough, but it seems to at least understand its audience. For better or for worse, young people want their sport well-lit and TikTok-ready; they want to be grabbed by big personalities and yet remain emotionally unattached. If they can't get the Yamals and Mbappes of this world, they'll settle for YouTubers. The market has already found something to suit them, whether it carries on this current incarnation or not. [See also: Is Labour's football regulator already falling apart?] Related
