Who is Domingos Pires? Baller League No 6 pick by Ian Wright and Chloe Kelly and England 6-a-side star
DOMINGOS PIRES has become one of the most recognisable faces on the YouTube football scene.
He has played for arguably the two biggest Sunday league teams in the UK – Baiteze and SE Dons – with his move from the former to the latter causing significant buzz online.
He has also been a fixture in the non-League scene across London, where he has played for multiple clubs including the likes of Haywards Heath and Bedfont Sports.
Pires’ non-League career is currently off due to personal issues and picking the family business over chasing his footballing dreams.
Pires, 25, is a left-sided player who helped Baiteze win the FA Sunday Cup.
He then made the dramatic switch to their biggest rivals – SE Don – but has not appeared for the Dons since they switched Sunday League for the non-League pyramid.
He says he would return to Bedfont Sports if he went back to playing non-League football.
Having had offers and opportunities to play abroad and at a higher level he decided to turn down to help his family’s sandwich bar, which has since been listed for sale in late October 2024.
He has continued to be a force in small-sided games and plays for England’s six-a-side team.
his displays earned him the No 6 pick by Ian Wright and Chloe Kelly for their Baller League team, Wembley Rangers.
Ross Cable, who who coaches Domingos for England’s 6-a-side, will join Wright and Kelly on the management team.
Having previously worked under Ross for several years, the left-footed wizard hopes the best can be brought out of him in this new tournament structure.
When is Baller League starting and how can I watch it?
- Baller League will start on Monday, March 24.
- The first night of matches – Matchday One – will take place from 5pm, with the first match at 5.35pm.
- There are six matches per night with the tournament running for 11 consecutive Monday nights until May.
- Each match is 30 minutes but there are a number of other rules – including goalkeepers not being able to use their hands.
- Sky Sports Mix has coverage of the whole tournament.
- It is also available to stream on YouTube and Twitch.
- Alternatively, SunSport will live blog all of the matches as they happen.
What is Baller League UK?
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.
Shock rule twists to be introduced for the final three minutes of each half including a three vs three format, long-range goals counting as double, and goalkeepers not allowed to use their hands.
These rule twists for the final three minutes will be randomised.
What are the teams in Ballers League UK?
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.