The Baller League, a media football league in Germany, is expanding to the UK and US with the help of industry-leading content creators KSI and IShowSpeed. KSI will lead the British expansion of the league, while IShowSpeed will be the president for the US Baller League. While the league has been relatively popular in Germany, its expansion to these English-speaking regions will likely be a major success, with KSI and IShowSpeed driving viewership.
The Baller League hosted its inaugural season earlier this year, quickly finding a substantial fanbase of German-speaking football and livestreaming viewers. German footballers Lukas Podolski and Mats Hummels started the league, which has been likened to other media leagues such as Spain and LATAM’s Kings League and Italy’s GOA7 League.
A new era of football has arrived.
— BallerLeague (@BallerLeagueUK) November 25, 2024
Baller League UK and Baller League USA - coming 2025. pic.twitter.com/FZK7i5f8Tp
The announcement post for the Baller League UK & US editions
The football league is known for its unconventional rules; its six-a-side setup was based on German public footballing culture. It also features short and action-packed halves, one-on-one penalties, and other exciting changes to the football formula. According to our viewership data, the first season of the Baller League reached 207.1K Peak Viewers at its culmination.
Read also: Baller League inaugural season results
While the German league was not as popular as the global Kings League circuit, its expansion to the UK and US could bring it close to the international status of Kings League. On YouTube, KSI and IShowSpeed have a combined following of over 58 million subscribers, making them two of the world’s most popular content creators. Within English-speaking spheres, these two are ubiquitous as the faces of content creation and livestreaming.
Speed is a well-known football fan, having previously hosted hundreds of thousands of viewers on his YouTube Live broadcasts concurrently for football content. At this year’s Ballon d’Or event, Speed’s stream of the awards ceremony received over 601K Peak Viewers, beating out the 548.3K PV he received during the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony. Earlier this year, Speed also joined the exclusive ranks of YouTube streamers to have hosted over 1,000,000 viewers on a broadcast concurrently.
Football personalities & content creators are coming together for the Baller League UK
The new Baller League UK will feature former England players Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, who have grown their own fan-following through their punditry. These former players will come together to manage one of the 12 teams for the Baller League UK, and Brazilian footballing legend Ronaldinho is confirmed to manage a team over in the UK circuit.
Other content creators close to KSI such as Miniminter, Tobi, and AngryGinge are all also set to join the league in a management role. Beta Squad member and content creator Chunkz will be hosting a weekly show covering the matches. According to the schedule for the UK and US events, all 12 teams will play each week, something that is only possible thanks to the unconventional and fast-paced structure of the Baller League.
The Baller League UK will begin on March 3, with games taking place every Monday. Details are sparse for the Baller League US so far, with only Speed and Ronaldinho confirmed as part of the league. Streams Charts will track viewership data for each of the broadcasts covering the Baller League UK & US, and Esports Charts will track overall viewership for the entire seasons.
