Sadik Olaniyi Balarabe (born 26 June 1992) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a forward for

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

Career

In 2011, Balarabe headed to America to study at

Jackson College Jackson College is a public college in Jackson County, Michigan. Originally established as Jackson Junior College in 1928, Jackson County electors voted to reincorporate the institution as a community college district under the "Public Act 188 ...

, scoring 11 goals in 12 games in his first season and a further 19 goals in his second year. He spent two years studying at Jackson College before finishing his studies with

Saginaw Valley State University Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) is a public university in University Center, Michigan in Saginaw County. It was founded in 1963 as Saginaw Valley College. It is located on in Saginaw County's Kochville Township, approximately north of ...

, who he scored six goals in 17 games for in the 2013 season. He also played in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

for

Chicago Inferno The Chicago Inferno is an American soccer club based in Crystal Lake, Illinois, United States. The team originally played from 2012 to 2014 in the USL Premier Development League, the fourth division of the American soccer pyramid, in the Heartland ...

, making five appearances. In the summer of 2014, Balarabe arrived in Greece to join AO Levante before moving up divisions to join

Greek Football League The Football League ( el, Φούτμπολ Λιγκ) was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super Lea ...

side Iraklis Psachna. in January 2015. He made his professional debut on 26 January, coming on as a 65th minute substitute in a 0–0 draw with

Kallithea Kallithea (Greek: Καλλιθέα, meaning "beautiful view") is a district of Athens and a municipality in south Athens regional unit. It is the eighth largest municipality in Greece (96,118 inhabitants, 2021 census) and the fourth biggest i ...

. Ahead of the following season, Balarabe joined

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki ( el, Γ΄ Εθνική Ερασιτεχνική Κατηγορία, C National Amateur Division) is the third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 198 ...

side Niki Volou in July 2015. He then joined Portuguese LigaPro side

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often ref ...

on a two-year-deal in September 2016. In January 2019, he joined

KTFF Süper Lig The KTFF Süper Lig (English: CTFA Super League), formerly known as Birinci Lig ( literally ''First League'') is the top football league in Northern Cyprus. The league was founded in 1955 and is currently contested by 16 teams. At the end of ...

side Mağusa Türk Gücü after spells in Turkey with Torbalispor and Salihli Belediyespor. Balarabe finished the season with 16 goals in 22 games as he helped lead his side to the league and cup double. On 10 August 2019, Balarabe joined

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the '' Segunda División'', and the semi-professional '' Segunda ...

side

Urraca Urraca (also spelled ''Hurraca'', ''Urracha'' and ''Hurracka'' in medieval Latin) is a female first name. In Spanish, the name means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin ''furax'', meaning "thievish", in reference to the magpie's tendency to collec ...

. After half a season with Urraca, he joined fellow Tercera División side Ibiza Islas Pitiusas until the end of the season. In October 2020, Balarabe returned to England to join National League South side

Hemel Hempstead Town Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Hertfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the National League South and pl ...

. He scored on his debut after coming on as a substitute in a 4–1 loss to Eastbourne Borough. The following month, he joined division rivals

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

, making his debut in a 3–1 defeat against

Havant & Waterlooville Havant & Waterlooville Football Club is a professional football club based in Havant, Hampshire, England. The club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, after relegation from the National League in the ...

. In May 2021, Balarabe joined Isthmian League side

Cray Wanderers Cray Wanderers Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Sidcup, London. Based on later reports, the club has a claim to have been established some time in 1860 in the twin villages of St Mary Cray and St Paul's Cr ...

. In September 2021, Balarabe returned to Northern Cyprus to rejoin Mağusa Türk Gücü. In July 2022, Balarabe returned to America for the first time since completing college to join

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

side

Birmingham Legion Birmingham Legion FC is an American professional soccer club based in Birmingham, Alabama, that competes in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. The team was established in August 2013 and played under the name Birmingh ...

. Balarabe scored on his debut coming off the bench against

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professional ...

. Following the 2022 season, Balarabe was released by Birmingham. In March 2023, Balarabe joined National League South side

on a deal until the end of the season. Later that day, he scored on his debut against

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 fr ...

in the

Kent Senior Cup The Kent Senior Cup is an English football competition played between senior clubs in the county of Kent. It is administered by the Kent County Football Association. History The Kent Badge preceded the Kent Senior Cup, and was won in its three ...

Personal life

Balarabe attended Stationers' Crown Woods Academy in Eltham whilst growing up.

Career statistics

Honours

Mağusa Türk Gücü *

: 2018–2019, 2021–22 *

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup () is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA). It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club team ...

: 2019, 2022 Individual *

Golden Boot: 2019, 2022

References

External links

*
Stats at La Preferente
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balarabe, Sadik 1992 births Living people English people of Nigerian descent English footballers Association football forwards Footballers from Greater London USL League Two players Football League (Greece) players Tercera División players Gamma Ethniki players Iraklis Psachna F.C. players Niki Volos F.C. players Gil Vicente F.C. players CD Ibiza Islas Pitiusas players Hemel Hempstead Town F.C. players Cray Wanderers F.C. players Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English expatriate sportspeople in Greece English expatriate sportspeople in Portugal English expatriate sportspeople in Turkey English expatriate sportspeople in Northern Cyprus English expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate footballers in Greece Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Northern Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Spain Black British sportspeople Birmingham Legion FC players USL Championship players Saginaw Valley State Cardinals men's soccer players Welling United F.C. players