Marc Joel Bola (born 9 December 1997) 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 lea ...

who plays as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for club

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Early and personal life

Bola grew up supporting Arsenal, the team he started his professional career at. He is of Congolese descent.

Career

Arsenal

Born in

London Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London, England. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolita ...

, Bola joined

Arsenal Academy The Arsenal Academy was a military academy in Columbia, South Carolina, originally established in 1842 as an independent school by the state of South Carolina. In 1845, the academy became a component of the South Carolina Military Academy (now ...

when he was 13 after being spotted playing Sunday league football and at 16, he earned a scholarship. After progressing through the ranks, he was promoted to the reserve side. At the reserve side, Bola became a regular there and scored his first goal for the reserve side on 9 March 2016, in a 3–3 draw against Fulham U23. Bola turned professional with

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in April 2016. Bola moved on loan to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

in January 2017. He made his Notts County debut on 4 February 2017, where he played 53 minutes, in a 2–0 loss against

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

, and went on to make 13 appearances for the side before returning to his parent club at the end of the season. In July 2017, he signed a season-long loan deal with

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

. Bola made his Bristol Rovers debut on 16 September 2017, in a 3–0 loss against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

Blackpool

He was released by Arsenal at the end of the 2017–18 season. Following his release he signed for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

on a one-year contract. He was sent off in September 2018, but the club appealed to the FA who overruled it and rescinded the three-match ban.

Middlesbrough

Bola joined

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 28 July 2019 for an undisclosed fee. He scored on his debut for Middlesbrough in an

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

tie against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

on 13 August 2019. On 10 January 2020 he returned to Blackpool on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season.

Samsunspor

On 9 July 2023, Bola signed for Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

side

Samsunspor Samsunspor Kulübü, officially known as Samsunspor Football Club Joint Stock Company, or as Reeder Samsunspor due to sponsorship agreements, is a Turkey, Turkish Football club (association football), professional football club that competes in t ...

for an undisclosed fee.

Watford

On 6 June 2025, Bola agreed to return to England, joining Championship side

on a three-year deal.

Controversy

In September 2021, Bola was officially charged with "aggravated misconduct" by the FA for posting a tweet that "made a reference to sexual orientation" nine years ago, at the age of 14.

Career statistics

Playing style

Bola plays primarily as a left back, but can also play as a centre back and a striker.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bola, Marc 1997 births Living people Footballers from the Royal Borough of Greenwich English men's footballers English people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Men's association football fullbacks Arsenal F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Samsunspor footballers Watford F.C. players English Football League players Süper Lig players Black British sportsmen English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey 21st-century English sportsmen