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.

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 sy ...

for Chicago Inferno, 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 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 The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier Pri ...

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 re ...

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 th ...

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 Di ...

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 collect ...

. 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 The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

side Hemel Hempstead Town. He scored on his debut after coming on as a substitute in a 4–1 loss to

Eastbourne Borough Eastbourne Borough Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association and is a registered Commun ...

. 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. ...

, 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 2 ...

. In May 2021, Balarabe joined

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

side Cray Wanderers. 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. 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 professiona ...

. Following the 2022 season, Balarabe was released by Birmingham. In March 2023, Balarabe joined

side Welling United on a deal until the end of the season. Later that day, he scored on his debut against Ebbsfleet United in the Kent Senior Cup.

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 te ...

: 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