Ballboys and girls, also known as ball kids, are individuals, who retrieve and supply balls for players or officials in sports such as association football, American football, bandy, cricket, tennis, baseball, and basketball.
If a ball leaves the field, they automatically throw the spare ball at the player. This process helps lessen delays caused by balls going out of play. Football ballboys or girls are often stationed behind advertising boards that surround the pitch.
While ball boys and girls were once merely there to prevent players from having to go and retrieve the ball themselves when it went out of play, they now have an important part to play.
A typical example of a ballboy and a player scuffle was between a Chelsea player and a ballboy in 2016.
An attempt by ballboy Charlie Morgan to waste time led to Eden Hazard kicking him in the ribs and then subsequently earning a three-match ban.
An ever-growing number of coaches have recognized the value of working with those who are chosen to patrol the touchlines.
Many select youngsters from local youth football clubs. For example, Arsenal invites members of their Junior Gunners club for pre-selection trials, while other clubs invite young players to apply via their website. Generally, football boys must be between the ages of 11 – 16.
The Ghana Report delves into the archives of top professional footballers who once served as ballboys.
1. Callum Hudson Odoi
Callum James Hudson-Odoi born November 7, 2000, is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, on loan from Premier League club Chelsea.
In January 2014, a 13-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi, a ballboy was captured celebrating with Samuel Eto’o, a Chelsea player, as the latter hit the ball at the back of the net.
Eto’o ran over to celebrate with the youngster after completing his hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
The special moment served as an inspiration for that young boy making his way through the age groups in the Chelsea Academy.
2. Phil Foden
Philip Foden is considered one of the best young players in the world. The English professional footballer plays as a midfielder for the Premier League club Manchester City and the England national team.
The special part of Foden’s story is that he is a Manchester City fan and was even a ballboy for the club. He was at the touchline the day that his former teammate Sergio Aguero scored the title-winning goal against QPR in 2012.
“I was right behind the goal and saw it go in the net,” he said in an interview with Goal.
“I’ll never forget it. I remember the whistle went and everyone legged it onto the pitch! I and my mum decided to go on as well.”
3. Trent Alexander Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold is a 24 -year -old English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team.
Known for his range of passing, crossing and assists, Alexander-Arnold is widely regarded as one of the best full-backs in world football.
Born just around the corner from Melwood, Liverpool’s training complex, Trent joined the academy at the age of six working as a ball boy at Anfield in 2014.
In 2019, Trent revealed in an interview that he was a ballboy at Anfield during the Reds’ infamous 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in 2014.
That match is often remembered for Steven Gerrard’s slip which allowed Demba Ba to score and was the turning point in the game.
4.Matthijs De Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt plays as a center-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Netherlands national team.
De Ligt is known for his strength, leadership, and aerial ability.
At Ajax, he won the 2018 Golden Boy Award, given to the best player under the age of 21 in Europe.
In 2009, De Ligt joined the Ajax youth academy when he was nine years old from his local club in Abcoude.
He became a ball boy at 11 when the coaches at the youth academy thought he was too slow and out of shape, but he was given a chance to develop in the academy and went on to prove his quality. On the left, he is pictured with Uruguayan star, Luis Suarez.
5.Wesley Snejder
Wesley Sneijder is a Dutch retired professional footballer. Due to his elite playmaking ability, Sneijder was considered one of the best midfielders in the world during his prime.
The mercurial Dutch playmaker joined Ajax as a youth in 1991 and also served as a ballboy at the age of 10. It was a team that boasted the best players of their generation, including the likes of Clarence Seedorf, Marc Overmars, Edgar Davids, and Patrick Kluivert who won the champions league in 1995.
Little did we know that Sneijder who was at the touchline as retrieval boy when these great players graced the pitch, was going to become a legend of the game.
There can no argument that he learned ball control, passing accuracy, and his playmaking ability from these legends when he looked on from the touchline. In his little boyhood picture above, he posed with Frank Rijkaard who obviously was in his own playing days in the late 80s.
6.Raul Gonzalez
Raúl has forever been stitched into the fabric of Spain’s most decorated club, Real Madrid, but the forward began his career with cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid, where he spent part of his youth career and even served as a ball-boy. Raúl would go on to make 741 appearances for the Los Blancos, the most by any player, and is the club’s second all-time top scorer with 323 goals.
At Real Madrid, Raul won 6 La liga titles and 3 champions league trophies.
Nobody fathomed ever that the ball boy who sat at the touchline of the Vicente Caldron stadium could become one of the household names in football.