Marc Bola

Marc Bola
Bola in 2025.
Personal information
Full name Marc Joel Bola[1]
Date of birth (1997-12-09) 9 December 1997[2]
Place of birth Greenwich, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2]
Position Left back
Team information
Current team
 Watford
Number 16
Youth career
Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 Arsenal 0 (0)
2017 → Notts County (loan) 13 (0)
2017–2018 → Bristol Rovers (loan) 18 (0)
2018–2019 Blackpool 35 (2)
2019–2023 Middlesbrough 96 (2)
2020 → Blackpool (loan) 6 (0)
2023–2025 Samsunspor 53 (1)
2025– Watford 38 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:30, 16 August 2026 (UTC)

Marc Joel Bola (born 9 December 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back for EFL Championship club Watford.

Early and personal life

Bola grew up supporting Arsenal, the team he started his professional career at.[3] He is of Congolese descent.[4][5]

Career

Arsenal

Born in London Borough of Greenwich, Bola joined Arsenal Academy when he was 13 after being spotted playing Sunday league football and at 16, he earned a scholarship.[6] After progressing through the ranks, he was promoted to the reserve side.[7] 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.[8][9]

Bola turned professional with Arsenal in April 2016.[10][11]

Bola moved on loan to Notts County in January 2017.[12] He made his Notts County debut on 4 February 2017, where he played 53 minutes, in a 2–0 loss against Accrington Stanley, and went on to make 13 appearances for the side before returning to his parent club at the end of the season.[13]

In July 2017, he signed a season-long loan deal with Bristol Rovers.[14] Bola made his Bristol Rovers debut on 16 September 2017, in a 3–0 loss against Wigan Athletic.[15][16]

Blackpool

He was released by Arsenal at the end of the 2017–18 season.[17] Following his release he signed for Blackpool on a one-year contract.[18] He was sent off in September 2018, but the club appealed to the FA who overruled it and rescinded the three-match ban.[19]

Middlesbrough

Bola joined Middlesbrough on 28 July 2019 for an undisclosed fee.[20] He scored on his debut for Middlesbrough in an EFL Cup tie against Crewe Alexandra on 13 August 2019.[21] On 10 January 2020 he returned to Blackpool on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season.[22] In September 2021, a complaint was made about a Tweet Bola had posted 9 years earlier, when he was 14 years old, and he was charged with "aggravated misconduct" by the FA.[23] An FA hearing was concluded on 3 November 2021 which found he had shown "genuine remorse". He was not suspended and, instead, ordered to attend a face-to-face education programme.[24]

Samsunspor

On 9 July 2023, Bola signed for Turkish Süper Lig side Samsunspor for an undisclosed fee.[25]

Watford

On 6 June 2025, Bola agreed to return to England, joining Championship side Watford on a three-year deal.[26][27] On 7 November 2025, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw at home against Bristol City.[28] On 11 August 2026, he extended his contract with the club until 2030.[29]

Career statistics

As of match played 16 August 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal 2016–17[13] Premier League 0000000000
2017–18[16] 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Notts County (loan) 2016–17[13] League Two 130000000130
Bristol Rovers (loan) 2017–18[16] League One 18000203[c]0230
Blackpool 2018–19[30] League One 35230401[c]0432
Middlesbrough 2019–20[31] Championship 7000110081
2020–21[32] 411101000431
2021–22[33] 231200000251
2022–23[34] 2501010—270
Total 9624031001033
Blackpool (loan) 2019–20[31] League One 6000000060
Samsunspor 2023–24 Süper Lig 20030——230
2024–25 33100——331
Total 531300000561
Watford 2025–26[35] Championship 3721010—392
2026–27[36] Championship 100011—21
Total 382102100413
Career total 2597110102402859
  1. ↑ Includes FA Cup, Turkish Cup
  2. ↑ Includes EFL Cup
  3. 1 2 Appearances in the EFL Trophy

Playing style

Bola plays primarily as a left back, but can also play as a centre back and a striker.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Notification of shirt numbers: Middlesbrough" (PDF). English Football League. p. 42. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Profile". 11v11. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Marc Bola Features". Arsenal F.C. 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "Arsenal Super Kid Bola Clarifies : I Am Not Eligible To Play For Nigeria:: All Nigeria Soccer – The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com.
  5. ↑ "Football des jeunes : la RDC U20 joue en amical contre l'Angleterre junior – adiac-congo.com : toute l'actualité du Bassin du Congo". www.adiac-congo.com.
  6. ↑ "Marc Bola on his time at Arsenal, initiation songs, Bristol Rovers debut and adapting to League One". Bristol Post. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Profile". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "U-21s: Fulham 0–3 Arsenal – Match report". Arsenal F.C. 9 March 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  9. ↑ "Who is new Bristol Rovers signing Marc Bola? What we know about the Arsenal defender". Bristol Post. 15 July 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  10. ↑ Sean Kearns (7 April 2016). "Marc Bola signs new contract with Arsenal to stay at the Emirates". Metro. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  11. ↑ "Marc Bola signs new contract". Arsenal F.C. 7 April 2016. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "Notts County sign Jorge Grant, Marc Bola and Josh Clackstone on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 "Games played by Marc Bola in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  14. ↑ "Marc Bola: Arsenal youngster joins Bristol Rovers on season-long loan". BBC Sport. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  15. ↑ "How Arsenal loanee Marc Bola has grabbed his chance with Bristol Rovers". Bristol Post. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  16. 1 2 3 "Games played by Marc Bola in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  17. ↑ "Premier League clubs publish released lists". Premier League. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  18. ↑ "lackpool sign Oldham defender Ryan McLaughlin and ex-Arsenal left-back Marc Bola". BBC Sport. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "Blackpool: Marc Bola ban lifted but Donervon Daniels red card upheld". BBC Sport. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  20. ↑ Marc Bola: "Middlesbrough sign Blackpool defender" – BBC Sport, 28 July
  21. ↑ "Middlesbrough 2–2 Crewe". BBC. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  22. ↑ "Marc Bola: Blackpool re-sign left-back on loan from Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 10 January 2020.
  23. ↑ "Marc Bola: Middlesbrough defender charged by FA over nine-year-old social media post". BBC Sport. 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  24. ↑ "Football Association Regulatory Commission - The Football Association v Marc Bola". Football Association. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  25. ↑ "Defender Bola leaves Boro for Samsunspor". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  26. ↑ "Official: Hornets Swoop For Bola". www.watfordfc.com. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  27. ↑ "Marc Bola: Watford sign former Middlesbrough defender". BBC Sport. 6 June 2025.
  28. ↑ "Watford v Bristol City LIVE: Championship score, stats & updates". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  29. ↑ "Official: New Contract For Bola". Watford F.C. 11 August 2026.
  30. ↑ "Games played by Marc Bola in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  31. 1 2 "Games played by Marc Bola in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  32. ↑ "Games played by Marc Bola in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  33. ↑ "Games played by Marc Bola in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  34. ↑ "Games played by Marc Bola in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  35. ↑ "Games played by Marc Bola in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  36. ↑ "Games played by Marc Bola in 2026/2027". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
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