United States’ Folarin Balogun Scores Brace in First Half Against Paraguay
Fox Sports, Jun 12, 2026
Read the comment I added on July 7, 2026 with a link to a YouTube video of a British call in talk show about Balogun's red card, Trump's call to FIFA, Belgium's winning that match, and opinions about what comes (or needs to come) next as a result of squashing that red card as a result of Trump's action and FIFA's actions.
Highlighted comment @azizip171, July 2, 2026
"Thank you Luke and your team, for presenting this segment on Falorin Balogun and the issue of birthright citizenship. l usually don't focus on mispronunciations, but when it comes to names, I believe it's important to offer this information.
"Balogun" is pronounced "Baah-Lo-guuuuun" ("BA-LOW-GOON").
I'm not a fan of Fox, but this Fox Sports video uses the correct* pronunciation of Falorin Balogun's last name: "Folarin Balogun Opens Up on His Decision to Play for the United States 🇺🇸 2026 FIFA World Cup™", June 19, 2026.
*that is, correct for the USA if not the way that Yoruba people pronounce it).
The name "Balogun" is a combination of "oba" meaning "king" and "ogun". "Ogun" is the name of one of the top deities in the Yoruba (Nigeria) pantheon (which-is similar to the Greek pantheon as it has gods and goddesses and has a Supreme Deity. Yhe Yoruba Supreme Deity's name is Olodumare). Ogun is the god of war and rules metal and all things associated with metal.
The name "Balogun" means "leader in war"." ** Added July 8, 2026: It appears that "Balogun" is almost always incorrectly pronounced in the United States media to rhyme with the word "cardigan" (as in "cardigan sweater" ) or the word "again". The name "Balogun" is also frequently incorrectly spelled as "Balagan" in English captions for YouTube videos. **** Here's another comment that I wrote as a reply to the above comment. However, that comment doesn't appear to have been published on that website or ,at least, it's not published there as a response to that highlighted comment: Reply @azizip171, July 3, 2026 "Here's information about the name "Folarin" from yorubanames.com:
"Fọlárìn - One who walks with wealth.
[...]
Morphology fi-ọlá-rìn
Part Meaning
fi use
ọlá wealth
rìn walk, strut"... -snip- The nickname "Flo" that has been given to soccer player Folarin Balogun isn't a Yoruba (Nigeria, West Africa) shortening of the name "Folarin", but was created in the USA or in England because the "Fola" part of the name "Folarin" sounds like the nickname for the French/Latin given name "Florence".
(According to Wikipedia, the feminine name
"Florence" "is derived from the French version of (Saint)
Florentia, a Roman martyr under Diocletian.[2] The Latin florens, florentius
means "blossoming", verb floreo, meaning "I blossom / I flower /
I flourish")...
-snip-
I don't think there's any connection between the "Fola" element in the Yoruba
language and the word "florens" in Latin. However, it's interesting
that a person who is wealthy (as the meaning of the Yoruba name element
"Fola") can also be considered to be blossoming/'flourishing"
(as the meaning of the French/Latin name "Florence".)"
**** SOURCE #2 From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbGkou7DTAA "Who Is USA’s Star Folarin Balogun? (And Why He's Becoming a Problem)"
The World Cup Reporter, Jun 13, 2026
#worldcup2026 #worldcup #fifaworldcup
Welcome to The World Cup Reporter — your home for World Cup 2026 news, predictions, updates, controversy, and breakdowns for fans across the USA, Canada, and North America.
[Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.] 1.@aledjohope, June 2026 "Correct pronunciation of his last name is: BAA- LOW- GOON" ** Reply 2. @ernestmwape, June 2026 "Ok. Still a 🔫 🤗" ** Reply 3. @Redvinetv, June 2026 "Balogun - BA-LOW-GUN ** Reply 4. @vaticinus, June 2026 "baa-low-goon not baa-low-jen
your edit is still wrong
its 'goon' not 'gun'"
** Reply 5.@olaronkeoyekanmi5139, June 2026 "It means captain of an army or warlord"
**** SOURCE #3 From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDXNx7urmPs "Folarin Balogun Opens Up on His Decision to Play for the United States 🇺🇸 2026 FIFA World Cup™ ", FOX Sports, Jun 19, 2026
[Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.]1. @obaone, July 2026
"Say his last name right cmon!"
**
2. @vaticinus, July 2026
"BA-LOW-GOON"
**
3. @toluakande1952, July 2026
"Learn to pronounce his name correctly"
**
4. @nnamdi602, July 2026
"The mispronouncing of his name during this video was so
irritating."
**
5. @LJK8151, July 2026
"You all keep mispronouncing his last name. Can you please
say his last name correctly?"
**
6. @CapitalFizz, July 2026
"Baah -Lo-guuuuun"
**
7. @angelheart8676, 2026
"Please don't butcher his surname again, next time just call
him Flo. if an african should call an american name wrongly, you all will throw
a fit, about the accent. excuse me 😳"
**
8. @Ceedeetunis, July 2026
"Can you at least pronounce his name right."
**
9. @AstroLonghorn, July 2026
"He has gun in his name. Automatically American 🇺🇸"
**
Reply
10. @Briseis007
"I think Nigerians said his name actually means warlord or
war general in Yoruba"
**
11. @angelheart8676
"Please don't butcher his surname again, next time just call
him Flo. if an african should call an american name wrongly, you all will throw
a fit, about the accent. excuse me 😳"
****
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Since I published this post on the way soccer player Falorin Balogun's last name is correctly pronounced, I've watched a number of YouTube videos that feature that player. (This is particular because Balogun has become the face of the birthright citizen issue in the United States and also because he received a red card during the US' match with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Trump intervened and got the red card removed.
ReplyDeleteThe point of this comment is that it appears that the way that the name Balogun is pronounced by people in the USA media has become baked in stone as "bah low gin" or "ball low gin". Neither pronunciation is correct, but that apparently isn't important to the media.
I decided to ask AI Overview if Balogun ever publicly corrected the way people in the media pronounce his last name. Here's the result of that query:
DeleteAI Overview
"Folarin Balogun has not publicly corrected anyone in the media about the pronunciation of his last name. He maintains a notoriously laid-back, easygoing attitude regarding how commentators and fans say it, often even answering to the simplified nickname "Flo".
While the player himself avoids making a fuss, his name is a frequent subject of debate on soccer forums and sports broadcasts.
The Correct Native Pronunciation:
The name is of Nigerian (Yoruba) origin. Correct pronunciation relies on a slight nasal inflection on the final syllable: BAH-lo-goon.
Media
Variations: Because of his background, the media has adopted different approaches. In the U.S. and UK, broadcasters frequently say BAL-uh-gun. During his time in France, French commentators naturally adapted it to sound like bah-lo-GOON.
Community Consensus:
On fan platforms like Reddit USMNT, many fans note that while the authentic Yoruba pronunciation is preferred, Balogun has never caused friction by demanding broadcasters get it exactly right."
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ecaW4dUMHo for the YouTube video ""There’s a storm brewing for FIFA…’ | LBC"
DeleteLBC, Jul 7, 2026 #nickferrari #donaldtrump #worldcup
FIFA has been plunged into crisis after Donald Trump intervened in the running of the World Cup to have a US striker’s red card ban suspended.
Calls are growing for the boss of FIFA Gianni Infantino to resign after he decided to allow striker Folarin Balogun's automatic one-match ban for getting a red card to be pushed back so he could start against Belgium, after speaking to Donald Trump and other US government officials.
It made little difference as the USA were defeated 4-1 by the European side and knocked out of the cup last night.
00:00 - Nick Ferrari breaks down what happened
00:58 - Clips of Trump admitting to pressuring Infantino
01:53 - Legendary Rugby referee Nigel Owens reacts to what happened
04:53 - Former professional footballer Clark Carlisle joins the call
07:22 - OANN host David Pollack says 'King Charles would have done the same'