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Biographies

Sharky and the Football Dream That Took Him from Arsenal’s Stands to Wenger’s Team

Sharky
Sharky

As a boy, Sharky used to dream of scoring for Arsenal against Chelsea in an FA Cup final. Years later, he looked towards the touchline during a charity match in Qatar and saw Arsène Wenger giving him instructions. The shirt was different from the one in his childhood dream, but the man picking the team was the same. By then, the former stadium steward had built a career that took him from filming football games at home to managing a winning team in London.

Sharky quick bio

DetailInformation
Full nameSharmarke Mohamud
Date of birth31 December 1995
Age30 as of 7 November 2026
BirthplaceUtrecht, the Netherlands
UpbringingLondon, England
HeritageSomali
ReligionIslam
FamilyEldest of seven children
First channel nameafcSharky
Career beganAugust 2015
Best known forBeta Squad, Sharky Does Sports and SDS FC
Clothing businessPrimo Clothing
Football club he supportsArsenal
Personal net worth and salaryNo verified figures

Early life and family

Sharmarke Mohamud was born in Utrecht to Somali parents and grew up in London. His mother raised seven children, with Sharmarke the eldest. He has spoken about the responsibility he felt at home and described himself as a quiet child. That last detail might surprise anyone who first saw him questioning strangers in front of a camera. In interviews, he has also spoken about prayer and his visits to Mecca. Faith is one part of his private life he has chosen to discuss himself.

His background explains why descriptions of his nationality vary. Two UK company records give his nationality as Dutch, while the record for his clothing company gives it as British. He was born in the Netherlands, comes from a Somali family and spent his school years in England. London also shaped the way he speaks. He once said that fans recognised their own speech and humour in Beta Squad. He has given no precise name to his accent.

School, football and his first job at Arsenal

Accounts of his education name Oasis Academy Enfield and Harrow High School, followed by a BTEC Level 3 course in sport science at Barnet and Southgate College. The exact qualification he completed remains unclear. He has spoken directly about playing football with a Tottenham Hotspur development squad. Pulling on a shirt for Spurs did little to change his loyalties at home. He remained an Arsenal supporter.

Working as a steward at the Emirates Stadium offered a different view of the club. Long before a manager came on his channel, he knew the ground as a place where he went to work. He also kept playing football. During his early years on YouTube, he took part in smaller charity matches, well before these events drew crowds to major stadiums.

How Sharky started on YouTube

In August 2015, aged 19, Mohamud opened a YouTube channel called afcSharky. The first three letters stood for Arsenal Football Club. His early videos gave viewers two ways into his world. They could watch him play FIFA or join him for a football vlog. Challenges and collaborations followed, and he shortened the name as he began to cover more ground.

Some of the most important work in those early years happened between uploads. He got to know Chunkz, another young London creator trying to build an audience. When Chunkz reached 100,000 subscribers in 2017, both friends cried. Years later, they could still remember what that number meant at a time when making videos for a living felt like a gamble.

Beta Squad and the move into a shared house

In February 2019, Mohamud, Chunkz, AJ Shabeel, Niko Omilana and King Kenny formed Beta Squad. Moving into a shared house let them film together more often. For Mohamud, the company mattered as much as the opportunity. He said he would have turned down the same offer with four strangers. The friends already knew how to make each other laugh. Viewers soon learnt enough about them to anticipate who might bluff, give away a clue or fall for a convincing story.

The group channel changed the fortunes of his individual channel too. Before the move, he could see a rise in subscribers each time he released a video. Once the five began filming together, new viewers kept finding his older work even when he took a break from uploading. For someone who had started out playing FIFA, it meant a viewer could discover him through a guessing game and then follow him back to football.

Why the guessing games worked

A typical challenge asked five friends to pick the genuine singer, actor or footballer from a group of strangers. Everyone watching could make a choice before the answer came out. Ed Sheeran joined a singer challenge, Idris Elba took part in an actor edition and Trent Alexander-Arnold featured in a football video. By 2024, the group had reached ten million subscribers. The five marked the occasion by taking photos with their awards. Afterwards, Mohamud said he wished they had invited their close friends to celebrate.

Sharky Does Sports finds its own audience

In 2020, he started Sharky Does Sports, known as SDS. The football podcast gave him time to follow an argument beyond the length of a challenge video. A weekend result could lead into a debate over a manager’s decision, while a quieter week left space to argue over the best strikers of a generation. Listeners could also phone in and make their case to the panel.

He wanted other people to have a voice on the show. Faysal hosted a phone-in with Fuad and Fuizzy. In November 2024, Liban and Fuizzy opened their own programme by inviting the founder to sit in the guest’s chair. Live events took SDS to Qatar and to a sold-out Hackney Empire in London. People who once joined the debate through a screen could now hear it unfold in the same room.

From the podcast to a league title

The SDS name took on a different meaning when it went on a football shirt. In June 2025, Mohamud managed SDS FC in the first UK Baller League final at London’s O2 Arena. His six-a-side team took a 4–1 lead over MVPs United and won 4–2. A second final brought a much closer finish. Wembley Rangers beat SDS FC 4–3 to take the next title.

His own football appearances continued alongside his work as a manager. Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta joined him for training drills on his channel in 2022. Beta Squad faced the American group AMP at Selhurst Park in June 2024. Mohamud also took part in Qatar’s Match for Hope in 2025 and returned in January 2026, when Wenger coached Team Chunkz to an 8–7 win. Eden Hazard, Marcelo and Diego Costa were among his team-mates.

Business ventures, clothing and income

Mohamud became a director of Beta Squad Limited in May 2019. In February 2021, he became a director of Sharknation Ltd. UK company records give him at least 75 per cent of its shares and voting rights, as well as the right to appoint or remove directors. Those records offer a clearer picture of his business interests than subscriber totals can provide.

Fashion gave him a chance to build something people could use away from a screen. He has described wanting Primo Clothing to grow beyond merchandise for his existing fans. Since November 2022, the company record has put his share of Primo at more than 25 per cent and up to 50 per cent. Ahmed Mohamed holds a stake in the same range. His work in fashion extends to partnerships with ASOS and JD Sports. Beta Squad featured in JD Sports’ 2024 Family campaign.

What is Sharky’s net worth?

His work spans videos, brand partnerships, clothing and ticketed shows. No reliable figure establishes his personal net worth or annual salary. Company accounts show what a business owns and owes. They cannot tell a fan how much one director earns from a clothing sale, a sponsorship deal or a successful night at the theatre. He has kept those figures private.

Private life and the latest news

Mohamud has shared memories of his mother and siblings while keeping much of his adult family life private. His parents’ names, marital status and whether he has children remain unconfirmed. There is also no dependable figure for his height or weight.

As of 7 November 2026, SDS was still publishing football programmes, with a new Friday edition released on 6 November. His personal YouTube channel had reached about 1.5 million subscribers. British entertainment coverage also named him as a possible contestant on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! His participation still awaited official confirmation on that date.

A place in British football culture

The clearest measure of his influence is the distance between two London venues. At Hackney Empire, people bought tickets to hear the SDS team talk football. At the O2, a team carrying the same initials lifted a trophy. Between those nights were years of work with friends who went on to host programmes of their own.

Years later, he spoke about how strange it felt to have spent his entire twenties online. Experiences that would once have left him speechless became part of the working week. In Doha, he could listen to Wenger and think about getting back on the pitch. Only later, alone with his thoughts, did he picture what that moment would have meant to the boy who used to imagine scoring at Wembley. He remembers the sunshine in that dream.

FAQs about Sharky

1. Who is Sharky?

Sharky, whose real name is Sharmarke Mohamud, is a YouTuber and founding member of Beta Squad. He created the football podcast Sharky Does Sports and managed SDS FC to the first UK Baller League title in 2025.

2. How old is Sharky?

Sharky is 30 years old as of 7 November 2026. He was born on 31 December 1995 in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

3. Who are Sharky’s parents?

Sharky was born to Somali parents. He has spoken about his mother raising him and his siblings in London. His parents’ names remain unconfirmed.

4. Is Sharky married?

Sharky keeps his relationships private. He has not publicly confirmed whether he is married.

5. How many siblings does Sharky have?

Sharky has six younger siblings. He is the eldest of seven children.

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