Professional Footballer Is Competing At Eurovision 2022 Event In Turin

A professional footballer will compete at this year's Eurovision event, with goalkeeper Jérémie Makiese representing Belgium in Turin on Saturday night.

The 21-year-old plies his trade with Royal Excelsior Virton in the Luxembourg province of Belgium.

They play in the Proximus League, the Belgian second tier - and are currently seventh in the table.

But while things aren't going so smoothly for his team on the pitch, Makiese's singing career is going from strength to strength.

He won the ninth series of The Voice in Belgium and will perform his track 'Miss You' at this year's song contest - with four dancers helping him put on a show for the crowd and the millions watching around the world.

Makiese, who idolised legends like Michael Jackson and Otis Redding, made sure he took a trip to Juventus' Allianz Stadium while in Turin.

Makiese, fluent in Flemish and French, was playing academy football at 13 years of age but a dislocated elbow injury put him out of action for some time before he returned in between the sticks.

His dad was always worried his son would pick up an injury, yet Makiese did end up turning out for the likes of RWD Molenbeek and Royal Wallonia Walhain Chaumont-Gistoux in the lower leagues.

He joined Virton in the summer but hasn't made a first-team appearance as of yet. He does, however, feature on the Football Manager 2022 if you want to sign up Belgium's representative.

The singer/keeper has 17 determination, which is his best statistic on the game.

Talking to the official Eurovision website ahead of his big performance on Saturday night, Makiese said:" Eurovision is such a huge competition, and you have to give 100 per cent of yourself, your time, and your energy.

"On stage or on the field, you have a responsibility to keep something safe, whether it’s your voice or your goal!"