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Hashtag United top their league

Social media club Hashtag United are currently top of the Eastern Counties Division One South, Step 6 of the non-league system - and they have 423,528 subscribers on YouTube, more than Tottenham Hotspur, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan: YouTube channel

Playing at Haringey Borough's ground, the club was founded by 29-year old YouTuber Spencer Owen in 2016. Owen told the Non League Paper 'Part of the appeal is that in an age where the top professional footballers are increasingly seen out of touch, fans find our content more engaging because it is about people like ourselves.'

Operations manager Neil Spencer said, 'The punters don't watch us for the skill of the players. They watch us for the personalities and the relationships between them. We're offering viewers a relatable experience.'

The club post regular behind-the-scenes clips on social media throughout the week, while each match is documented through a stylish video, featuring highlights, footage from inside the changing rooms and interviews with players and coaches. Their first episode of the season had 300,000 hits.

Player Jemeel Akeem got over 15,000 new followers on Instagram and YouTube after taking part in trials. Those numbers have since led to collaborations with New Balance, EA Sports and nutrition brand Healthspan Elite on various projects.

Although Hashtag have benefitted from the backing of major brands (including Adidas, Coca Cola and Football Manager) and some of the deals run into six figure sums, Owen emphasises that they are not awash with cash. He told Four Four Two, 'Our manager is renumerated, but we've got no playing budget. The players don't get paid, as it costs us thousands of pound to film and edit content - other clubs don't have these overheads. We have to ensure that we are making excellent content for our online audience, who we rely on to exist. We're trying a different way of running a club, by putting content first.'

Owen commented, 'We want to be successful but our ambition isn't to reach the Premier League in 10 years. Many clubs at this level don't have sustainable business models and rely on benefactors. Some do that well, but others throw money at it and fall apart.'

As their audience is global, they don't expect ticket sales to be a big earner, but they got an attendance of nearly 500 against Benfleet on Non-League Day. A charity match at Wembley against Tekkers Town, another team of YouTube stars and ex-pros, attracted an attendance of 34,000.

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