Skip to main content

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.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wolves get raw deal from FFP

  I used to see a lifelong Wolves fan for lunch once a month.   He was approaching ninety, but still went to games.   Sadly he passed away the other week. As football finance guru Kieran Maguire has noted, Wolves continue to be constrained by financial fair play rules.  Radio 4 this morning described them as this year's 'crisis club' and the pessimists have certainly been piling in. Martin Samuel wrote sympathetically in the Sunday Times yesterday, saying that the Premier League drives talent away with regulatory red tape: 'Why could Al-Hilal sign Neves? Because Wolves needed the money. And why did Wolves need the money? Because the club had to comply with an artificial construct known as financial fair play. So Wolves are going skint, yes? No. There is no suggestion that Wolves are in financial trouble, only that they are failing to meet the rigours of FFP. Wolves’ owners appear to have the money to run the club, and invest in the club, and in fact came up with a pow
Post a Comment
Read more

Gold standard ground boosts Tottenham's income

The gold standard in European football grounds is the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in north London, a £1bn construction project completed in 2019. Its impact on the club’s finances has become increasingly clear as the effects of the pandemic have faded. Previously, the average fan would spend less than £2 inside the ground on a typical match day, but now that figure is about £16, thanks to new facilities including the longest bar in Europe and an on-site microbrewery. Capacity has gone up from 36,000 at the club’s previous home of White Hart Lane to 62,000.  The new stadium — built on land adjacent to White Hart Lane — has opened the door to a broad range of other events that have helped to push commercial income up from €117mn in 2018 to €215mn in 2022. Last year, Tottenham hosted US singer Beyoncé for five nights on her global Renaissance tour, two NFL matches, as well as rugby games and heavyweight boxing bouts.  Money brought in from football has gone up too. Match day income is
Post a Comment
Read more

Charlton takeover approved

The long awaited takeover of Charlton Athletic by SE7 Partners from Thomas Sandgaard has been approved:  https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/se7-partners-obtain-efl-approval-for-charlton-athletic-takeover/ Charlton have had unhappy experiences with owners for over a decade, so how this works out will remain to be seen.  There is certainly potential there, but will it be realised? This interview with Charlie Methven gives detail not available elsewhere:  https://thecharltondossier.com/charlie-methven-on-the-record/
Post a Comment
Read more