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

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more

Spurs to sell minority stake

Tottenham Hotspur is in talks to sell a minority stake in a deal that could value it at up to £3.75 billion and pave the way for Joe Lewis and his family to sever ties with the Premier League football club. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is seeking an investment that values the club at between £3.5 billion and £3.75 billion, including debt. While the terms of any deal have not been finalised, City sources expect Spurs to sell about 10 per cent. The club is being advised by bankers from Rothschild on the sale. Tottenham wants to raise fresh capital for new player signings and to help fund the development of an academy for its women’s team, as well as a 30-storey hotel next to its north London stadium. The financier Amanda Staveley, who brokered the deal for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to take over Newcastle United, is understood to be among the parties to have expressed an interest in Tottenham. Staveley’s fund, PCP Capital Partners, has raised about £500 million to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Millwall punch above their weight

Millwall’s season was overshadowed by the tragic death of owner John Berylson following a car accident. The American had been an exemplary owner, beloved by the fans for his leadership, passion and generosity. Millwall’s finances had been pretty good during his tenure, which we shall explore by looking at the most recent accounts from the 2022/23 season, when the club narrowly missed out on a place in the play-offs after finishing 8th. Millwall’s pre-tax loss slightly reduced from £12.6m to £12.2m, as revenue rose £0.8m (4%) from £18.6m to a club record £19.4m and player sales improved from a £0.1m loss to £2.5m profit. However, other operating income dropped from by £1.1m from £1.3m to £0.2m, while operating expenses increased £1.7m (5%) from £31.6m to £33.3m. The main driver of the revenue increase was broadcasting, which rose £1.1m (12%) from £9.1m to £10.2m, though match day was also up £0.4m (7%) from £5.8m to £6.2m. In contrast, commercial fell £0.7m (19%) from £3.7m to £3....
Post a Comment
Read more