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

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more

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

A poor financial record, but new hope at Everton

I recently saw an amusing video online in which a group of Everton fans were rebuked in jest for being hopeful.  Football fans in general tend to swing between excessive optimism and excessive pessimism, but for many it seems that moaning is in their bloodstream (Spurs fans probably take the trophy).  However, Everton fans have had plenty to moan about on and off the pitch.   Let’s hope that a new era is about to begin for this grand old club. Everton’s 2023/24 financial results covered a fairly momentous season, when they ended up 15th in the Premier League, though they would finished three places higher if they had not received an 8-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). It was a worrying time for Everton fans, as the club faced a “perfect storm” of issues, including large financial losses, an ever increasing debt burden, a challenging stadium build and the tortuous sale of the club. There were eve...
Post a Comment
Read more