Hashtag United FC: From YouTube to English Football Pyramid
From the notable loss of Manchester United to Wrexham AFC, the football club owned by Hollywood superstars, to the finalisation of the investment of the American YouTube channel Dude Perfect in Burnley, the 2023–24 pre-season saw a variety of unique events. But an entirely new phenomenon in the age of social media has been the rise of YouTube football clubs, led by Hashtag United FC, who are currently playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division, the 7th tier of English football.
The origins of Hashtag United FC from YouTube
Hashtag United came to be in 2016 after its founder, the famous YouTuber Spencer Carmicheal-Brown, who ran the channel Spencer FC, decided to broadcast football matches with his friends in FIFA-style format on YouTube. The channel quickly grew in popularity, with invitational matches played against the Manchester City staff, Google, and even a team of former professional footballers such as Paul Dikov and Ray Parlour.
Due to the success of the series and the response it got, Spencer decided to turn the team into a legit club. The club began its journey from the bottom of the English football pyramid in the 2018–19 season. Since then, they have achieved three promotions to play in the Isthmian League Premier Division, the highest regional league for semi-professional clubs.
The Business Side of Hashtag United FC
Unlike a conventional football club where the teams are established first and then the fan following is attracted to the club, Hashtag United and other YouTube football clubs ended up developing their following before turning into a proper club. This allowed them to have a significant advantage over other teams by way of revenue sources through social media. Hashtag United, for example, has more YouTube subscribers than some of the top-division clubs across Europe, such as Sevilla FC, AS Monaco, and even the Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. This also gives them a significant advantage in generating revenue through merchandise sales and sponsorships, with Hashtag United bagging sponsorships with Adidas and Football Manager.
However, Spencer argues that this is not the case, as there are significant costs for the club that are higher than those borne by pre-established clubs as well. Additionally, Hashtag United has more than 400 players, a women’s team (which plays at a much higher level in the fourth tier of women’s football), a youth academy, and many secondary teams, such as one consisting of people with Alzheimer’s.
Another issue that exists for Hashtag United is the perception that they are not a serious club due to both their origin and name. The club, upon making the switch to enter the football pyramid, realised that they needed to make significant investments into infrastructure such as a stadium and training facilities and also diversify their income, as most income in the pyramid is usually generated through the sale of tickets. However, the team, with its ever-increasing local support (and ever-so-strong international support through social media), is adamant that it can fight for its survival within the formal football pyramid. They have also acted as agents to bring the youth down to watch the local football matches and build a community around the sport.
The successes of Hashtag United, both as a footballing entity and as a community-building effort, have led to a transformation in what it means for a football club. They are also not the only leaders in redefining how a football team can come to be, with Under the Radar FC, Palmers FC, Rising Ballers FC, and SE Dons being some of the other trailblazers in the scene, giving opportunities to promising youth players, former academy players, and even those who couldn’t make it professionally but still love the game.
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