Dagenham & Redbridge rarely attracts more than 2,000 fans for home matches in the sixth tier of English football.
On Saturday, all eyes will be on this little-known team from around the world.
Three weeks after becoming a minority shareholder at the East London club, social media star KSI will begin his quest to bring Dagenham to global recognition by streaming matches to his 17.6 million subscribers on YouTube.
Dagenham host Hampton & Richmond in the National League South, and this will be the first time a match of the same caliber will be broadcast live on YouTube. The initiative is being backed by both the National League and broadcaster DAZN, which shows selected matches from England’s sixth tier.
“It’s going to be a movie this Saturday! See you soon,” KSI (real name Olajide William Olatunji) wrote in X about the initiative, which was announced on Wednesday and described as a “groundbreaking moment” by National League CEO Phil Alexander.
“Moments like this show what’s possible when soccer, creators and modern distribution come together to reach entirely new audiences,” said Pete Oliver, DAZN’s CEO of Growth Markets.
When it was announced on March 3 that KSI, who has more than 13 million followers on Instagram, had bought a minority stake in Dagenham, he joined a growing list of celebrities looking to take a shot at football ownership in England.
The most famous are Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mack. took over Wrexham In 2021, he will lead the Wales national team from England. From 5th division to 2nd division championship. The other one is Snoop Dogg. american rapper and recently became an entertainment icon. swansea investorAnother second division team from Wales.
KSI’s entry into soccer is a little different in that he is a London-born Englishman and is already a fan of the sport. He is 32 years old and will likely bring Dagenham into the consciousness of a younger crowd.
Saturday will be the first step.
After becoming a minority shareholder, he said: “I want you to know that we are fully committed to making Dagenham & Redbridge a team that everyone knows around the world and an exciting team to watch and support,” adding that getting the team into the Premier League was “100 per cent possible”.
“It’s going to take a long time, so we ask Daggers fans to be patient,” KSI said. I tried boxing He is also a judge on the popular TV show Britain’s Got Talent.
Dagenham welcomed former England international Andy Carroll as a player and minority shareholder last month. The former Liverpool striker was appointed caretaker manager last week following the sacking of manager Lee Bradbury.
John Grabowski, Dagenham’s chief commercial officer, thanked DAZN for its “creativity and ambition in partnering with KSI to bring our games to a global audience”.
“This is a strong statement of intent from DAZN and the National League,” he said.
Dagenham left the Football League (which covers the three divisions below the high-income Premier League) in 2016 and were relegated to National League South at the end of last season. They are 12th out of a 24 team league.
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