How the Sidemen raised £1m with a football match

The Sidemen group of YouTube stars started online as ‘gamer’ friends in 2013. Since then, they have created some of the most popular channels on YouTube, surpassing ten million subscribers in 2020.

 

Over the last decade their YouTube channels have showcased a range of content, from gaming to challenges and comedy sketches.

 

They are also committed to raising money for good causes and since 2016 they have staged football charity matches.

 

Through their growing popularity, their match in 2022 exceeded expectations by raising more than £1m. Here we look at who the Sidemen are and how they achieved this fundraising feat.

 

 

Who are the Sidemen?

 

The Sidemen are among the most successful social media influencers. The group was formed in 2013 by Josh Bradley (aka Zerkaa) and Tobi Brown (Tobjizzle) who had been school friends in London, and Olajide Olatunji (KSI) and Simon Minter (Miniminter), who knew each other from growing up in Hertfordshire.

 

Founding members also include Ethan Payne (Behzinga) and Vikram Barn (Vikkstar123), and in 2014 they were joined by Harry Lewis (W2S).

 

They have five YouTube channels: Sidemen, MoreSidemen, SidemenReacts, SidemenShorts and, Sidemen en Español. In addition, in 2018 they released a travel and celebrity guest focused TV series called The Sidemen Show on YouTube Premium.

 

While they surpassed ten million subscribers in 2020, by October 2022 they had amassed more than 17m subscribers and 4.4bn views.

 

 

Sidemen and good causes

 

The Sidemen’s involvement with good causes has built steadily since 2016.

 

Their first charity match was staged in 2016 at Southampton FC’s St Mary’s Stadium, which raised more than £110,000 for the club’s Saints Foundation.

 

Its success ensured that it has since become a regular event.

 

Two further matches were staged in 2017 and 2018, at the event’s new home, Charlton Athletic’s Valley ground in London. These raised more than £275,000 for children’s charity the NSPCC, Young Minds and Charlton Athletic Community Trust.

 

The event was forced to take a temporary hiatus amid the pandemic, but this did not stop their fundraising activity. In March 2020 they released a fundraising YouTube video with other content creators to urge people to stay at home to reduce the risk of the infection spreading. All advertising revenue was donated to the NHS.

 

 

 

Sidemen’s 2022 Charity Football Match

 

With public fundraising events back following the health crisis the Sidemen once again staged their charity football event at Charlton Athletic’s Ground and screened the event on YouTube.

 

This saw the Sidemen group beat a side of YouTube Allstars 8-7.

 

After such a long break due to the pandemic there was considerable interest from the Sidemen’s growing audience in the event.

 

Another factor in its success was the Sidemen’s involvement of a raft of other big names on social media, most notably Mr Beast, who has 109m subscribers on YouTube.

 

This also included football fan YouTuber Mark Goldbridge, who has more than half a million YouTube followers and managed the YouTube Allstars team.

 

 

The event also benefitted from its timing, on a weekend without any Premier League football due to international matches being played, leaving football fans eager to watch a match.

 

In addition, the match was staged the day after a less than thrilling England international match, in which Italy beat Gareth Southgate’s troops 1-0. This cemented the Sidemen’s match as the main event for football fans over the weekend.  

 

This time around the good causes to benefit were mental health charity CALM, Teenage Cancer Trust, children’s charity Rays of Sunshine and M7 Education, whose co-founder is Simon Minter.

 

Within six hours the event had raised £1m in donations and achieved 15m views, increasing to 19m within days. As of November, it had been seen by 26m.

 

After the event Sidemen star KSI said he was “proud” of the fundraising achievement and confirmed it will be arranged again for the following year.

 

 

Legacy of the Sidemen’s 2022 match

 

The huge viewing figures and fundraising achievement of The Sidemen’s Charity Football Match places it firmly on the sporting fundraising calendar, joining such regular events such as Soccer Aid.

 

This year’s fundraising achievement has also seen the Sidemen increase their involvement with good causes. Since it was staged Sidemen co-founder Payne has been announced as an ambassador for the Teenage Cancer Trust, which received 40% of donations from 2022’s charity match.

 

“The total raised exceeded our wildest expectations and will now fund nurses, youth teams and hospital units that help get young people through the ordeal of cancer treatment," said Teenage Cancer Trust’s head of music and entertainment Jane Ashton.

 

She added. “We’re really proud that Ethan Payne is now an ambassador for Teenage Cancer Trust and are so grateful to everyone who took part in the match for their support.”