YouTuber KSI Invests in Sixth-Tier Football Club With Hopes of a Wrexham-Like Journey
Dagenham & Redbridge F.C., currently languishing in the sixth tier of English football, has new ownership, a celebrity investor, and a stated ambition to reach the Premier League.
The gap between where they are and where they want to be spans five promotions, years of grinding competition, and a whole lot of uncertainty.
The club announced on March 3 that YouTube star KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, purchased a minority stake in the team. His involvement was described as “its most significant strategic partnership to date.”
According to The Athletic, KSI took on a 20% stake.
KSI followed with an announcement (and video) of his own on X.
The celebrity investment came just two weeks after investment consortium Happy Fan Group, fronted by American John Grabowski, completed its takeover of the club on Feb. 16.
For American soccer fans who watched Wrexham’s rise from fifth-tier obscurity to global brand, the parallels are hard to ignore.
Another lower-league English club, another ownership group with American leadership, another stated ambition to climb the pyramid.
The question is whether ambition can translate into results across the grueling, multiyear gauntlet of English football’s promotion system.
The Premier League Dream — and What It’ll Take
KSI has been explicit about the end goal.
“Reaching the Premier League would be a dream. And I believe it is 100% doable,” he said in the club’s announcement. “It will take a long time, so to the Daggers fans, please be patient. I want you to know that I am fully committed to making sure Dagenham and Redbridge is a team that everyone will know worldwide, and will be an exciting team to watch and support.”
“I’m so excited to start this journey. It’s gonna be a rollercoaster for sure but I hope to bring Dagenham and Redbridge back to the glory days. And once we reach that point, I want to go even further,” KSI added.
Understanding the scope of this ambition requires understanding the English football pyramid.
The Premier League sits at the top. The Championship, League One, and League Two round out the professional tiers. The fifth tier is the National League, the first semi-pro league. The sixth tier splits into two divisions: National League North and National League South.
Dagenham & Redbridge is currently in the sixth tier. Reaching the Premier League would require climbing through five separate levels: from the National League South to the National League, then to League Two, League One, the Championship, and finally the Premier League.
Each step demands earning promotion, whether through automatic league placement or a playoff system.
The earliest the team could reach the Premier League would be 2030-31 — and that’s only if they earn promotion every single year, starting this season. Each year they don’t, the timeline extends.
Where Dagenham Stands Right Now
The current picture is sobering. The team is currently 13th out of 24 in the table with 49 points. As of March 5, Dagenham is six points out of a playoff spot.
The stakes at this level are real. The bottom four face relegation at season’s end. The top team earns automatic promotion to the fifth tier. The next six compete in the playoffs, with the winner also promoted.
Their next match is on March 7 vs. the Dorking Wanderers, who sit in first place in the National League South. KSI referenced the fixture himself.
“I can’t wait to go to my first game this Saturday against the league leaders, Dorking Wanderers!” he said in the announcement.
Dagenham & Redbridge isn’t without pedigree.
The club was formed in 1992 and first entered the EFL with promotion to League Two in 2007. They reached League One for the 2010-11 season but were relegated back to League Two at season’s end.
They dropped out of the EFL entirely in 2015-16. Then came the sharpest blow: relegation to the National League South on the final day of last season.
A Full-Circle Moment for KSI
KSI’s personal connection goes beyond business. He noted that he’s been watching the team through YouTube streams for the past few months, but “it feels so good to finally show my support publicly.”
“For those of you that are OG fans (Race to Division One), you’ll know that this is a full circle moment for me. This is a really big deal for me,” he said.
“Race to Division One” is a FIFA 12 YouTube series where KSI documented his struggle to climb from Division 10 to Division 1 in Ultimate Team. The series began in 2011 and was instrumental to his rise to fame.
A content creator who built his audience documenting a virtual climb through the divisions is now putting real money behind an actual club trying to do the same — from the sixth tier all the way to the top.
His goals are similar to that of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who took over Wrexham AFC in 2021.
They invested heavily in the club and stadium, moving it from the fifth-tier National League to the Championship by 2025.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
