The one of a kind football club Hashtag United has announced the launch of its women’s side as it teams up with AFC Basildon Women.
The newly formed side will be known as Hashtag United Women FC and will play in the fourth tier of women’s football, FA Women’s National League Divison 1 South East.
Hashtag United is a unique football and e-sports club that was launched in 2016 by Spencer Owen who has nearly 2 million fans on his Youtube channel, Spencer FC.
As is typical of Hashtag United, the announcement of the women’s side was made on Youtube with nearly 90,000 people having already watched the video of Owen revealing the news. The news was accompanied by good luck messages from the likes of former Chelsea stars Karen Carney, Sue Smith and Siobhan Chamberlain.
According to The Non-League Paper, the move will expose Essex’s most successful women’s side to Hashtag United’s huge online fanbase which stands at over 1.5 million across Youtube and Instagram. Hashtag United Women’s FC will continue to play home games at Canvey Island FC.
Founder Spencer Owen said it was the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup that cemented his goal of creating a women’s side for Hashtag United.
“Following the World Cup, I made a personal pledge to support the growth of women’s football and had been looking for the right opportunity to do so since.
“I knew the best-case scenario would be bringing a women’s team under our wing at Hashtag so I could ensure continuous support long-term.
“After reaching out locally to see what teams were in need of support, AFC Basildon stood out from the rest right away as a club that are not only geographically very close to our base but are also the most successful women’s team in the county,” he said.
Sean Eldridge, Basildon’s secretary, said: “We are all really excited for the opportunity to join Hashtag United. After meeting Spencer, it was clear that we shared the same vision to build a lasting, sustainable football club that can compete at the highest level and give opportunities to women and girls in the local community.
“On the pitch, we have one of the most exciting young teams in the league and we hope to build on that for the 2020/21 season as we embark on this new and exciting chapter in the club’s history.”