KSI Becomes Owner of English Football Club — Could It Be the Next Wrexham Story?
YouTube star KSI has purchased a minority stake in Dagenham & Redbridge F.C., a small club currently in the sixth tier of English football.
The club announced the news on March 3, calling it “its most significant strategic partnership to date.”
According to The Athletic, KSI took on a 20% stake.
KSI followed with his own announcement (and video) on X. His stated goal? The Premier League. That’s five promotions away.
A ‘Race to Division One’ Sequel — But in Real Life
Long before the boxing matches and the Prime energy drinks, KSI built his audience on gaming content.
One series in particular looms large here: “Race to Division One,” a FIFA 12 YouTube series where KSI documented his grind from Division 10 to Division 1 in Ultimate Team.
The series started in 2011 and was instrumental to his rise to fame.
Now, over a decade later, he’s attempting a version of that climb with a real club. KSI acknowledged the connection directly in the club’s announcement.
“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 and I can’t wait to go to my first game this Saturday against the league leaders, Dorking Wanderers!” he said.
KSI’s Ambitions for Dagenham Are High
He wasn’t vague about what he wants to accomplish. From the club’s announcement:
“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 said.
“Reaching the Premier League would be a dream. And I believe it is 100% doable. 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,” he added.
KSI also revealed 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.”
Where Dagenham & Redbridge Sits in English Football
The English football system is structured as a pyramid. The Premier League sits at the top — where Manchester City and Arsenal play. Below that are three more professional tiers: the Championship, League One, and League Two.
The fifth tier is the National League, the first semi-professional level. The sixth tier splits into two regional divisions: National League North and National League South.
Dagenham & Redbridge is in the National League South. That puts them five promotions from the Premier League.
KSI himself acknowledged the timeline: “It will take a long time.”
The earliest the team could reach the Premier League would be 2030-31. That scenario requires promotion every single season, starting with this one. Each year without promotion pushes the timeline back further.
Promotion this season is far from certain. The team is currently 13th out of 24 in the table with 49 points. As of March 5, Dagenham was six points out of a playoff spot.
The promotion structure in the National League South works like this: the bottom four clubs are relegated. The top team earns automatic promotion to the fifth tier. The next six qualify for playoffs, with the playoff winner also going up.
There’s a path. It’s steep.
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.
The Club’s History of Ups and Downs
Dagenham & Redbridge 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.
The club dropped out of the EFL entirely in 2015-16. They were relegated to National League South on the final day of last season.
When KSI talks about bringing the club “back to the glory days,” League One is the benchmark — that was the club’s peak.
His investment came just two weeks after the club was taken over by investment consortium Happy Fan Group, fronted by American John Grabowski. That takeover was announced on Feb. 16.
KSI’s arrival as a strategic partner adds a different dimension to that new ownership structure. For a sixth-tier club, having one of the most recognizable names in online entertainment attached to it could change the calculus on global visibility alone.
The first test arrives quickly. On March 7, Dagenham takes on Dorking Wanderers, who sit in first place in the National League South. That’s the match KSI said he “can’t wait” to attend.
The “Race to Division One” just got a sequel. This time, it’s not a game.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
