Crawley Town have announced that YouTube trio Tobi Brown (TBJZL), Manny Brown and Jed Brown are set to train with the club ahead of their Emirates FA Cup tie against Accrington Stanley.
Back in September, Crawley confirmed that they had formed a partnership with the Sidemen, which saw them send scouts to their charity match, with the intention of potentially signing a player.
The group, fronted by boxer, musician and social media personality KSI, put on the event on September 24 which has been watched by over 20 million times. The Sidemen formed one starting XI, while they took on All-Star YouTube XI with around 25,000 fans in attendance at Charlton's Valley Stadium.
It proved to be a thrilling, high-scoring affair that eventually ended 8-7 in favour of the Sidemen, courtesy of two late goals to swing the tie in their favour. There were plenty of famous faces on the pitch from all over the globe, including American star Mr Beast - who boasts 100 million subscribers.
However, Crawley have picked out Tobi, Manny and Jed Brown to join the club for training as they look to progress to the second-round of the FA Cup. Tobi has more than 13 million combined followers across major online platforms, while Manny is also an established internet creator, with nearly 5 million combined followers in his own right.
A club statement read : "Crawley Town Football Club and WAGMI United are delighted to announce that Tobi 'TBJZL' Brown — a founding member of The Sidemen, Europe's largest YouTube collective — will join the club for training on 1 November, alongside his brothers Manny Brown and Jed Brown.
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"All three players will be further evaluated by coaches and staff during the session for possible inclusion in the team for the Red Devils’ upcoming FA Cup match against Accrington Stanley on 5 November.
"Tobi and Manny recently starred in the 2022 Sidemen FC Charity Match in September, where Crawley scouts were on hand to evaluate participating players as part of WAGMI United’s recent partnership with The Sidemen. The brothers combined to score three of Sidemen FC’s eight goals in the victory.
"Preston Johnson, Co-Chairman of Crawley Town Football Club, said, 'We're excited to have Tobi, Manny and Jed joining us for training on Tuesday, and we’re looking forward to seeing what they can bring to the club.
"Depending on how they perform, we may extend offers to continue training with the lads on a trial basis and potentially compete for a spot on the bench for the Accrington Stanley match. As we’ve said before, it’s fairly unlikely they’d get on the pitch unless the game is well in hand, but we want to give them the opportunity to show Lewis and the staff what they can do in training and then go from there.'
"The FA's bylaws dictate that any player who has formally registered as part of a club is eligible to be named to the squad and potentially compete in FA Cup matches.
"And while Crawley Town FC remains fully committed to winning our first-round match, the club also looks forward to the possibility of these new recruits joining our team on a trial basis for training and the matchday experience — and introducing the club to millions of potential new supporters in the process."
