YouTube group Sidemen will be given a shot at earning a professional career after Crawley Town announced they would have scouts in attendance at Saturday’s charity event in London.
KSI, one of the most popular members of Sidemen, and Logan Paul are just two of the social media stars set to be on show at The Valley, home of Charlton Athletic, this weekend when they take on a YouTube Allstars side at a sold-out stadium for a charity game.
And League Two outfit Crawley have now announced that they will be sending scouts to “evaluate” participating players in a search for new talent to join the team for an upcoming FA Cup first round clash.
Manager Kevin Betsy is fully supportive of the initiative and admitted that the club are looking to try something different. He told the club's official website : "When we step on the pitch on 5 November, our only goal is to win the match and advance to the next round.
"The FA Cup is a historic competition that is incredibly meaningful to our club, our players and our fans, and we’re looking forward to doing everything we can to make a deep run this season. However, the unique rules of this competition give us a chance to try something different, and we’re looking forward to potentially welcoming some new faces to the team.
"It’s fairly unlikely that they’ll get on the pitch unless the game is already well in hand, but we’re excited to add some fresh blood to our training sessions and in the dugout — and hopefully bring some new fans to the club in the process."
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As well as KSI, the remaining six members of the Sidemen group Josh Bradley, Simon Minter, Tobi Brown, Ethan Payne, Vikram Barn and Harry Lewis will also be on show as they aim to follow up from their 7-2 victory over YouTube Allstars at the same venue in 2018.
AnEsonGib, LazarBeam, MrBeast, Cal the Dragon and Soccer Aid duo Chunkz and Noah Beck will take to the field in front of a sold-out crowd of 27,000 fans, while millions more are expected to tune in via the official stream on the Sidemen YouTube channel.
Should one or more of the YouTube and social media stars be handed the opportunity to represent Crawley as a result of their performances, then they wouldn’t be the first celebrity to sign a contract with the West Sussex club in recent times.
In 2020, the Red Devils snapped up TV personality and former semi-professional footballer Mark Wright, who made his his professional debut at the age of 33 in the third round of the FA Cup after coming on as a 90th minute substitute in Crawley’s 3-0 victory over Premier League side Leeds United in January 2021.
Wright then remained with Crawley for the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign and was handed his first professional start in League Two against Harrogate Town the following month, but was substituted at half time in a 3-1 home defeat.
That would prove to be Wright’s final appearances for Crawley, but those who take to the field this weekend will be looking to follow in his footsteps by giving an impressive display in front of club scouts during Saturday’s charity fixture between Sidemen and YouTube Allstars.
