Hashtag United ask to be relegated from league
Founder Spencer Owen says signing the "best players" cannot come "at the cost of our staff's jobs".
Hashtag United play in the seventh tier of the football pyramid, which is also known as step three [BBC Essex Sport] Hashtag United have asked to be relegated from the Isthmian Premier League for the 2026-27 season, due to what it describes as "unsustainable" finances. YouTuber Spencer Owen founded the Essex club as an exhibition team in 2016, filming and uploading their matches online. The team later entered non-league football, playing home matches at Parkside in Aveley, and were promoted to the Isthmian Premier League in 2023 .
In a post on social media, Owen said he wanted to sign the "best players", but "not at the cost of our staff's jobs". The club sit 18th in the table and a point above the relegation zone. An Isthmian League spokesperson said the Football Association (FA) would decide whether Hashtag could drop to the Isthmian League North Division.
Teams in the division below usually do not have to spent as much money on travel, hospitality and player wages. Hashtag United chief executive Joe Gorman and founder Spencer Owen spoke to the BBC in November [Warren Muggleton/BBC] Owen criticised a lack of governance in non-league football. "The finances are unsustainable at almost every level," he said, writing on X .
"Moving to step four (Isthmian League North Division) will mean significant budgetary savings that will be reinvested into other key parts of the business at a crucial time, including employing more people while we significantly invest in building home attendances at our new ground. " The Tags share Parkside with Aveley FC but plan to share with Redbridge FC in east London from next season. In his statement, he also pointed to the "unprecedented spending" of some non-league teams, referencing Wrexham, who have soared to the Championship after the investment by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.