The Sidemen group of YouTube stars started online as “gaming” friends in 2013. Since then, they have created some of the most popular channels on YouTube, surpassing ten million subscribers in 2020.
Over the past decade, their YouTube channels have featured a range of content, ranging from game challenges and comedy sketches.
They are also committed to raising funds for good causes and have been organizing charity football matches since 2016.
Thanks to their growing popularity, their 2022 match exceeded expectations by raising over £1 million. Here we look at who Sidemen are and how they achieved this fundraising feat.
Who are the Sidemen?
Sidemen are some of the most successful influencers on social media. The band was formed in 2013 by Josh Bradley (aka Zerkaa) and Tobi Brown (Tobjizzle) who were school friends in London, as well as Olajide Olatunji (KSI) and Simon Minter (Miniminter), who had known each other since childhood in Hertfordshire.
Founding members also include Ethan Payne (Behzinga) and Vikram Barn (Vikkstar123), and in 2014 they were joined by Harry Lewis (W2S).
They have five YouTube channels: Sidemen, MoreSidemen, SidemenReacts, SidemenShorts and Sidemen en Español. Additionally, in 2018, they released a travel and celebrity-focused TV series called The Sidemen Show on YouTube Premium.
While they surpassed ten million subscribers in 2020, as of October 2022, they have amassed over 17 million subscribers and 4.4 billion views.
Sidemen and good causes
The Sidemen’s commitment to good causes has continued to grow since 2016.
Their first charity match took place in 2016 at Southampton FC’s St Mary’s Stadium, which raised over £110,000 for the club’s Saints Foundation.
Its success has ensured that it has since become a regular event.
Two further matches took place in 2017 and 2018, at the event’s new home, Charlton Athletic’s Valley ground in London. These raised more than £275,000 for children’s charity NSPCC, Young Minds and Charlton Athletic Community Trust.
The event was forced to take a temporary hiatus due to the pandemic, but that didn’t stop their fundraising activity. In March 2020, they released a fundraising video on YouTube with other content creators to urge people to stay home to reduce the risk of spreading infection. All advertising revenue was donated to the NHS.
Sidemen Charity Football Match 2022
With the return of public fundraising events following the health crisis, the Sidemen once again held their charity football event at Charlton Athletic’s Ground and screened the event on YouTube.
This saw the Sidemen group beat a team from YouTube Allstars 8-7.
After such a long hiatus due to the pandemic, the Sidemen’s growing audience has led to considerable interest in the event.
Another factor in their success has been the Sidemen’s involvement with a string of other big names on social media, including Mister Beastwhich has 109 million subscribers on Youtube.
This also included the football-loving YouTuber Marc Goldbridgewho has over half a million followers on YouTube and led the YouTube Allstars team.
The event also benefited from its timing, a weekend without Premier League football due to international matches being played, leaving football fans eager to watch a match.
Additionally, the match took place the day after an unexciting England international, in which Italy beat Gareth Southgate’s troops 1-0. This cemented the Sidemen match as the main event for football fans this weekend.
This time the good causes benefiting were mental health charity CALM, Teenage Cancer Trust, children’s charity Rays of Sunshine and M7 Education, whose co-founder is Simon Minter.
Within six hours, the event had raised £1 million in donations and had 15 million views, rising to 19 million within days. In November, it was seen at 26 m.
After the event, Sidemen star KSI said he was “proud” of the fundraiser and confirmed it would be held again for the following year.
What a day. I’m absolutely exhausted, but I’m so proud of what the social media and online community did today. So entertaining and raised so much money for charity. A historic moment. Thank you to everyone who made this event so special.
I can’t wait to do it again next year 🙂
-ksi (@KSI) September 24, 2022
The legacy of the 2022 Sidemen game
The huge viewing figures and fundraising of the Sidemen charity football match places it firmly on the sporting fundraising calendar, joining regular events such as Football help.
This year’s fundraising also allowed the Sidemen to increase their involvement with good causes. Since its inception, Sidemen co-founder Payne has been announced as an ambassador for the Teenage Cancer Trust, which received 40% of donations from the 2022 charity match.
“The total amount raised has exceeded our wildest expectations and will now be used to fund nurses, youth teams and hospital units who help young people through the ordeal of cancer treatment,” said Jane Ashton, manager. music and entertainment from Teenage Cancer Trust.
She added. “We are really proud that Ethan Payne is now an ambassador for the Teenage Cancer Trust and are very grateful to everyone who attended the match for their support.”
