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KSI has sensationally announced that he is now the owner of non-league side Dagenham & Redbridge. The YouTuber-turned-musician-turned professional boxer, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, has become a shareholder in the Daggers.

The National League South club confirmed that KSI will join the club as a shareholder and strategic partner. Last month, it was confirmed that the club had been acquired by Happy Fan Group LLC, an investment group led by John Grabowski.

The National League South side play in the sixth tier of the English football league system, two promotions from the Football League. KSI becomes the latest to invest in the club just days after former England, Liverpool and Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll also became a shareholder.

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Avid Arsenal supporter KSI is one of the driving forces behind the YouTube scene in the United Kingdom, with the 32-year-old boasting over 17 million subscribers and over four billion views on his main channel.

He is also apart of the YouTube supergroup, The Sidemen, who have revolutionised content-making on the platform with their high-quality videos but moving into the real-world with their own brands and hosting numerous YouTube charity matches.

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In a post to his Instagram, he said: "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.

"For those of you that are OG fans (Race to Division One), you’ll know that this is a full circle moment for me.

"So join me on this exhilarating adventure and I’ll see you all at Victoria road this Saturday! I’ll be streaming too haha @daggersfcofficial."

During the video, he said: "I've done boxing, music, YouTube content, I've been around the world, I'm a man that does whatever he wants, you can never stop doing what you want. I'm going to buy Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club.

"The idea excites me so much. Years ago, I saw the happiness, the joy, I want to bring that back and surpass it. I want the place to be pumping, I want the place to be rocking, be an event when you come here.

"Playing a video game and owning a football club is very different but with Race to Division One it was a journey it was hard but in the end, I did it.

"With this club I want to do the unthinkable, I want to take Dagenham & Redbridge to the Premier League. It's going to take time but realistic stages, I think getting out of this league and entering the National League.

"We need to improve the team, I have improvements to take it to another level."

He added: "I know to some of you it might be scary, me being one of the owners, but I'm reachable. You can tweet me and I will see it. You can let your frustrations out or celebrate with me.

"I'm a fighter. I've broken my nose, broken my hand, broken my thumb, I've been in tough fights but with the Daggers, I'm going to keep fighting so that we can succeed. I'm just ready to get started."

The YouTuber references his Race to Division One series on FIFA which catapulted him to becoming a household name in the mid-2010s. Carroll was among those commenting on the post, he replied: "Let's do this [fire emoji]."

Before the announcement, it was confirmed that Stephen Thompson MBE would step down from his role as Managing Director and from the Board of Directors at the end of March.

KSI has infiltrated the mainstream after emerging on social media and had a number one album in All Over The Place in 2021, as well as being on the bill for sold-out boxing matches against Tommy Fury and Logan Paul, and more recently being a judge on Britain's Got Talent.

His record-breaking drink, Prime, stunned the hydration drink market alongside his former boxing foe, Paul. The two have since gone on to sponsor KSI's beloved Arsenal as well as European giants such as Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Benfica and Juventus.

With the investment, he joins the likes of Spencer Owen as YouTubers in the non-league football pyramid after Owen's Hashtag United rose through the divisions to be within one promotion of the National League South.

The Daggers were a Football League club as recently as 2016, they had one season in League One, after winning promotion via the playoffs in 2010 but have since fell down the pyramid, suffering relegation from the National League to its southern division, where they sit 13th and five points off the playoffs. They host Dorking Wanderers on Saturday.

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