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The Peoples FC
We are delighted to announce that the All Bets Are Off podcast will be the proud 2021-2022 kit sponsors of the Metropolitan League football club The Peoples FC.
Over the past few years campaign groups, including our friends The Big Step, have stood up and battled against the over-saturation of betting sponsorship, advertising, and promotion. There is a real hope that the new Gambling Act will outlaw betting companies appearing on football jerseys, among other much-needed reform.
Recently, to commemorate the above, and in recognition of the difficulties that grassroots sport has faced ever since the coronavirus pandemic struck, we invited football clubs from across the United Kingdom to apply for sponsorship for next season.
The Peoples FC
Of the applicants, it was South East London based YouTube charity football team The Peoples FC that stood out from the crowd. Last year they finished second behind Jermain Defoe's Bradley Lowery Foundation at The Football Content Awards in the category of Best Charitable Campaign.
The Peoples FC have previously raised money for a variety of charitable causes, and promote mental health and wellbeing through football.
Armaan Raja Singh (Co-founder of The Peoples FC)
"The Peoples FC are incredibly grateful to be have been chosen to be sponsored by the All Bets Are Off podcast, and we're really looking forward to working together to help raise awareness of gambling-related harm at grassroots level, the communities that we work within, and a much wider audience as we grow.
We're proud to be the first YouTube charity football team that raises money for a multitude of good causes and supports our local communities. It's evident that our main aims and values as a club runs parallel with All Bets Are Off, whereby we both wish to help and reach out to people that may be having difficulties with their mental health. We believe that no one should suffer alone and that individuals should always have someone to talk to. It's okay to not be okay, and we will always stand by that message.
Gambling sponsorship, advertising and promotion has grown exponentially over the past 15 years, and so to buck that trend and advertise addiction recovery is a privilege. We will work closely with All Bet Are Off and our other partners to ensure that we are doing everything that we can possibly do within the charity football world and raise awareness of mental health, with the aim of becoming the best charity team in the UK."
Ryan Pitcher (the All Bets Are Off podcast)
"Speaking on behalf of the whole All Bets Are Off team, we are incredibly proud that our logo will feature on the shirts of The Peoples FC next season, and we look forward to following their journey once grassroots football is able to recommence.
They are a football club that takes their social responsibilities very seriously, and they matched our own diversity, equality, and inclusivity values. The fact they've recently launched a pan-disability team is testament to that."
Chris Gilham (the All Bets Are Off podcast)
"When I first entered recovery, the saying that I said to myself over-and-over again was 'it's okay to not be okay'. I didn't believe it at first but soon came to believe it to be true. I don't have to feel okay all the time, nobody does, and when times are difficult they will pass. I just need to try and make the right decisions in those difficult moments."
To be sponsoring a team whose motto is 'it's okay to not be okay' is awesome. A truly innovative charity football club who help their local communities and donate to various good causes. Check out their website and YouTube channel and let's all get behind them... up The Peoples FC!"
Unsuccessful Applicants
Our only wish is that we could have supported all of the football clubs that applied for sponsorship. We have written to those football clubs and made them aware that we have been working to find them a suitable match.
We're pleased that our friends Deal Me Out have agreed to match our sponsorship package for Pontypool based Race AFC.