Welcome aboard the home of Hype Train Football Club. Here, you can read more about the club launching the Hype Train Podcast, a hybrid video podcast hosted by Robert Austin that aims to tackle all elements of grassroots football and wider footalling topics. All aboard.
Hype Train FC: Podcast Information
Premiere Episode: Friday 4th August 2023, 6pm (GMT)
In 2015, eventual club owners Robert and Sam Austin started a fantasy football website called TheHypeTrain.co.uk to help rediscover their love for the beautiful game. Looking to develop and grow their brand, the pair eventually would form Hype Train Football Club, becoming the first fantasy football themed website to form a real-world grassroots team.
Based in Reading, England, the club was announced on June 26th 2019 and has since then taken steps to grow the club in both the local area and online too, and won our first piece of silverware on Saturday 7th May 2022 - lifting the East Berkshire Football League's Presidents Cup after a thrilling 4-3 win in the final against AFC Cressex at Burnham FC's 1878 Stadium.
As part of the club's commitment to grow and expand their YouTube channel, on August 4th 2023 after nearly a year of development, the club is thrilled to have finally launched our very own Podcast, hosted by Robert Austin, that will look to celebrate local football, and look at the biggest challenges facing grassroots across the UK.
The Podcast will air each fortnight on Friday's and will cover in-studio pieces about developing yourself and your club in grassroots football, will feature regular guest interviews, as well as going out into the real world to explore the realities of the local game in 2023 and beyond.
Would your club like to feature on our Podcast?:
You can contact Rob on our club email, contact@thehypetrain.co.uk, or you can visit our Podcast page to find out more about our efforts to lift the lid off of grassroots football.
Episode 1 - Questions to Consider Snyopsis:
When people want to start their own local football team, there is a lot to consider. Robert Austin unpacks the major questions that any new start up club owner will go through before they touch grass for the first time, and talks about his own major learning experiences whilst starting up Hype Train.
Thoughts from Club Owner & Secretary, Robert Austin:
"The launch of our club's Podcast is a big step for Hype Train on our journey. Since starting up my own football team, each and every day has been a learning experience and not only do I feel comfortable enough exploring these teething pains and successes with you, but I want wider grassroots football to be accessible to everyone. Part of that process is getting people engaged with the realities of the game at the basement level, and understanding the hard work that volunteers and players put in over the course of a season, year in and year out. I am a better person in grassroots due to the constant experiences and the people I speak to and learn from, and though I am still young (enough), I want to be challenged further with this Podcast to expand my knowledge even further.
Our first episode is close to my heart in particular as figuring out your club in its formative days is an exciting and sometimes daunting task, and I would love prospective club owners and existing clubs to watch so they can consider the minefield of questions that kept me up for night after night before Hype Train formed.
I hope that everyone that watches the Podcast will enjoy the journey as I look to deep dive on all areas of grassroots football. I've already spoken to some fantastic and intelligent people within the local game, and can't wait to share their stories with you. For most, grassroots football is a window of time for most people, we need to encourage as many to play as possible, and to put pressure on the game's organisers to make it a better experience for all, and speaking to people so invested in the game it is clear that there is still a massive passion for the game from the bottom of the pyramid to the top."
Watch the first edition of the Hype Train Podcast from 6pm on August 4th 2023:
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in general football and Fantasy sports reporting, starting with Fantasy Premier League (FPL), before expanding to MLS Fantasy coverage in 2018.
We pride ourselves in providing beautiful graphics, statistics, in-depth analytical reporting and free weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb rankings tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review games, live sport, and professional wrestling.
In 2019, Hype Train Football Club was formed, becoming the first Fantasy Football website to take to the field. HTFC is a socially active team across social and web channels, providing regular match highlights, match reports, comprehensive player statistics and unique player profiles. We won both Goal of the Season Awards in the Berkshire and County FA regions, with Callum Parr-Jones winning the Berks & Bucks FA award, whilst Martin King won the PlaySport UK award.
In 2021, we formed the Reading Sunday Social League (RSSL), a competitive Sunday League involving 8 teams in its debut season. During the 2021/22 season, we won our first-ever trophy, lifting the East Berkshire Football League's Presidents Cup! Prior to the start of the 2023/24 season, the club launched the Hype Train Podcast, hybrid video podcast hosted by Robert Austin that tackles all elements of grassroots football and wider footalling topics.
The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog' in 2016 by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), and were again shortlisted as a finalist in 2019 in the 'Best Fantasy Football Blog' category.
You can follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, follow Hype Train FC on Instagram, subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content, visit our club's dedicate website, or visit our website here at www.thehypetrain.co.uk
Believe The Hype!
