Every year, during the spring international break, something special happens off the beaten track: Non-League Day — the grassroots initiative encouraging football fans to leave the Premier League behind for a weekend and discover the charm of their local, volunteer-run clubs.
In March 2025, we helped make sure the story reached far beyond the terraces.
Led by Passion, Backed by Strategy
The face of Non-League Day is James Doe, a QPR and Harrow Borough fan who started the campaign 15 years ago. And rightly so — James has built this initiative from the ground up.
But with a full-time job outside of football, James’s availability for media was limited. So while we led with his story, we made sure the campaign wouldn’t miss a beat when he wasn’t available.
A Broadcast Bench That Delivered
To keep momentum going, we lined up credible, passionate spokespeople who brought their own unique lens to the campaign:
Francis Duku – former player with deep ties to several non-league clubs, offering strong regional insight and real-life perspective
Calogero Scanella – co-owner of Walton & Hersham FC, famously part of the group of teenagers who became the youngest football club owners in UK history
This gave producers options — and gave us a flexible, scalable way to keep the story alive across national and regional outlets.
Framing It Right: “The Most Important Day in Grassroots Football”
We billed it as the most important date in grassroots football. Bold? Yes. Entirely true? Maybe not. But it got editors leaning in, and that’s what mattered.
Backed by new research revealing:
75% of adults have never watched their local non-league team
34% couldn’t name a single non-league club
…it became clear there was a bigger conversation to be had — not just about football, but about community, affordability, and the local game that lives down the road.
Targeted Pitches. Local Hooks. National Reach.
We matched each voice to relevant regions — drawing on Francis’s playing history and Calogero’s club ties — to tailor interviews and stories that felt homegrown, not PR-farmed.
From live radio slots to in-depth regional coverage, we made Non-League Day feel like what it truly is: a celebration of football in its purest form.
Results:
- 4 pieces of national broadcast coverage including LBC, Sky News & talkSPORT
- 18 interviews
- Reach of 7+ million