For every headline about the darker side of social media, creators like brothers Milo and Louis Amroliwala are showing how it can build communities and encourage young men to spend more time together offline. Their north London project, 5IVE GUYS FC, began with five friends filming weekly football matches and has grown into one of the UK’s biggest football entertainment channels, with more than 1.6 million followers and 75 million views. Blending grassroots football, comedy and friendship, their videos celebrate participation over perfection. We caught up with the brothers to discuss football, social media, their new children’s book and the value of kicking a ball around with your mates.
More than 1.6 million people follow 5IVE Guys FC for the football and laughs. The founders reveal how friendship, creativity and positive social media have turned a weekly kickabout into one of Britain’s biggest online football communities…
When did filming your matches become more than just a hobby?
Louis: At first it was purely for fun. We’d score a good goal or pull off a trick and want to capture it. Then we started uploading clips and, slowly, people found them. It wasn’t overnight. We went from 50 viewers to 100, then 500. We never expected it to become our full-time job.
Milo: I loved filming anyway, so I just wanted a record of the great sessions we were having with our friends. Initially the videos only went into our goup chat. As more people watched them, we started thinking more carefully about how to make each video better, but the motivation has always stayed the same.
What do you think people connect with most?
Louis: The football almost comes second. People relate to a group of friends having a laugh together. Whether we win or lose, we’re still mates, and I think people recognise that.
Milo: The football gives us the story, but it’s everything around it that people enjoy. We deliberately leave in the conversations before kick-off and after the final whistle because that’s where the friendships and banter come through. We’re not pretending to be Premier League players.
Can social media encourage young people away from their screens to play sport?
Louis: Definitely. Social media is about stories, and stories inspire people. We recently visited our old school and loads of Year 7 and Year 8 pupils were talking about our videos and football. If watching us encourages someone to join a team or organise a game with their mates, that’s brilliant.
Milo: The messages we love most are from people saying, “This reminds me of my friendship group,” or, “You’ve made me want to start playing again.” There’s nothing special about us. We’re just a group of friends who happen to film our games. Hopefully that makes football feel accessible.
How did the children’s book you’ve written come about?
Louis: Puffin approached us with the idea and we jumped at it. We’re all big readers, so combining football, storytelling and some of the conversations we have in our group chat felt like a perfect fit.
Milo: With the World Cup coming up it just made sense. I loved these kinds of football books growing up, so being able to create one ourselves was really exciting.
“We’re just a group of friends who happen to film our games”
Does reading influence your creativity?
Louis: Absolutely. Whenever I’m reading a really good novel, I find I’m much more creative. It sparks ideas for videos and different ways of telling stories. It’s one of the best things you can do if you work creatively.
One thing that stands out about your content is that it’s positive. Was that intentional?
Milo: I think that’s just who we are. We want people to see that football doesn’t have to be about being the best player or acting tough. Everyone is different and everyone has a place. We don’t try to be macho. We just try to be ourselves.
Louis: The internet can be noisy enough already. We just want people to leave one of our videos smiling. If someone has had a bad day and spends 20 minutes laughing with us, that’s a good outcome.
Young men are perhaps more isolated than ever. Can football help?
Milo: Definitely. Football gives you a reason to spend time together without putting pressure on anyone. Sometimes difficult conversations happen naturally because you’re walking off the pitch together or grabbing food afterwards. It’s a brilliant way to break down barriers.
Our videos hopefully show that you don’t have to be brilliant at football to belong. Turning up is the important bit.
What have you learned about working together as brothers?
Louis: It’s brilliant, although there are moments when we both think we’re right. Sometimes work disagreements spill over into home life, but building something together as brothers is incredibly rewarding.
Milo: We balance each other well. Louis is very business-minded, while I’m usually coming up with creative ideas. Because we’ve known each other our whole lives, we know how the other person thinks, so even when we disagree we tend to solve it quickly.
What’s next for 5IVE Guys FC?
Louis: We’d love to write more books. Beyond that, the goal is pretty simple: keep enjoying what we do. We’ve never chased milestones or numbers. I think staying focused on having fun has been one of the biggest reasons we’ve been successful.
Milo: If we can keep making videos that encourage people to get together with their mates, play football and enjoy themselves, we’ll be happy. That’s always been what 5IVE Guys FC is about.
5GUYS are sports ambassadors for National Year of Reading, a major new nationwide campaign backed by government and 750-plus partners. Find out more at goallin.org.uk
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5IVE Guys FC is a north London football entertainment collective founded by brothers Milo and Louis Amroliwala and their friends. What began as filming their weekly kickabouts has grown into an online community with more than 1.6 million followers and 75 million views. Their content combines grassroots football, comedy, friendship and a positive message about getting involved in sport.
