Does YouTuber KSI plan on taking over as manager of Dagenham & Redbridge?

Martin Macdonald

• 11 Apr 2026 07:30 CDT
• 3 min read

News

There has been a lot of extra exposure on Dagenham & Redbridge over the last few minutes after famed YouTube star KSI purchased a stake in the club.

At the beginning of March, KSI, real name lajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, invested in the Daggers and set out an ambitious plan to one day see the club in the Premier League.

Former Liverpool and Newcastle striker Andy Carroll is in charge of the club at the moment and after a recent run of three wins in a row, the club were defeated 3-0 by Hornchurch and then drew 3-2 with Chelmsford City.

Carroll, also an investor in the club, is only in place on an interim basis following the dismissal of Lee Bradury so the Daggers will be looking for a new manager soon.

Could that be KSI?

To be fair to the man himself, he quickly shot down that suggestion when asked about it this week, saying: "No, I'll stick to Baller League!"

His response was in reference to his status as a coach on Sky Sports' six-a-side Baller League.

Dagenham & Redbridge in the Premier League?

KSI, real name lajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, has a reported net worth of around £75 million (Mirror) and began his financial empire by creating video game content on YouTube.

His Sidemen group channel boasts hundreds of millions of views on the content-sharing website.

The money gained from his YouTube work allowed him to break into other areas, including celebrity boxing matches. So far, he has fought two professional fights against Tommy Fury and Logan Paul.

He founded Misfits Boxing and is also a part-owner of Prime energy drinks and Lunchly snack boxes.

KSI is a keen footballer, too, and you'll regularly see him taking part in charity matches.

Football is clearly a passion, then, so it makes sense he would invest in Dagenham and Redbridge, who were relegated to the National League South last season.

“I’m so excited to start this journey," he told the official club website last month.

"It’s gonna be a rollercoaster for sure but I hope to bring Dagenham and Redbridge back to the glory days. And once we reach that point, I want to go even further. Reaching the Premier League would be a dream. And I believe it is 100% doable.

"It will take a long time, so to the Daggers fans, please be patient. I want you to know that I am fully committed to making sure Dagenham and Redbridge is a team that everyone will know worldwide, and will be an exciting team to watch and support

"I’ve been watching games secretly at home for months on YouTube streams so it feels so good to finally show my support publicly. For those of you that are OG fans (Race to Division One), you’ll know that this is a full circle moment for me. This is a really big deal for me and I can’t wait to go to my first game this Saturday against the league leaders, Dorking Wanderers!”

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