EE Wembley Cup
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The Wembley Cup, also known as The Wembley Cup with EE, was a charity
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
tournament played at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
in London and held annually between 2015 through 2018. Before 2018, the tournament was contested by two teams who played one standard 90-minute match. In 2018, the tournament was expanded to four teams, who played each other in a round-robin group stage of 60-minute matches, not played at Wembley, before 30-minute semi-final and final games played on the same day at Wembley. Alongside the tournament, a companion video series was uploaded to the Spencer FC
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel which would showcase a number of challenges to determine the squads for the final game. Squads consisted initially of YouTube content creators, with some ex-professionals (referred to in the series as "Legends"). In 2018, the squads were decided before the video series had started, the only exception being which legend was draft picked to play for each team. The order of this draft pick was based on the final standings of the aforementioned group stage. All matches were also uploaded to the Spencer FC YouTube channel, with matches at Wembley from 2016 onwards being
livestreamed Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- live ...
as well as being watched by a crowd in the stadium. The tournament was sponsored each year by mobile phone network EE, who also sponsor Wembley Stadium.


History

In August 2015, the EE Wembley Cup kicked off for the first time and it saw Spencer FC take on Sidemen United, the latter team named after the
Sidemen The Sidemen is a British collective consisting of YouTubers, influencers and internet personalities KSI, Miniminter, Zerkaa, TBJZL, Behzinga, Vikkstar123, and W2S. The group produce videos of various challenges, sketches, and video game c ...
and featured five of the group's seven members (all except
KSI Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji (born 19 June 1993), better known by his online alias KSI, is an English influencer, professional boxer and musician. He is a co-founding member of YouTube group the Sidemen, the CEO of Misfits Boxing a ...
and
Vikkstar123 Vikram Singh Barn (born 2 August 1995), better known as Vikkstar123 or simply Vikkstar, is an English influencer. He is a member of the YouTube group the Sidemen. Barn's YouTube career started in 2010, primarily focusing Call of Duty: Modern W ...
) as players. This Wembley Cup was played
behind closed doors Behind Closed Doors may refer to: Film, television and radio Film * ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1929 film), an early talkie starring Virginia Valli * Behind Closed Doors (1961 film), ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1961 film), an Italian comedy film by Dino ...
and had no attendees. The two captains were Spencer Owen (Spencer FC) and Miniminter (Sidemen United). This was also the only Wembley Cup not to include 'legend' players in the teams and not to be live streamed on YouTube. The final ended in Spencer FC beating Sidemen United by five goals to two. The Sidemen would later go on to host their own annual football charity matches beginning the following year after this event. With the 2015 Wembley Cup being a hit with fans, a second season was confirmed, but this time Spencer FC faced Weller Wanderers. The two captains for the second series were Spencer Owen (Spencer FC) and Joe Weller (Weller Wanderers) The whole match was completely revamped with the introduction of the match being live streamed on YouTube, the sale of live tickets to the game, the inclusion of some former professional footballers, namely
Peter Schmeichel Peter Bolesław Schmeichel (born 18 November 1963) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. During eight seasons at English club Manchester United, he won 15 trophies including five Premier League titles, three FA C ...
,
Robbie Fowler Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English football coach and former player. He most recently managed Saudi First Division League side Al-Qadsiah. As a player, he was a striker, and is the ninth-highest goalscorer in the histor ...
,
Robert Pires Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer. He is widely regarded as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players and considered by some to be one of the best wingers in the history of the sport. Pires play ...
, Jay-Jay Okocha,
Patrick Kluivert Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Indonesia national team. As a player, he played as a striker for Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands national te ...
and Jamie Carragher. Over 18,000 people attended live and hundreds of thousands watched the livestream on YouTube. This bought the Wembley Cup to the attention of the media and other news outlets. The 2017 event saw two different and new teams enter the mix.
Hashtag United Hashtag United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside, Aveley. History Hashtag United Football Club was formed in March 2016 by Spencer Carmichael-Brow ...
(captained by Spencer Owen) came up against Tekkers Town (captained by the F2 Freestylers). Spencer and his side had to be on their best form to beat the 'strongest' YouTube footballing team out there. The third series saw five new Footballing 'Legends' entering the mix. Robbie Fowler was the only 'Legend' from Series Two to be in Series Three. He was joined by David James, Robbie Savage, Steven Gerrard, Emile Heskey and William Gallas. Rio Ferdinand was set to play in the Wembley Cup 2017 Final but unfortunately sustained an injury which ruled him out. The Frenchman, William Gallas had big boots to fill. Much like the second Wembley Cup, it was live streamed on YouTube, tickets available for purchase and 'legends' making an appearance. The third season of the Wembley Cup was a landmark for YouTube football as it doubled the YouTube football attendance record set by the previous Wembley Cup from 18,00 to 34,172. It was also the first time the FA trialled VAR at Wembley, although it was not called upon within the game. Spencer Owen's Hashtag United came out on top when they comfortably beat Tekkers Town 6-1. The 2018 series consisted of four teams battling it out in a Group Stage format. These teams were Hashtag United, F2 FC, XO FC and Rebel FC. Hashtag United come out on top of the group with F2 FC coming 2nd, XO FC coming third and Rebel FC finishing fourth. Hashtag United faced Rebel FC in the first Semi Final and XO FC came up against F2 FC in the second Semi Final. Rebel FC shocked the YouTube Football scene when they came out victorious against the holders Hashtag United. The game ended 0-1. For this series, EE introduced new rules, including a fast and furious 30-minute match format, Man Down Time and Sin Bins'','' turning the traditional footballing tournament on its head. The live semi-final, which saw F2 FC & XO FC go head to head, was the first game in The EE Wembley Cup Final history to see Man Down time brought into play. A new rule which saw a player from each team leave the field every minute until a team scores. The second semi final between F2 FC & XO FC ended in a 0-0 draw and had to be decided in the 'dreaded' Man Down stage. Bradley Simmonds stole the match for F2 FC as the players were quickly dropping off the field. This set up a final between Rebel FC and F2 FC. The French Footballing 'Legend',
David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (, ; born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at ...
opened the scoring after a looping volley which forced Rebel FC Goalkeeper, Kaelin Martin make an unfortunate mistake which ultimately led to F2 FC grabbing their first ever Wembley Cup trophy.


2015 Wembley Cup

The 2015 Wembley Cup was the inaugural edition of the Wembley Cup, an annual football competition contested by two teams. It took place at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Spencer FC beat Sidemen United 5-2 in the final to win the competition and their first title.


2016 Wembley Cup

The 2016 Wembley Cup was contested by two teams. It took place at Wembley Stadium. Spencer FC beat Weller Wanderers 7-4 in the final to win the competition and their second title.


2017 Wembley Cup

The 2017 Wembley Cup was contested by two teams. It took place at Wembley Stadium. Rio Ferdinand was supposed to play for Hashtag United, but did not due to injury, so William Gallas took his place for the game.
Hashtag United Hashtag United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside, Aveley. History Hashtag United Football Club was formed in March 2016 by Spencer Carmichael-Brow ...
beat Tekkers Town 6-1 in the final to win the competition and their third title.


2018 Wembley Cup

The 2018 Wembley Cup was the fourth edition of the Wembley Cup. The 2018 competition was the first to be contested by four teams, in a four way tournament style. It was also the first to introduce Man Down or
Golden Goal The golden goal is a sports rule used in association football, Australian rules football, bandy, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby league to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the ...
, which is where a player was removed for every minute without a goal. Eventually only the goalkeepers remained, and a goal ends the extra time period. The first two games played were Hashtag United VS Rebel FC Followed by F2 FC VS XO FC. The winners of each game played each other in the final. As a result of the first two fixtures, the final was Rebel FC vs F2 FC. All three matches were played at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. There were four legends and four YouTubers, whose teams were decided in a draft style format. Draft picks were as follows: * Hashtag United: ChrisMD (YouTuber),
Robert Pires Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer. He is widely regarded as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players and considered by some to be one of the best wingers in the history of the sport. Pires play ...
(Legend) * XO FC: Séan Garnier (YouTuber),
Cafu Marcos Evangelista de Morais (born 7 June 1970), known as Cafu (), is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, right-back. Widely regarded as one of the greates ...
(Legend) * F2 FC: Manny (YouTuber),
David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (, ; born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at ...
(Legend) * Rebel FC: Joe Weller (YouTuber),
Michael Essien Michael Kojo Essien (born 3 December 1982) is a Ghanaian Association football, football coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach at Danish Superliga club FC Nordsjælland, Nordsjælland. During his prime he was regarded as on ...
(Legend)


Group stage


Group stage - Round One


Group stage - Round Two


Group stage - Round Three


Semi-finals


Final


Wembley Cup Finals goalscorers


Wembley Cup Man of the Match winners

*No player was awarded Man Of The Match in 2015


Players who have played in multiple tournaments


Records and statistics

;Team *Most wins: 2: **Spencer FC: 2015, 2016 *Most consecutive wins: 2: **Spencer FC: 2015, 2016 *Most goals in a final: 11: **Spencer FC 7–4 Weller Wanderers ;Individual *Most wins by player: 3, Spencer Owen (Hashtag United) *Most wins by manager: 3,
Martin Keown Martin Raymond Keown ( ; born 24 July 1966) is an English football pundit and former professional footballer. A defender, he played from 1984 to 2005, notably in the Premier League for Arsenal, where he made over 400 appearances for the club an ...
, 2015, 2016, 2017 *Youngest Wembley Cup player: Scott Pollock (Hashtag United), 16 years *Most goals in a single final: RossiHD, Daniel Cutting,
Patrick Kluivert Patrick Stephan Kluivert (; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch football coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Indonesia national team. As a player, he played as a striker for Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands national te ...
, Theo Baker (twice): 2 *Most final goals: Theo Baker: 4


References


External links

* {{Official website, https://wembley.ee.co.uk/wembleycup/ 2010s YouTube events 2016–17 in English football 2017–18 in English football Association football on YouTube Charity football matches English football friendly trophies Sports events at Wembley Stadium Football cup competitions in England Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2018 Recurring sporting events established in 2015