Digital creator and entertainer KSI has become a shareholder and strategic partner in non-league side Dagenham & Redbridge FC., in a move the club says will help expand its global reach and commercial opportunities.
The 32-year-old, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, joins the club as a minority investor following the recent takeover by Happy Fan Group Ltd. His involvement is being framed as part of a wider effort to strengthen the club’s profile and attract new audiences.
KSI said the investment represents a long-standing personal ambition and an opportunity to support the club’s future development.
“I’m really excited to start this journey,” he said. “It’s going to be a rollercoaster, but I hope to help bring Dagenham & Redbridge back to stronger days and eventually push even further. Reaching the Premier League would be the dream, although I know that will take time.”
He added that he hopes to help build wider awareness of the club beyond its traditional fan base, saying he wants the Daggers to become “a team that people around the world know about and enjoy watching.”
Club chairman John Grabowski said the partnership reflects the ownership group’s broader ambitions following the takeover earlier this year.
“Having JJ as a shareholder is transformative for the club,” Grabowski said. “His ability to connect with audiences and his drive to succeed align closely with the direction we want to take. Our aim is to build a club that is deeply connected to its community while also reaching a global audience.”
KSI joins former England international striker Andy Carroll among the club’s investor group. Carroll signed for the Daggers last summer and also took a shareholding in the club.
Founded in 1992 through the merger of Dagenham and Redbridge Forest, the club reached EFL League One for the first time in 2010 before being relegated the following season, and dropped out of the English Football League in 2016.
