Rodmell fantasy football fan quits job to focus on site for fellow enthusiasts as £90,000 fundraising campaign goes live

Will Thomas launched Fantasy Football Hub to feed his hobby - but now is seeking more than £90,000 investment to help it become the best site of its kind

When Will Thomas began playing fantasy football more than ten years ago, it felt like a niche hobby.

But fantasy football is now booming. Over the last two decades it has gone from an obscure game played by tens of thousands of people to a global phenomenon enjoyed by millions.

His site, Fantasy Football Hub, is capitalising on this thriving industry.

Will, 30, who gave up his job as a consultant business and sport psychologist to work on the venture full time, has launched a campaign to raise £92,005 to bring it to the next level.

He said: “I’ve been playing fantasy football for over ten years now. Back then it felt like a very niche pursuit that only a few, typically geeky, football fans played.

“You’d go to the pub and have to explain that ‘no, it wasn’t like Lord of the Rings for football’.

“Fast forward ten years and ‘How’s your team doing?’ has become one of the main topics of conversation.”

The idea for Fantasy Football Hub came about when he noticed there was a large pool of knowledge and resources fantasy football players were creating – but only a few others knew existed.

The concept of creating a ‘hub’ emerged – a central place that gave content creators an opportunity to share their work.

He left his job in February to fully focus on the site – a decision which appeared to pay off.

“I feel so fortunate to be doing my passion full time,” he said.

“Switching over from my secure job was a massive decision, but I’ve always thought you should follow your dreams.

“I really started the website as I needed a reason to justify spending so much time thinking about fantasy football to my other half, Charlotte. Now I can officially say that watching football matches is part of my job!

“Since going full time in February, the site has grown massively with memberships going through the roof.

“The only problem is that my mini-league with friends has become far more competitive as they’ve all been using the site!”

Will is raising funds through the Seedrs investment platform. Click here to visit his campaign page, for details and terms.

Similar to the concept of TV’s Dragon’s Den, investors will gain shares in the business – as well as perks including site membership and an invite to the end-of-year party.

Just over half the fundraising target has been pledged so far, with the campaign now open to the general public.

Click here to view the Fantasy Football Hub website.

The hub includes details on all major fantasy football games, including Sky, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) and Telegraph.

Will has six top-10,000 finishes in FPL with a best ranking of 82nd – millions take part every year.

He also has five top-100 finishes in the Sky game.