The Hype Train launches the Reading Sunday Social League (RSSL)
Welcome aboard the home of The Hype Train and its very own grassroots football team, Hype Train Football Club. Here, we are happy to announce the formation of a new grassroots football competition in the Reading area - the Reading Sunday Social League - an 8-team mini-league co-created by Hype Train FC and Caversham United that will be played out at three locations between April and June 2021. All aboard.
Announcing: The Reading Sunday Social League
How did the league come in to existence?:
The current roadmap saw the UK Government ease lockdown restrictions today on 29th March 2021, which has paved the way for grassroots football to return in the UK under a set of strict guidelines set by The FA. As part of the process of returning to the field, clubs in the Reading & District Sunday League voted to end their season with immediate effect, leaving a large group of teams in the local area without any competitive football to fall back on.
An initial loss, however, has spawned a positive as our own Robert Austin (Hype Train FC) reached out to Caversham United's Manager, Paul Gutteridge, with the duo working quickly to establish a 7-game mini-league between teams in the local Reading area that predominately feature on Sunday mornings.
Joining the league in its maiden campaign for this one-of-a-kind league in the local area are Caversham United, Southbank FC, Tilehurst Titans, Thames Valley Railway FC, Woodley Saints FC, New England, Rose & Thistle FC and our own club side, Hype Train FC, who will be making their Sunday league debut as part of the inaugural RSSL season.
The current format of the competition will see each team play each other once, with the winner being crowned league champions, whilst if all games are completed on time we plan to run a small cup competition for a separate trophy to the league title.
Below, you can view the fixture lists, which each team slated to play three times in April, three times in May, and once to begin June.
Who is supporting the Reading Sunday Social League (RSSL)?:
Forming a football league overnight is no mean feat and it takes dedicated individuals to organise. Here at The Hype Train we have been at ground level organising by creating the league's official logo and all of its affiliated graphics, handbooks, trophy design, and will be providing regular updates and exclusives here at TheHypeTrain.co.uk as the league kicks on. Meanwhile, Caversham United have worked hard to organise the competing teams, sponsors, and fixtures ahead of an April 11th start.
We will be joined by the team at Football in Berkshire in providing weekly round-ups, unique coverage and news surrounding the league. The Football in Berkshire website reaches 15,000 monthly readers and provides excellent content from semi-pro to Sunday league competitions.
Sponsoring the tournament, and making our lofty aspirations of the league come true, are the brilliant team at Lens Digital. The team at we.are.lens are a web design agency based in Ascot, Berkshire specialising in user friendly, responsive custom website design/build, WordPress maintenance, support and SEO. If you're looking for a new website, check out the team today at wearelens.co.uk - they're also big advocates for local and grassroots football and currently sponsor Codicote FC of the Spartan South Midlands League.
Last but not least, we have been working closely with the team at Awards FC to create a beautiful and bespoke trophy for the competition, a trophy that we will soon hope to reveal in the coming weeks. The team at Awards specialise in creating bespoke trophies, medals and awards that perfectly tailor your club.
View the fixture list for the RSSL, which kicks off on Sunday 11th April 2021:
Thoughts from Hype Train FC Manager & General Secretary, Robert Austin:
"News of the Reading & District Sunday League closing its doors for the season was unfortunate, but I understand the concerns that a lot of clubs had in deciding its fate - trust me I self-fund my own team and Covid's impact on leagues has, and can be, damaging to clubs at any and all levels.
I did see this as the perfect opportunity though to reach out to Paul at Caversham in hope that we could organise something to get people playing again, and it's with great pride that I'm able to say that we will be able to get players and team back on the field with a sense of purpose. Grassroots football means everything to me and I'll give back in any way and my hope is that this league inspires a sense of community for all those involved.
There have been so many positive elements that grassroots football can be a force of good. The teams that we reached out to have already proven to be a credit to the league, whilst the enthusiasm by the team at Awards, Football in Berkshire and Lens Digital has been through the roof as they've helped push this concept across the line and into reality. Paul Gutteridge is the man behind the socials at Caversham, but if you think it is all social bravado you're dead wrong as Paul has proven an effective partner-in-crime and hugely dedicated in seeing this project sees the light of day.
For my team, Hype Train FC will be making our Sunday league debut in this limited 7-game run and will be juggling our Saturday commitments in the East Berkshire Football League with our new venture on Sunday's until the end of the season and we couldn't be happier to be able to provide our players more opportunities and minutes as we look to develop as a club. I've been in a privileged position to see the trophy concept that each team will be fighting for too, so the team can't wait to compete on both fronts as we seek some form of silverware this season."
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in Fantasy sports reporting, starting with Fantasy Premier League (FPL), before expanding to MLS Fantasy coverage in 2018.
We pride ourselves in providing beautiful graphics, statistics, in-depth analytical reporting and free weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb rankings tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review games, live sport, and professional wrestling.
In 2019, Hype Train Football Club was formed, becoming the first Fantasy Football website to take to the field. HTFC is a socially active team across social and web channels, providing regular match highlights, match reports, comprehensive player statistics and unique player profiles.
The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog' in 2016 by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), and were again shortlisted as a finalist in 2019 in the 'Best Fantasy Football Blog' category.
You can follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, follow Hype Train FC on Instagram, subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive content, or visit our website here at www.thehypetrain.co.uk
All aboard.
