Until recently, Chesham United was a quintessential, local side in Buckinghamshire. In 2022, one appointment changed everything and took this National League South club into a different sphere.
Creator and star of the BAFTA-winning Taskmaster, Alex Horne, whose kids played for the youth teams, was brought onto the Board of Directors, becoming the latest to enter the celebrity-football crossover environment. Of course, we saw this happen though on a larger scale with Wrexham after Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds took over the club which saw the Welsh side shoot through the leagues.
🗣️ Chesham United is delighted to announce the appointment of avid supporter and star of Taskmaster, @AlexHorne as a director of the club#HorneAboard #OneClubCheshamUnited pic.twitter.com/4MniS57Z0F
— Chesham United FC (@cheshamutdfc) September 30, 2022
This, though, really is grassroots, but it is an engine with momentum that is being powered by niche digital communities. Horne’s involvement and the publicity it brought the club led to an ascendancy.
The season following his appointment, Chesham won the Southern League Premier South with an incredible 90 points, finishing nine points ahead of rivals AFC Totton and 28 wins as they became titans. Promoted to the National League South, this is the highest they have been in almost 30 years and required a considerable ‘ground grading’ effort at The Meadow.
Incredible Momentum Shift
Horne’s presence on the board has led to a significant amount of awareness driven exclusively through social media and his channels which in turn contributed to a spike in revenue with Chesham United shirt sales coming from different corners of the globe, courtesy of Horne’s fans.
In December 2025, a YouTube documentary series, entitled “All In: Chesham United” was launched that added to the already considerable brand equity that the club has and which Horne himself presents. This follows the remarkable journey that the club has been on over the last few years. It isn’t just a highlights reel, but more a high-production value perspective that interrogates the “one club” philosophy.
Releasing this series and, for free via YouTube this has leveraged digital innovation and the club’s already growing brand, whereby monetisation routes have opened up via advertising and partnerships, further strengthening the club’s burgeoning reputation.
The “Purple Shirt” Global Economy
Prior to Horne’s involvement with the club in an official capacity, Chesham United sold 30-50 shirts per year. By the end of 2025, it surpassed 1200 sales per year, with a large part of this portion being the purple and blue kits.
It is fascinating to note that digital engagement in the club’s channels shows data from fans in places as far-reaching as Los Angeles, New York and Australia ordering merchandise, with this international fanbase being born courtesy of the club’s affiliation with the Taskmaster brand, helping to turn a tier 6 football kit into a global “cult” fashion item.
Furthermore, the club was also one of the first Non-League football clubs to integrate its online shop into a significant, novelty/comedy merchandising site, which allowed fans to buy a shirt alongside the Taskmaster board game. In doing so, this was recognised as a ‘genius’ move that lowered the “barrier to entry” for new fans considerably.
As a result of this unique growth strategy, Chesham United has become a “lighthouse” for other smaller clubs to follow, proving that authenticity and digital influence can play a major role with the right strategy and execution.