F2Freestylers explained

F2Freestylers
Birth Name:
    Nationality:British[1] [2]
    Module:
    Embed:yes
    Channel Name:F2Freestylers
    F2Freestylers
    Pseudonym:The F2[3]
    Years Active:2011–present
    Subscribers:14.1 million
    Views:3.2 billion
    Associated Acts:freekickerz
    Gold Button:Yes
    Gold Year:2015
    Diamond Button:Yes
    Diamond Year:2019
    Stats Update:16 January 2023

    The F2Freestylers, also known as The F2, are a British freestyle football duo comprising former amateur footballers Billy Wingrove and Jeremy Lynch.[4] [1] They are best known for their YouTube channel which has over 14 million subscribers.

    Early careers

    Wingrove and Lynch have been described as "teenage rejects", having been rejected by the academies of professional football clubs in their youths before finding success as influencers and YouTube freestyle footballers.

    Billy Wingrove

    Wingrove comes from a footballing family, with his father Alan briefly playing in the youth set-ups of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal and his cousin, Greg Lincoln, being part of the first team squad at Arsenal—though Lincoln never actually played for the club.[5] [6] Wingrove had a trial for Tottenham Hotspur aged 11, but was told he was too small and therefore not physically strong enough to make it at professional level.[6] [7] He began performing freestyle football to earn money while continuing to pursue a footballing career, playing at youth level for Enfield Town and then semi-professionally for Ware from 2004 until 2009.[7]

    Wingrove was the first professional freestyle footballer to sign for a Premier League club, signing for Tottenham Hotspur—who had previously rejected him as a youngster—in 2003,[8] for whom he would perform at half-time breaks and corporate events and occasionally fill in for first-team players in advertisements.[7] [9]

    Jeremy Lynch

    As a teenager, Lynch alleges that he played in Arsenal's Academy, before later being released, although some have questioned the veracity of this claim.[10] On an episode of JaackMaate's Happy Hour Podcast, former professional footballer and Arsenal academy graduate, Fabrice Muamba, revealed that he did not recall Lynch being a part of the squad and showed that Lynch did not appear in academy photographs.

    Lynch began learning freestyle skills and tricks in 2000 after watching a Nike commercial featuring Edgar Davids and Denílson de Oliveira.[11] He featured in the 2007 documentary film In the Hands of the Gods, and reached the semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent in 2008.[12]

    F2Freestylers

    Eventually, Wingrove and Lynch decided to commit to making a career in freestyle football as a duo, realising they would have more success as a marketable pairing than attempting to pursuing careers as professional footballers.[7]

    Together, the duo have been invited to perform at a number of high-profile footballing events, including the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony.[7] They have featured in several charity football events,[13] including Soccer Aid in 2018,[12] where Lynch scored for the England side,[14] and in 2019 in which Lynch scored twice, again for England.[15] Lynch returned in the 2020 Soccer Aid match playing for the World XI due to his Jamaican ancestry.[16]

    In 2017, the pair led a team of YouTubers and ex-professional footballers competing under the name Tekkers Town in the Wembley Cup against Hashtag United, and in 2018, they entered the competition as F2 FC, winning in the final against Rebel FC.[17]

    YouTube

    On 8 April 2011, the duo registered their YouTube channel, F2Freestylers, on which they publish freestyle videos and tutorials to showcase football skills and tricks, often featuring celebrities and professional footballers, as well as videos relating to the FIFA video game series.[7] As of 5 September 2021, their YouTube channel has 13 million subscribers and 2.8 billion views.[18]

    As well as earning money from YouTube's ad-revenue monetisation, Wingrove and Lynch's videos feature brand endorsements; previous sponsorship deals include Adidas and Carlsberg.[7]

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, as ambassadors for Santander UK, Wingrove and Lynch produced a series of videos designed to improve numeracy and increase physical activity in line with UK curriculums for students unable to attend school during lockdown.[19]

    In 2018, Wingrove and Lynch produced a YouTube original series, titled F2 Finding Football, which was streamed on YouTube Premium.[20] The series, which features a number of celebrity guests,[21] was well received and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for an Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program as well as two Streamy Awards.[22]

    Talent agencies

    In 2018, Wingrove and Lynch established a football management agency, F2 Talent, despite neither being a licensed intermediary with the FA. The agency courted controversy over the use of a photo publicising a newly signed young player, violating the FA's policy to not promote players under the age of 15.[23]

    Also in 2018, the duo founded F2 Revolution, an agency aimed at recruiting 'social talent'.[23]

    Other ventures

    Lynch signed a short-term semi-professional contract with Billericay Town in 2017, playing in the Isthmian Premier League.[24] He registered his first goals for the club on 3 October 2017, scoring Billericay's fifth and sixth goal in a 7-1 win against Hungerford Town in the FA Cup.[25] After being absent from the team for several matches in late 2017, the club revealed on Twitter that it had been agreed with Lynch that his work as part of the F2Freestylers would take priority over playing for Billericay.[26]

    Lynch also posts short videos to his TikTok account, on which he has a following of over 11.3 million users.[27] [28]

    Publications

    Wingrove and Lynch have authored the following books published by Bonnier Books Ltd:[29]

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: J. Lynch (Billericay Town) . BeSoccer . besoccer.com . 22 May 2020.
    2. Web site: F2 REVOLUTION LIMITED - Officers (free information from Companies House) . beta.companieshouse.gov.uk . Companies House . 22 May 2020.
    3. News: Dickinson . Matt . From teenage rejects to YouTube stars . 18 May 2020 . thetimes.co.uk . The Times . 3 June 2016 . "If you are below the age of 18, you will probably not need any introduction to Wingrove or Lynch, aka “The F2”.".
    4. Web site: B. Wingrove - Profile with news, career statistics and history . soccerway.com . Soccerway . 22 May 2020.
    5. Web site: Billy Wingrove Biography . Sport England . 5 May 2018 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150508084911/http://archive.sportengland.org/support__advice/children_and_young_people/sporting_champions/billy_wingrove.aspx . 8 May 2015 . dmy-all .
    6. News: Conchie . Peter . Living for kicks . 22 May 2020 . independent.co.uk . The Independent . 4 July 2004.
    7. News: Dickinson . Matt . From teenage rejects to YouTube stars . 18 May 2020 . thetimes.co.uk . The Times . 3 June 2016.
    8. News: Support & Advice. Sport England. 22 February 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110725130849/http://www.sportengland.org/support__advice/children_and_young_people/community_and_club_activities/sporting_champions/billy_wingrove.aspx. 25 July 2011. dmy-all.
    9. Web site: Spurs juggler happy to be a control freak . 20 July 2008 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20081208081805/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/article-16513162-details/Spurs+juggler+happy+to+be+a+control+freak/article.do . 8 December 2008 . dead .
    10. OfficialVizeh . Liam . 1291319478672924672 . 6 August 2020 . Never forget when Jeremy Lynch claimed Arsenal coaches said he was better on the ball than Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires .
    11. News: The Sunday Times InfluencerList 2019: meet the UK's top 100 . 19 May 2020 . thetimes.co.uk . The Sunday Times . 8 September 2019.
    12. News: Coyle . Simon . Who is Jeremy Lynch in Soccer Aid 2019? . 19 May 2020 . manchestereveningnews.co.uk . Manchester Evening News . 16 June 2019.
    13. News: Moody . Jenny . These Burton Albion legends will return to pitch alongside Love Island stars . 27 May 2020 . derbytelegraph.co.uk . Derby Telegraph . 21 August 2019.
    14. News: Sunderland . Tom . Usain Bolt Named Man of Match as England Beat World XI at Soccer Aid 2018 . 27 May 2020 . bleacherreport.com . Bleacher Report . 10 June 2018.
    15. News: White . Megan . Soccer Aid 2019: World XI managed by Piers Morgan and Harry Redknapp win Stamford Bridge charity match . 27 May 2020 . standard.co.uk . Evening Standard . 16 June 2019.
    16. Web site: Who is Jeremy Lynch in Soccer Aid 2020? . 6 September 2020 .
    17. News: Krishnan . Joe . The EE Wembley Cup 2018 result: The F2 win as YouTube stars and football legends meet for charity . 20 May 2020 . standard.co.uk . Evening Standard . 25 November 2018.
    18. Web site: F2Freestylers - Ultimate Soccer Skills Channel's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) . socialblade.com . Social Blade . 18 May 2020.
    19. News: Pharo . Conor . The world's most popular football freestylers are helping children 'keepie uppie' with their education . 20 May 2020 . hartlepoolmail.com . Hartlepool Mail . 15 May 2020.
    20. News: YouTube Premium Sets F2Freestylers' Soccer-Travel Series From Whistle Sports. Spangler. Todd. 24 May 2018. Variety. variety.com. 28 August 2018. en-US.
    21. News: YouTube Explores Soccer in 'F2 Finding Football'. 9 October 2018. 6 June 2018. en. Promax. brief.promax.org.
    22. News: Whistle-Produced YouTube Original Series "F2 Finding Football" Receives Daytime Emmy® Awards Nomination for Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program . 20 May 2020 . prnewswire.com . PR Newswire . Whistle . 5 May 2019.
    23. News: Who are the YouTubers signing Liverpool's Rhian Brewster to their agency?. independent.co.uk. The Independent. 7 November 2018. 13 September 2018. en-GB.
    24. News: Lambert . Luke . Billericay Town sign free-styling sensation Jeremy Lynch . 18 May 2020 . echo-new.co.uk . Echo . 2 September 2017.
    25. Web site: Robinson . Matt . Ricay too much for Crusaders . hungerfordtown.com . Hungerford Town . 22 May 2020 . 3 October 2017.
    26. BTFC . Billericay Town FC . 937032590829281280 . 2 December 2017 . Jeremy lynch is still a billericay squad member but it was always agreed with both parties that his F2 work would take priority, and his absence from the team recently is because of that .
    27. Web site: jeremylynchofficial . tiktok.com . TikTok . 5 September 2020 .
    28. News: Sharma . Ruchira . Why some of TikTok's biggest influencers are making exit plans from the app . 5 September 2020 . inews.co.uk . The i Paper . 24 July 2020.
    29. Web site: The F2 books and biography . waterstones.com . Waterstones . 23 May 2020.

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