With AI inserting itself into all walks of daily life, from our college essays to self-help books, from cute cartoons to full-blown motion graphics, people were growing aware of the importance of staying true to their talents in a world getting more and more digitized.
However, while graphic designers and presentation makers get laid off due to the overwhelming impact of AI in the corporate world, not many would have foreseen AI footballers playing on the field.
That’s right. Guess FIFA and PES are not the only places where Players are AI. The walls surrounding Real and Artificial are dissolving into thin air, and Hashtag United’s latest tweet, which is going viral, might just be the one that breaks all the doors down.
🚨 AI PLAYERS CONTRACTED!
— Hashtag United (@hashtagutd) October 7, 2025
We are delighted to announce the double signing of Holly and Harvey who become the world’s first AI professional footballers. We may have to wait a little longer to see their debuts but as soon as technology allows they will be taking to the pitch.… pic.twitter.com/edTMfSIVd3
Hashtag United’s history in itself is an interesting tale.
Started by Spencer Carmichael-Brown, better known by his YouTube aliases Spencer FC or Spencer Owen, who used to make content on FIFA games, he started the club with support from friends and family. The club began with a heavy emphasis on the use of the internet and social media, attributing the name of the club, “Hashtag”, to its humble beginnings as a social media starlet’s football club, starting from the bottom with just social media hustling. Originally, the club started with the moniker, Spencer FC, but the rebranding made sense when the club started to make their presence felt on the online space.
Cezar Azpilicueta invested in the club in early 2018 and became co-owner and director, attracting significant eyeballs toward the club.
In 2018, the club entered the league pyramid of English football, with the Eastern Counties League. Since then, they have been able to incur significant growth, establishing a women’s team as well as youth academies.
Due to their magnetic online appeal as well as the well-documented growth from an almost unnatural origin, Hashtag United has amassed a significant following among football lovers. However, this latest news development might put a significant hurdle in their fast-achieving dreams.
Signing AI footballers, which might as well be a fun marketing gimmick to attract potential virality, has been met with a negative reception from fans, especially due to the way Hashtag United has handled the entire thing.
The transfer announcement of AI footballers, Holly Durango and Harvey Casper was indeed written as a joke, and would have been a good way of getting publicity, but when fans discovered that the footballers also have Instagram accounts based on their AI personas (their Instagram IDs are @holly_hashtag and @harvey_hashtag), filled with uncanny photos that look straight out of a professional magazine shoot, the meltdown was justifiable.
Creating AI generated thirst trap instagram accounts and linking them to your football club is embarrassing and pathetic. For a club that built itself on fans from the internet space, you would think you’d know your audience better. Bizarre https://t.co/GPjfy8Y2fd pic.twitter.com/CQcF38y6eR
— ! (@SunderHawks) October 7, 2025
Primarily, Holly has garnered significant buzz due to her thirst-trap-laden Instagram, which has already received 200 followers within a couple of days. People are raging at the misuse of AI to garner attention, especially in a sport celebrated for its universality and working-class nature. Hashtag United’s ridiculous usage of AI to attract audiences has now made people question their morality. Although we could still say it is a long-running joke that the football club is investing on for marketing reasons, portraying their AI footballers as real human beings with social and domestic lives outside football, even if it sounds a bit creepy.
These are sourced from the Instagram IDs of the footballers, what is especially surprising is the amount of glamor and beautification added to the footballers who look more like supermodels than athletes.
Truthfully, football has always been a working man’s dream, and children of all ages want to take part in the game that knows no bounds.
The club has even made the AI footballers comment on each others photos in flirtatious manners. Under one photo of Harvey, Holly has commented, “Can I come for a ride?”. Why even?
For Hashtag United, a club born to display the best of the internet, formed out of social media’s lasting impact, the usage of AI as a marketing gimmick has rubbed people off the wrong way.
Fan Reactions on X:
The joke rubbed people off the wrong way, and reactions were brutal.
“Embarrassing this“
“Time we as a society properly started to shame whatever the f*** this is”
Users on Twitter called out the club for prioritizing social media over the essence of the game.
“Game is well and truly gone.”
Some users called out Spencer for his marketing strategies and gimmicks, calling it “techbro bullsh*t”.
“Spencer tried to do a hashtag crypto coin before aswell. Idk if he’s just fallen for the techbro bullshit or if he’s really hard up for money atm.”
Another user retaliated by saying,
“This is insanely cringe“
However, some fans tried to diffuse the situation by pointing out the sarcastic nature of Hashtag United’s gimmick.
Under the official announcment thread, one fan commented:
“People not understanding the actual sarcasm/joke and just thinking this is real. You’d forget that this was an English comment section, how is a country known for sarcasm as its defining humour not getting it?”
One user, however, seemed to address the critics by calling out that there’s “worse stuff going on in the world”.
Oh stop crying about it worse stuff going on in the world and you’re crying about this get a grip softy.
Fan Reactions on Instagram:
Instagram, notorious for harboring overtly sarcastic and ironic trolls, was, ironically, a bit laidback.
One user pointed out that it was a ragebait, and gave a good reason for it.
“Very successful ragebait or engagementbait. But it really begs the question, why is a football club engaging in ragebait? For clicks? Are you so badly in need of views?”
Another user recalled how AI uses water as a resource, questioning the futility of the entire exercise.
“Did we really need to waste 4 bottles of water for this?”
One fan pointed fingers at Spencer and was outright in their admission of disappointment.
“As a fan from the beginning I’m sure I speak for a lot of people when I say I hate this and so no purpose for its existence. What was your goal for this Spencer?”
This new movement by Hashtag United has taken the footballing world by storm, with people talking about the club everywhere on social media. Marketing gimmick or not, the move has surely done the trick, getting the club in limelight.
