Real Football and Real Stories: Leland’s Non-League Project
What happens when a 16-year-old gets priced out of pro-football, then discovers the world of non-league football right on his doorstep…
I don’t do many plugs here. I’ve highlighted a few places you can learn more about football scouting, but otherwise, it’s just me.
That said, I’ve written recently about mentoring — about how it doesn’t always look like advice or guidance. Sometimes it’s about noticing people who are doing something interesting. And recently, a 16-year-old called Leland got in touch.
Turns out, the appeal of non-league football stretches across generations — and for all sorts of reasons. In Leland’s case, it’s about documenting the game’s overlooked corners. He’s building a YouTube channel dedicated to telling stories about clubs you’ve never heard of, and doing it all with a phone, a script, and a mission.
I can relate. I knew nothing about scouting when I started out. He knew nothing about making videos. But when you’ve got something to say, you figure it out.
Early Football Fandom
“I used to follow Liverpool… then MK Dons… but ticket prices went from £8 to £12, and I just couldn’t afford that.”
“I didn’t feel connected. There was a rotation of managers and players. It felt like there was nothing solid to follow.”
“It started to feel like I was watching a TV show rather than a football club. It wasn’t real to me anymore.”
It’s a familiar feeling. Football at the top level has been drifting out of reach for years. What’s refreshing about Leland’s story is what he did next.
Discovering Non-League Football
“At Stony Stratford Town, it’s just a nice group — proper community. I’ve done seven games, and this will be my first full season home and away.”
Leland is the club’s media manager, running the Twitter/X account, TikTok and YouTube. He’s now properly embedded in the game he’s grown up loving, but at the opposite end of the football pyramid from where most teenage fans dream of.
“Some of the nicest people I’ve met in football have been non-league players. There’s a real honesty in it.”
“These players have jobs — they’re not full-time. People need to realise that when they criticise someone who’s just done a 12-hour shift.”
“You stand with the same people every week. You talk to the players after. It just feels right.”
But he wanted more than fan allegiance. So he started filming games and making videos. Some about local clubs with rich histories, others about sides barely existing anymore.
You can read the rest of this article for free over on my Substack page.