Marc White says social media and a YouTube documentary are drawing fans back to non-league football
Marc White, the founder, owner and manager of Dorking Wanderers, says fans are returning to non-league football after the club’s rise and exposure from a YouTube documentary, according to a BBC Sport article published on 7 October 2026. The piece links the club’s media profile and broader social-media activity to rising attendances and renewed local interest.
White, 52, is described as one of the most recognisable faces in non-league football, noted for his baseball caps and outspoken touchline behaviour, and is the longest-serving manager in the top six tiers of English football. Dorking Uncovered, a documentary series on the YouTube channel Bunch of Amateurs run by Rich Phippen, has followed the club from a group of friends paying a fiver each to rent a pitch to life in the National League South. The club has achieved 12 promotions since it was founded 26 years ago and suffered its only relegation in the National League in 2024.
White says the documentary and other clips have driven large audiences: "I love the fact that so many people watch, we had half a billion views in 2025," he told BBC Sport, adding a warning about his own footage: "I know that if they don't edit out the right bits, I'll get banned every week." The club’s video content is credited in the article with helping broaden Dorking’s profile and bringing former casual supporters back to games.
The article places that club-level media activity within a wider shift in how non-league clubs reach fans, noting that shrinking local newspaper resources have pushed clubs to develop their own social platforms. Clubs are using goal highlights, interviews and longer features to promote matches and sponsor opportunities, and the effect is visible in attendance figures: average crowds in Dorking’s division reached 1,221 during the 2024-25 season, a 134% rise on the average a decade earlier.
White attributes part of the trend to the rising costs of following top-tier football and the social appeal of lower-league matches, arguing that social media connects clubs with people who are unaware of their local team. "I think a lot of people underestimate how little people know about their local football club," he said. "And when you're now talking about decades of people that have never picked up a newspaper, and that target audience probably watches the Premier League and they have no idea what's going on near their local high street, where probably the beer is cheaper, the travel certainly cheaper, and they know a lot more people there. And it's quite a social connection for them. So, you know, I think for me that the power of social media largely is taking the clubs to their own target market and also taking the target market to the clubs. It's kind of connecting the two."
The article gives other examples of online-driven interest: Aaron Hunt built thousands of followers streaming on Twitch about his local club Daisy Hill FC and the management game Football Manager and was invited to be chairman of a North West Counties Football Counties side. A stadium sponsorship by YouTuber AngryGinge, rebranded as GingePower Stadium, followed after one of his streamed visits was watched by over one million people. The Wrexham story and celebrity investors are cited as further drivers of attention, and the article notes that YouTuber KSI bought a stake in Dagenham & Redbridge this year while claiming he can take them to the top tier.
White welcomed celebrity investment as attention for the product, saying: "Just more eyeballs, more exposure," and adding, "And it benefits every single club in the league because he's bringing attention to the product. And that's great." Reflecting on a recent meeting with one such investor, he said: "We spoke briefly when we played them, but I think it's all a bit of an eye-opener for him, really. There's no glamour. It will be just great to see the impact that has over the period of time. But I think it's brilliant."
Dorking Park's immediate aim remains promotion to the Football League, two steps away, and the team have begun this season in mixed form. White said reaching the Football League would be personally and publicly significant for the club—"We think that getting to the Football League would make us one of the world's - it sounds mental - but we do think it'll make us one of the world's most recognised sports successes"—and he retained personal ambitions including winning at Wembley and achieving promotion via the play-offs. The article also notes White received a six-match touchline ban last year for a podcast comment about women and that, despite the club’s media visibility, he does not use social media himself: "I've never been bothered about the cameras. If they went tomorrow, it would be all about the football like it always has been."
