It seems Ryan Reynolds (and Anthony Hopkins) may have set a trend for celebrities associating themselves with unfashionable non-league football clubs, and Irish pop sensations Boyzone are not about to be left behind.
National League North club Chorley FC have announced that the boys (boyz?) are in “discussions” to be “the face of the football club” and to whet their appetites the band, whose hits include No Matter What and Words, are heading to Chorley’s Victory Park Stadium to watch The Magpies take on Solihull Moors in the fifth round of the FA Trophy this weekend.
A breathless statement on the club website broke the news that will resonate “throughout Chorley Football Club and beyond” thus:
“We have just confirmed that world renowned, Boyzone, will be joining us for our upcoming home game against Solihull Moors in the Isuzu FA Trophy this weekend!
“This collaboration with Boyzone is part of ongoing discussions that could potentially see them becoming the face of the football club.
“This is a game-changer that has the potential to bring our town into the limelight like never before, generating a buzz and publicity that will shine a bright light on Chorley and the local area.
“We are bursting with excitement and gratitude for this incredible opportunity. Boyzone’s presence at the game will undoubtedly create an electric atmosphere, filled with music, joy and a shared love for football and a close knit, family community.”
It’s certainly an unexpected turn of events.
The Lancashire Telegraph has posited that Boyzone are “believed to be good friends with Chorley FC’s new owners,” which starts off promisingly enough, before adding that the new owners “include Prince Yemoh of Reset Events Ltd, and nine other people,” which is a bit less specific.
Turning to the one owner/possible friend of Boyzone we at least have a name for, Yemoh and Reset Events were unveiled as the club’s new owners last May, promising an “ambitious vision” and and an “exciting new chapter.”
Nothing we can unearth so far, however, leads us to Boyzone.
Yemoh, a former Manchester University student who initially practiced architecture on graduation, is the sole listed director of Reset Events, and also named at Companies House as director of Reset Gaming, Reset Mind, Reset Sports, Reset Pro, Reset Entertainment, Reset Hospitality, Reset Arts, Reset Global, Reset Apparel, Reset Drinks, and two other companies that don’t have Reset in the name – PGE Global and ATH Vodka. All 13 are registered at one of two addresses in London.
10 of the companies were registered during a three-day period in December 2021 – all of the Reset companies except Reset Pro, which was incorporated in April last year. Reset Sports, Gaming and Entertainment were dissolved in June 2023 via compulsory strike off without ever apparently trading, while Reset Events is currently marked as dormant.
ATH Vodka, meanwhile, is alive and well, and we can learn from its website that it is “handcrafted and produced with the utmost care to ensure it meets the highest standards. We source the best quality French grain to create a truly exceptional ultra premium vodka with the smoothest finish.”
You can pick up a bottle on the site for £39.99 if you’re tempted, with a choice of original, English Raspberry and Lychee or Costa Rican Pineapple and Mango flavours, and that’s not all – there’s a digital angle too.
Each bottle of ATH Vodka comes with its own code you can scan to redeem an ATH NFT which is apparently set to disrupt the spirits world as we know it, as the site explains:
“The $ATH token is set to disrupt the spirit industry with our innovative approach to rewarding consumers and allowing users to participate in the growth of our brand. To achieve these objectives, we have partnered with TIDEFI, a decentralized digital asset exchanged with industry leading security and ease of use our customers should expect. Built on TIDEFI’s custom built substrate-based blockchain, the $ATH token will be the center [sic] of the ATH ecosystem providing user’s access to rewards ranging from purchasing ATH products at discounted prices to receiving exclusive access to ATH partnered events.”
Yemoh can also be found on Tidefi’s YouTube channel discussing the tie-in with his vodka brand.
ATH (which stands for All Time High, by the way) hasn’t filed any accounts with Companies House yet, so it’s too early to say if Yemoh will be bringing Ryan Reynolds-levels of investment to Victory Park, but it is listed as a sponsor of luxury touring car company Cannon Run, so he presumably has at least a few quid to throw at a new stand or a League One centre forward. Cannon Run is also a sponsor of Chorley FC, so there’s scope for some collaboration there too.
We’ve learned a little more about at least one of Chorley FC’s 10 new owners now then – alas not a Hollywood star, but possibly a vodka impresario, and one who could also have a few bob down the back of the sofa if he got into his crypto sideline at the right time.
Unfortunately none of this leads us any closer to solving the mystery of the mooted Boyzone buddy. For that, we may just have to wait for more from the club:
“Stay tuned for more updates as we continue our negotiations. We firmly believe that this partnership with Boyzone has the potential to take Chorley FC to new heights, firmly establishing our town and football club as a force to be reckoned with.”
Stay tuned we certainly shall.
