Introducing: Our Game Football

Footballers at the top end of professional game usually have their every need catered for by their clubs and are supported in every aspect of their everyday lives. Should the worst happen and they receive a bad injury, they know that their club will not only provide them with the very best treatment, but they will also pick up the tab.

Unfortunately that is seldom the case at the lower levels of the game. Injured amateur and semi-pro players are not provided with the same luxuries. Neither them or their clubs have the resources to properly support them through their time on the side lines. This can often force players out of the game for good.

That’s where Our Game Football come in. They call themselves “The UK’s No. 1 football family”. To explain why, we chatted to founder and ex-player Francis Duku.

“Our Game Football is a unique concept that provides a genuine platform for all of those from the world of UK football to come together and create new and ground-breaking solutions for many of the challenges that we all regularly face in football. We have a superb range of inclusive rewards, incentives and benefits available to everybody who registers on our platform. This is without doubt the UK’s number one #FootballFamily.

Our main service provides a range of specialist and bespoke insurance and protection options. These make sure the impact of injury on your life, ability to play football or to work and maintain your income is minimal. These services are available at highly competitive rates up to 50% less than comparable market options.

 Our service is further supplemented by a comprehensive commercial option that gives members access to a wide range of discounts and savings on everything from their everyday supermarket shopping to the purchase of one-off electrical items. These savings can save each member the cost of membership and the various coverage, so in effect means our membership and service can be made free for all!”

“I basically got injured in my early twenties when I was seemingly playing well enough to be moving back into the professional ranks. The injury was a severe one that was misdiagnosed by two physios and a club doctor, and was made worse by actions I took in good faith following the misdiagnosis.

When it was determined I needed an operation, the process of doing so on the NHS was sub-optimal for someone trying to play high level sport and it ended up causing me additional problems when it came time to start my rehab. I was however, fortunate to be able to call on help from friends at the very top of the game in identifying elite physios to go to and to also have private medical coverage to be able to pay for it. This was a luxury I knew most players did not have and so if they ended up in the same circumstances as I initially did, the bad situation becomes much worse.

I did end up recovering from the injury but it took 4 months longer than it should have and I was never the same as a player because of the way the operation was carried out and the amount of scar tissue that was left in my ankle.

After realising this huge gap existed and that even with my ultimately disappointing outcome, I was fortunate to have had the right contacts and insurance in place to have made it “less bad” than it would otherwise have been, I set about trying to create a solution that has ended up with where we are today with Our Game!

We have created a solution that allows players to fully insure against ALL risks from playing football and from their lives away from football too. This is done in a sustainable model where the net cost to every member can be zero if they use the other services in place to support them with their everyday life. The argument that “I can’t afford it” is therefore no longer relevant. It’s a case of do you want to take the sensible steps to get protected and supported or not. And if you do, we have a complete solution! Those who want to invest in themselves further to maximise their potential can also do so with our access to elite practitioners across all areas of the game!”

“There’s a long list here: Finance (less money available to look after players although the need is the same);  Time pressure with having to work and play (you can’t dedicate the time you need to training, playing, recovery); Dealing with the transition from the pro game (for those who do it can be a huge culture shock); Many members of staff are volunteers rather than necessarily fully trained professionals; Wide range of mentalities in the team can hinder your personal objectives; Lack of security means player turnover can be ridiculously high; Facilities can sometimes be poor or non-existent.”

“Our help is definitely needed more than ever at the moment, but some players have chosen to take the route of cutting costs and hoping for the best while others have realised the importance of what we do and the protection we provide. Simply put, if you want to continue to play football (which we all agree is a good thing) you should be giving even more thought to the impact of something unforeseen coming into your life and affecting how you live. The pandemic should have demonstrated that to all.

There are things you can’t control but if they happen and it results in you being left in a position that means your way of life is at risk, you should clearly take steps to protect against this. Our services cannot stop you getting injured, but will give you all the options you need if you do get injured and in the most cost effective way possible.

Our adaptation particularly in response to the view that players should cut outgoings and hope for the best in terms of not getting injured, has been to introduce a digital membership scheme with leading international fan engagement company Fortress GB. With this membership we give all members the option to save money on their every day spending with a range of easy to access discounts. These discounts will save the average household over four figures in a typical year just with their existing spending habits. Most people will actually save considerably more in these discounts than the cost of our services so we in effect put money into their pockets while providing the services we do. So for many the reality is by joining us we pay them to be able to protect them, which is an absolutely crazy concept but is proven and should therefore be considered a no brainer for all!

On top of that, the scheme we have set up with Fortress also gives users reward points at no extra cost when they use it. These can be used to redeem against Our Game services and fans/the local community can gift these points to their club to boost their points total and look after players at the club. This will provide an invaluable resource to the club, benefiting their players and helping the community to contribute to the team.

Anyone choosing to rely on the NHS really needs to consider that the NHS is not designed to support sports people and definitely not semi-pro sports people. It is there to ensure the general health and wellbeing of the nation and for the kind of service you need for your sporting ambitions, you are clearly better off putting in place a solution such as ours. The NHS will also no doubt appreciate the ease of burden.

Further to that the current pandemic situation means that NHS capacity is severely reduced and in terms of priority, treatment of a football injury will surely be far down the list. This reality should be understood by all!”

“Our goals are to really become the national network for semi-pro and amateur footballers and to be able to give them the wrap around service they need to help them enjoy football with as few concerns as possible.

We are trying to first change a way of thinking, then develop our new culture that we have created. This is a new way of doing things that has been brought together by thinking “outside of the box” and drawing together a number of existing resources and adding to them creatively to solve problems. We have definitely solved the problems now and have a few other additions pending, so for us the future looks exciting despite the pandemic!

We have got a new way of doing things that is entirely self-sustainable and that is the really exciting piece. We can and will change the face of football in the UK and make the experience (both in good and difficult moments) better for everyone involved, whether player, manager, fan or other.

The gap between each step of football from League-1 down to Sunday League is smaller and smaller and we are building a set of ladders that can better support players/clubs each time they step up a level. All they really have to do is use our services while they continue to operate in their existing behaviour patterns. Another example of it being a no brainer!”

“We look for good long-term partners to grow with. We want to help your network of clubs you already support by working with you to let them know more about what we do so we can help them too!

You have a great brand, service and reputation in an area that every club needs, kit! Rather than us trying to reinvent the wheel and do it ourselves at some point on our journey, we want to collaborate with suitable partners to achieve a better result for football and in a quicker timeframe!

You sharing our message to your customers helps them and likewise we will share your message to ours and together we can keep coming up with ways to work together for the benefit of all!”

It’s clear that Francis has a huge passion for what he does. The service is clearly set out to improve football for the better and is already getting results. And anything that is good for the game gets a massive thumbs up from us!

Want to know more about Our Game Football and what they offer? Check out their website, Twitter and Facebook pages. They’ve also got some BIG plans for 2021. Read more by clicking here.

If you still need a little extra convincing, check out some of their amazing reviews and testimonials on their Trust Pilot page.