World Jun 13, 2026 · 1 min read

‘You make people a bit happier’: the football app building friendships in London

Footy Addicts helps amateur players find a game at short notice – and tackles the problem of lonelinessCries of “Boss! Boss! Boss!” emerge from the pitch during a hard-fought game of football in a London park. There aren’t a lot of names used in this game, because most players only met just before k...

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The Guardian
by Isaaq Tomkins
‘You make people a bit happier’: the football app building friendships in London

Footy Addicts helps amateur players find a game at short notice – and tackles the problem of loneliness

Cries of “Boss! Boss! Boss!” emerge from the pitch during a hard-fought game of football in a London park. There aren’t a lot of names used in this game, because most players only met just before kick-off. They were brought together by an app that’s injecting life into grassroots football.

Footy Addicts was invented to solve an infuriating problem for amateur players – the late dropout, which can lead to unbalanced teams and ruined games. The app brings together strangers who are desperate to play football, and who can step in after a cancellation to make up the numbers at short notice.

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This article was originally published by The Guardian and written by Isaaq Tomkins.

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