Football fans in London were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to get closer to the Premier League action than ever before as former England and current Watford goalkeeper Ben Foster hosted his very own penalty challenge, having invited fans to come down and take a pen against Ben!
Celebrating his hit Spotify Original podcast, Fozcast – The Ben Foster Podcast, Ben dived at the chance to engage with his loyal listeners and football loving fanbase, with the Cycling GK and reigning Prem penalty saving champ[1] having built his very own penalty challenge pop-up at Westfield Stratford as part of an immersive fanzone.
Often the reserve of hypothetical pub chats, Fozcast fans were able to find out whether they had the power, accuracy and poise to beat a Premier League goalkeeper, with each participating penalty taker walking away with recorded video content of their attempt. To add to the occasion, extra special spot kicks were included in a highlights reel on Ben’s ‘The Cycling GK’ channel, meaning scoring celebrations and penalty miss commiserations were beamed out to Ben’s one million followers.
Talking about his day facing fans at the ‘Beat The Foz’ pop-up, Premier League keeper Foster, commented: “I’m buzzing from the response today and it’s been fantastic seeing so many fans engage with the Fozcast, and yes smash a few perfect pens past me!
Seeing the podcast go from strength to strength is amazing. I love talking to guests about the beautiful game and have discovered a whole new passion and a completely different way to talk to and interact with my fans.
It was the chance to interact with fans that made me so excited about today, and defending pens from members of the public, I can confidently say the future is bright for English football!”
With Ben’s star on the rise, it comes as no surprise the event attracted VIPs with social media stars Theo Ogden, Theo Baker and a big contingent of the Hashtag United attending to try and best Ben from the spot.
Co-hosted by podcast partners Tom Ochoa, and deputised by Hashtag United’s Jamie Jackson, fans were also given the chance to tune into Ben’s hit podcast, Fozcast, at select Spotify listening stations or train on exercise bikes in a special area celebrating Ben’s alter ego as the Cycling GK.
