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JOHN Nellis rose to prominence creating accessible and engaging football content on social media.
In December 2024, he won TikTok’s Sport Creator of the Year award — here’s everything we know.
Who is John Nellis?
John Nellis is a prominent football content creator and social media personality.
The influencer has gained significant recognition in the digital sports entertainment sphere, including winning a prestigious gong in the awards ceremony’s inaugural year.
Known for his YouTube channel, which boasts over two million subscribers as of December 2024.
He also has over a million followers on his TikTok account, where he creates engaging and diverse football-related content.
Content
John’s content spans a wide range of footballing topics.
His videos include reviewing Pep Guardiola’s restaurant, innovative experiments such as trying to grow vegetables in a football, as well as all manner of footy-themed challenges and discussions.
John’s Instagram bio reads: “Make Football Videos Your Nan Could Watch.”
His content often includes collaborations with other influencers, such as his Who is YOUR Football Lookalike? Influencer Edition video, which garnered millions of views.
His diverse content has helped him build a substantial following across multiple social media platforms, and even win an award.
TikTok Sport Creator of the Year
On December 3, 2024, John won the TikTok Sports Creator of the Year award.
This amazing accolade underscores his popularity in the sports content creation space.
After being shortlisted, the winners of the awards were decided by a public vote.
He posted a video — titled That moment when you win TikTok sports creator of the year — showing his beaming smile when he was announced as the winner.
John also wrote: “I cannot believe it! Thank you all so much, I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
Notable appearances
John has been invited to prestigious events in the football world, including the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony held on November 28.
At this event, he humorously noted that he was “the only man at the Ballon d’Or wearing a football boots”.
Changing landscape
John’s success reflects the changing landscape of sports media consumption.
Traditional forms of sports journalism and commentary are increasingly being complemented — and in some cases entirely replaced — by content creators.
These online personalities can offer a more personal, interactive and diverse range of content.
John’s ability to engage with his audience through various formats and platforms has been key to his rise as a prominent figure in sporting content creation.
His story serves as an inspiration for aspiring content creators, demonstrating how and understanding your audience can lead a significant following and career in sports broadcasting.
Full list of TikTok winners 2024
Here is the full list of winners from the TikTok Awards:
Entertainment creator of the year – Nicholas Flannery
Food creator of the year – Maddi Neye-Swift
Sport creator of the year – John Nellis
Fashion and beauty creator of the year – Uche Natori
Travel creator of the year – Ryan Losasso and Jade Beaty
Education creator of the year – Manny Wallace
Voice for change – Iain Ward
High quality content creator of the year – Miles Laflin
Rising star creator of the year – George Harper
Video of the year award – Jay Foreman
Breakthrough artist of the year – Myles Smith