When Saturday Comes

What When Saturday Comes does

When Saturday Comes (WSC) is an independent football media company operating as a UK private limited company (When Saturday Comes Ltd), founded in 1986 and headquartered in Beckenham, UK. The company's core product is a monthly print and digital magazine covering football at all levels — from Premier League through non-League — with editorial positioning that emphasizes supporter perspectives and amateur contributors alongside established journalists. WSC has published 466 issues as of mid-2026 and distributes through UK newsstands (via Seymour), direct subscriptions, and its own e-commerce shop.

The product portfolio extends well beyond the magazine: it includes a twice-monthly podcast launched in 2019 (featuring editor Andy Lyons, columnist Harry Pearson, and host Daniel Gray), a Patreon-based Supporters' Club with five tiers (£2-£100/month) introduced in 2019, a searchable digital archive of all back issues via Exact Editions, an online photography archive (WSC Photos) with prints for sale, a line of WSC Books on football history and culture, live events at non-League clubhouses launched in 2022, an annual writers' competition, and football travel packages. The underlying technology is a conventional WordPress site with Mailchimp, Stripe, GoCardless, and Exact Editions integrations — no proprietary platform or AI capabilities.

Revenue derives from a mix of single-issue newsstand sales (£4.95 per issue), monthly subscriptions, Patreon memberships, book and merchandise sales, and advertising (explicitly excluding gambling). The go-to-market combines community-led engagement (fanzine heritage, Patreon supporters) with event-driven activation (WSC Live) and direct-to-consumer distribution. The company has acknowledged that the print magazine is no longer self-sustaining, leading to operational restructuring including office closure, and has absorbed revenue pressure from Brexit-related overseas subscription declines (30%) and an ethical refusal of gambling advertising.

Name

When Saturday Comes

Legal name

When Saturday Comes Ltd

Website

https://wsc.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

When Saturday Comes is an independent UK football media company founded in 1986, publishing a monthly print and digital magazine covering football at all levels alongside a podcast, Patreon supporters' club, digital archive, photography archive, and book line for football supporters and amateur writers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports magazine publishing (football)

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports & Recreation Magazines (MPAJAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Digital Audio Broadcasts (Live Radio, Play-by-Play, Podcasts) (MPAKAOAG), Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)

Keywords

• Football magazine publishing
• Sports journalism
• Independent media
• Print publishing
• Supporter culture

Headquarters

HQ city

Beckenham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Magazine Sales: Single copy sales of the print magazine at £4.95 per issue through newsagents, WH Smith, train stations, supermarkets, and direct from WSC website.
2. Subscriptions: Monthly subscription service with delivery cost included (airmail priority for overseas). Subscription copies arrive before on-sale date.
3. Merchandise and Books: Sale of books (WSC Books line including Soccer in a Football World, Morbo, Elephants Lions & Eagles, The Man Behind the Goal), T-shirts, prints, stadium illustrations, and back issues.
4. Patreon Supporters' Club: Multi-tiered Patreon membership (£2-£100/month) offering bonus podcast episodes, exclusive merchandise, early access, and name printed in magazine for top-tier supporters.
5. Advertising: Magazine, podcast, and poster/supplement advertising opportunities. WSC explicitly does not carry gambling advertising.
6. Content Licensing: Payment for articles from freelance contributors at standard rates (£75 for 750 words, £50 for book reviews, £125 for Match of the Month). Writers' competition prize of £250.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

When Saturday Comes publishes a monthly independent football magazine (print and digital editions) covering football at all levels from Premier League to non-League, alongside a twice-monthly podcast, a Patreon-based Supporters' Club membership, a searchable digital archive of every issue since 1986, an online football photography archive with prints for sale, a line of WSC Books, football travel packages, merchandise, and live events at non-League clubhouses.

Product overview

When Saturday Comes is Britain's leading independent football magazine, launched in 1986, offering a monthly print and digital publication covering football at all levels. The product portfolio includes the core WSC Magazine (available in print, digital edition, and archived in the digital archive), the twice-monthly WSC Podcast, and the Patreon-based WSC Supporters' Club membership. Additional offerings include WSC Photos (a football photography archive with prints for sale), WSC Books (published football titles), WSC Live Events (live shows at non-League venues), the WSC Writers' Competition (annual amateur writing award), WSC Travel (football travel packages), and merchandise including T-shirts. The company operates primarily through subscriptions, newsagent sales, merchandise sales, and the Patreon supporters' club.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WSC Magazine Monthly independent football magazine covering football at all levels, from Premier League to non-League, featuring articles, photography, cartoons, and illustrations. Sold at £4.95 per issue through UK newsagents, WH Smith, train stations, supermarkets, and direct via WSC website; available in print and digital editions.
• WSC Podcast Twice-monthly audio podcast hosted by Daniel Gray with editor Andy Lyons and columnist Harry Pearson, featuring discussions on football topics, guest curators, and recurring segments including Backward Glance, Record Breakers, and The Final Third; distributed via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and TuneIn, with bonus episodes for Patreon Supporters' Club members.
• WSC Supporters' Club (Patreon Membership) Patreon-based membership program offering bonus podcast episodes, exclusive merchandise, early access to content, ticket discounts and free priority tickets for WSC Live events, WSC Photos prints, and name-in-magazine acknowledgement for top-tier supporters, across tiers priced £2, £5, £10, £25, and £100 per month.
• WSC Photos Online football photography archive and print shop featuring football photography by Colin McPherson, Paul Thompson, and Simon Gill, documenting football culture at all levels, with images available to purchase as prints.
• WSC Books Range of football books published by WSC, including titles such as Morbo (Spanish football), Soccer in a Football World (American soccer history), Elephants Lions & Eagles (African football), The Man Behind the Goal (football short stories by Brian Glanville), Cold War Football, A People's History of Football, Mundiales, and North America 2026, priced individually (e.g., £22, £14.99, £25, £18.95).
• WSC Live Events Live events bringing WSC's magazine and podcast content to non-League clubhouses around the UK, with discounted and free tickets offered to Patreon Supporters' Club members.
• WSC Travel Football travel packages organized by WSC, including trips to international tournaments and football destinations (such as the African Nations Cup in Senegal, Tunisia, South Africa, and the South American championship in Ecuador).
• WSC Merchandise Merchandise including T-shirts, stadium illustrations, back issues of the magazine, and prints available for purchase through the WSC shop (shop.wsc.co.uk).

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1 million copies of fanzines sold annually by 1989 (WSC helped publicize)

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Exact EditionscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2019Digital archive platform provider enabling WSC's searchable online archive accessible to subscribers
• PatreoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2019Platform for WSC Supporters' Club offering multi-tier membership from £2-£100/month with bonus content and exclusive merchandise
• SeymourcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNewstrade distributor for WSC magazine, handling distribution to retail outlets across the UK
• MailchimpcoreTechnology or IntegrationEmail marketing service provider (EMS) for WSC's newsletter and marketing messages, including tracking capabilities for subscriber engagement
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationSecure online payment processor for card payments on WSC shop
• GoCardlesscoreTechnology or IntegrationDirect debit payment processor for WSC subscriptions and orders

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Blizzard: The Blizzard is a football writing publication that began as a print quarterly and expanded into digital and podcast formats. It is directly comparable to WSC as long-form, independent football journalism with a similar supporter-perspective ethos.
• The Square Ball: The Square Ball is a Leeds United-focused fanzine that has evolved into broader football writing. It shares WSC's fanzine heritage, independent ethos, and supporter-perspective content model at smaller scale.
• These Football Times: These Football Times is an independent football writing platform covering football culture and history. It overlaps with WSC's niche storytelling and supporter-focused approach, though it operates primarily as a free digital publication.
• FourFourTwo: FourFourTwo is the UK's leading monthly football magazine, published by Future plc. It is the most direct competitor to WSC, covering football at multiple levels, but operates at much larger scale as part of a major media portfolio.
• World Soccer: World Soccer is a long-running UK-based football magazine with a global focus. It is comparable to WSC as a print football magazine targeting serious supporters, though it emphasizes international football rather than WSC's grassroots/supporter focus.
• Match Magazine: Match was a UK monthly football magazine historically aimed at younger readers. While currently less active in print, it represents a comparable product archetype to WSC in the UK football magazine market.

Broad incumbents

• Sport Magazine: Sport Magazine is a UK sports magazine covering football and other sports. It is comparable to WSC as a UK print sports publication but operates at broader scope and larger scale under major ownership.
• Football Weekly (The Guardian): Football Weekly is The Guardian's flagship football podcast, the largest UK football podcast by reach. It competes with the WSC Podcast for listener attention in UK football audio and benefits from the Guardian's significantly larger distribution and editorial resources.

Emerging players

• Tifo Football: Tifo Football produces video and podcast content explaining football tactics and culture. It overlaps with WSC's audience of football enthusiasts seeking deeper insight, but competes primarily through digital video rather than print.

Others

• WSC Books / Pitch Publishing: Pitch Publishing is a UK independent sports book publisher whose football titles compete with WSC Books. It is comparable as an adjacent publisher serving the same football readership with book-length content, though at larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WSC_magazine
• Facebookfacebook.com/WSCmagazine
• Instagraminstagram.com/wsc_magazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/when-saturday-comes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about When Saturday Comes