If you have seen the cast for Love Island 2021, you might recognise the name Toby Aromolaran, a semi-pro footballer-turned-islander.
Toby is now turning to the villa to find love, going from his usual ball-playing sport, to coupling up with singletons on the ITV2 show.
He joins the 2021 line-up to meet his match. Cue the firepit gathering, parties and romantic dates that may be thrown his way from June 28th.
Toby Aromolaran’s football career went semi-pro. Here at Reality Titbit we looked into his sporting career, as well as the team he played for.
Who is Toby Aromolaran?
Toby is a 22-year-old semi-pro footballer from Essex.
The Love Island 2021 contestant has never been in a relationship before, which is why he turned to the series to try and do just that.
When asked how his friends would describe him, he told ITV:
Optimistic. I always see the bright side in the worst situations. I’m a fun guy when I go on a night out. Responsible guy as well.
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Toby Aromolaran and football career
The soon-to-be Love Island cast member has made the bold decision to switch his current football career for one in reality TV.
Prior to the show, Toby was picked up by the football team Hashtag United last year. It is the Eastern Counties Football League which plays at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. Toby plays the position FW.
Some have questioned whether the team is real because it was inspired partly by online culture. The team is definitely real though. It was founded in 2016 by Spencer Owen, a YouTuber with nearly 2 million subscribers.
Spencer posts match vlogs after games, makes games predictions, and uploads more general vlogs about the big conversations in football.
He used his following to generate interest in the Hashtag United team, whilst posting high-quality video content online from directly on the pitch – one penalty challenge video has amassed over one million views!
The Hashtag United team has attracted over 560k subscribers on YouTube and nearly 500k followers on Instagram.
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Toby Aromolaran on Love Island
The 22-year-old footballer decided to enter the villa because he has never been in a relationship but is now ready for love. In an interview, he said: “I thought, ‘If Love Island can’t find me a relationship then no one can’.”
Despite what Toby has said though, former Love Island star, Anna Vakili, slammed him for being a “major f***boy.” Toby even said in his Love Island interview that he has commitment issues and is usually just into casual sex!
We’re not 100% sure what to make of Toby – but I guess we will find out soon for the first episode of Love Island, Season 7 on Monday.
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Toby Aromolaran on social media
Toby has gained a following of over 17k followers on Instagram and 74k on TikTok under the username @tobyaromolaran.
His posts mostly consist of snapshots from his football matches and some photos of him from his nights out.
@tobyaromolaranWhat I’m going to be missing from home the most 🙃#fyp #foryoupage #loveisland #loveislanduk #loveisland2021 #hashtag
♬ Sure Thing (cover version) – Spinmovin
Toby Aromolaran has fans already!
All over Twitter, people have been showing their support for Toby entering the villa:
Absolute legend
— Elis 🦢🏴 (@scfcelis) June 21, 2021
Great film clip. Go Toby
— stevecarmichaelbrown (@carmichaelbrown) June 21, 2021
Some have even tagged big time YouTuber, Jack Carl Dean, well-known for his channel: @Jaackmaate. Jack has been known to brutally criticise a number of huge celebs such as Zoe Sugg, Logan Paul and the Love Island cast members each year.
He may play for hashtag but he isnt safe from the mighty @Jaack roast. Nobody's safe
— chris ramshaw (@chrisramshaw8) June 21, 2021
What’s @Jaack gonna say about this one 🤭
— Tommy (@TommyMutd) June 21, 2021
WATCH LOVE ISLAND ON ITV2 EVERY DAY EXCEPT SATURDAYS AT 9 PM FROM MONDAY JUNE 28