For the first time this summer, Brighton’s music scene swapped the stage for the sidelines and had it out over the nation’s favourite game of football.

On 12 July 2025, 116 players from the city’s grassroots venues, record labels, music charities, educational institutions and independent artists hit the pitch for the inaugural Brighton Music Cup. The community football tournament brought together 16 teams from across the music ecosystem, swapping studios for shinpads and tech for tekkers.

With slices supplied by local newcomers Pommy’s Pizza and ice-cold alcohol-free beers from Lucky Saint, the day was as much about community and wellbeing as it was about scoring goals. Impressively, 14 of the 16 teams were mixed-gender, levelling the playing field and reflecting the breadth and diversity of the city's music world.

Now for us, Brighton’s alternative music culture and football culture don’t usually appear in the same sentence, but that wasn’t the case for Brighton Music Cup founder Brad Bushby. His love for both sport and music developed through the iconic soundtracks of FIFA and Tony Hawk video games he played growing up. Now working in music production and playing Sunday League at weekends, Brad decided it was about time to bring his two worlds together - and not just for himself, for the whole community.

We had the total pleasure of catching up with Brad after the tournament to soak up the spirit of the day. His aim was to bring people together in a way that felt fresh, fun and active, moving networking away from late nights and into the daylight. And it worked. From penalty shootouts to unforgettable howlers (RIP to 10 Nike footballs booted over the fence), the day was a glowing success.

With an afterparty gig at Rossi Bar keeping the energy high into the evening, the Brighton Music Cup captured just how powerful this community can be. We’re sure that everyone will be pleased to know that plans are already in motion for 2026.

Shout out to the competitors: GDS Allstars, I Flippin Luv Brighton, Hope & Ruin, Komedia, Dead Melodies, Patterns, Folklore Rooms, The Stealers, Dutch Criminal Records, Love Thy Neighbour, BIMM, Audio Active, Offie Mag, Volks. And to the winners: Safe Nath FC (Group A) and Republic of Music (Group B).

To start things off, can you give us the lowdown? What exactly is the Brighton Music Cup?

It's a day using football as the catalyst to bring Brighton's music community together. It’s predominantly focused around the grassroots venues but we have a wide representation through teams entering from independent artists, educational institutions, charities, record labels - anything that’s associated in the music world. 

We had sixteen teams this year and it was a mixture of teams that wanted to be competitive but also those who were just there for fun. The format of the tournament was split into two: we had a group stage draw which seeded each team and then how you got on in your group dictated if you were here to be competitive or here for a laugh. We did two separate tournaments from that, so everyone got the most out of it and they weren't too disheartened about results.

Although everyone was there for physical exercise, a big focus was on the mental side of it as well. Everyone in the industry works really unsocial hours so it was important to have something health-associated with focus on balance and lifestyle. We also had a gig afterwards at Rossi Bar for a celebration for everyone and an opportunity to network for bands promoters, venues and other people who wouldn’t normally be in the same place at the same time.

Brighton music culture and footie culture aren’t normally two things you’d find in the same sentence. Where did the idea to combine music and football in an event come from? 

For me, the two universal languages that are most prominent for everyone are sport and music. I got into music I'm into now because I used to love the playlists on the sports games I used to play - all the FIFA and Tony Hawk soundtracks. I feel like sports culture and music subcultures are coming together now as well. Glastonbury this year made a football top, bands are making their own tops and there’s an increased pride for your local area. Take Brighton and Fat Boy Slim for example.

There’s a lot of crossovers and I think that football was the most accessible sport to do. When I had the idea to do it, I really didn’t want it to be a flash in the pan football tournament or ego-centric. It was really important for me to have the tournament as mixed-gender and to have representation of everyone involved. I didn’t want it to be that X venue would put a team together and it’s one bartender with five of his mates from the Sunday League team because that doesn’t accomplish anything. I was really proud and happy on the day that teams like Komedia and Hope & Ruin didn’t have any football players but they gave it a go and just had fun. 

Organising a 16-team tournament is no small feat. How did you pull it all together logistically?

It was a bit of a pipe dream, to be honest. My background working in music production and events helped the organisational side and my involvement within Sunday League Sussex meant I had a few contacts. The original ground was supposed to be Hove Park but they were having renovations a few weeks before the event so we were scrambling last minute to find a venue. Luckily, a friend of mine who’s the manager of my Sunday team suggested we use the Brighton Uni pitch we use for training, so we managed to source the venue that way.

In terms of planning, it was really organic. I was just calling or emailing people and asking if they could get a team together. It was a bit of a hard sale to begin with but as teams started joining and I told other people, more teams joined. What was nice is that there were people who couldn’t get a team together but were still so supportive. For example, Resident, couldn’t get enough players together but they gave a bunch of tote bags to give all the gifts in.

It was a case of just getting the community together, really. What was really beautiful on the day was that everyone either knew each other or knew of each other, so there was great respect and communication. 

It sounds brilliant. You’ve touched on it, but were there any match day highlights?

There was a couple! One of them was the end of the tournament that went down to the final kick of the game. It was 0-0 and we ended in a penalty shootout and all the other teams huddled around. It was funny because somehow across the day Audio Active took the role of villain, so everyone was booing them and they were jeering the crowd. Then all of Safe Nath’s friends were screaming and cheering. It was very dramatic and everyone played up to it and made it all so fun. 

There was some good football! There will be some footage coming out and I’m sure when I watch it back there’ll be some good goals and some howlers. Another highlight for me is that we had 10 footballs from Nike given through Pro Direct and they were all lost over the fence, which really summed up the standard of the day!

Who were the winners? 

In tournament B, it was Green Door v Republic of Music, and Republic of Music won. Then in tournament A, it was Audio Active v Safe Nath, and Safe Nath won. Even just those four finalists shows such a diversity of teams: a distribution company, a grassroots venue, a music charity and an artist.                                 

What was the biggest challenge creating an event like this?

The hardest part was that I wanted to make something special to grow and develop. The biggest hurdle I found was getting people who aren’t into football to engage for the benefit of the community. I really tried to make it accessible in terms of affordability and worked to have brands give stock and discounts, but I had no financial support or investment, so it was off my own bat. I made entry fees as cheap as possible which was to my own detriment in the end because we had some extra costs to cover. I didn’t go into it to make money but that was a big challenge!

Representation was also really important to me, but also keeping it authentic to that team’s organisation. Seeing that 14 out of the 16 teams fielded mixed-gender teams made me really proud and happy. The whole point for me was about representing what you are to the Brighton scene. We had some people who’d never played football in their life to someone who was like “back in the day before my knee got hurt, I used to play in the academy.” 

You had some great support from Lucky Saint and Pommy’s Pizza. How did those partnerships come about?

Honestly? Ringing numbers and saying hello! The Lucky Saint one was a big one for me, because I really wanted to promote the wellbeing side of it. I think for gigging and being involved in live music, there are connotations to certain lifestyles. I wasn't trying to force any narrative on the day but I wanted to open up conversation about healthy alternatives. So I rang up a couple of numbers, went on LinkedIn and did the prowl and finally got through to someone who really liked the idea and they agreed to sort stock for us.

And then Pommy’s Pizza, that was big for me because I love supporting local when I can. Although pizza isn’t healthy, everyone likes pizza and it’s family-style food. They’re a new brand making authentic Italian food, both really big football fans and massive on community. They were really welcoming and bought the idea straight away and wanted to support however they could. 

The Sussex Fairtrade connection came through a friend of mine who works there. Although we didn’t have too much stock left, I was trying to be conscious and make relationships for the future when we grow and develop, and also make people aware that these options are available. For example, at gigs we have loads of leftover rider and food that just goes to waste. It was just about making venues aware that they can influence that.

Congratulations on building such a special day. What do you think makes events like the BMC important for the community?

For me, it’s sort of the element of ‘just do it’ - not sponsored by Nike. But, why not give it a go and see if it works? What was special about it for me was that I managed to bring the two worlds that I love so much - football and music - together for the day. I’ve never seen so many people in the same place at the same time and because of the industry we work in, when we do socialise, it’s work associated or at a gig or at a bar. It was special having a physical, health associated event and having positive conversations and bringing people together in really good spirit. It showed the power of Brighton. I love this city so much! I wasn’t born here but I treat it as my home. I was really proud of everyone on the day.

What’s next for the Brighton Music Cup?

I’ve got some ideas! This was the pilot, so I’d like to do another year and make it bigger and better. I’d like to explore the model in other cities once it’s tried and tested in Brighton. I want to see how far I can take music and football together, and explore accessibility-wise whether other sports might work to bring people together. Right now, just keep celebrating local community, keep channeling it and open up that collaboration for everyone. Now that I’ve done it, I owe the community that I have so much faith in to restore that faith again.

Keep up to date with Brighton Music Cup.