A more recent addition to the Checkd portfolio launched in April 2019 was football podcast; I Had Trials Once - a football podcast with a non-league twist... In order to diversify Checkd's content offering within football and capitalise on a fast-growing trend during 2019, an internal objective was introduced to launch a new content stream on a new platform.

Since launching a first episode in April 2019, the podcast has gone from strength to strength with almost 30,000 social media followers of its own, over 500 5* ratings and an average of over 15,000 downloads per episode. The podcast is hosted by former professional footballer Gareth Seddon and current AFC Fylde striker Jordan Hulme.

The podcast has collaborated with long-term partners, including subscription-based brands; The Athletic and Beer52 - which has produced hundreds of new users for both over the duration.

Across 46 episodes, the podcast has featured a wide range of guests from Non-League footballers, Premier League footballers, EFL managers and chairman to professional referees. Topics include stories from both on and more importantly off the pitch, the transition out of football and the ups and downs of a footballer’s career. Hosts Gareth and Jordan played together under the Class of ‘92 ownership at Salford City, which saw both feature heavily on the popular TV documentary series.

The podcast has achieved huge social media success with the high-profile personalities such as Jamie Carragher engaging with the content, but also exposure within mainstream media. National newspapers and worldwide publications such as ESPN have covered content included in the shows. Recent guests have included Charlie Austin, Dean Windass, Danny Higginbotham, Jermaine Pennant, Carlton Cole and Jamie O’Hara.

Since the first episode was first released just over 18 months ago, the podcast has achieved over 750,000 downloads, with 685,000 in the UK.