Greetings one and all and welcome to the first TLFG of 2025/26.
After just over a month off, we're back!
How was your time off? I have to admit to actually missing writing this at times so I was quite glad to start putting the match maps together again over the last few days.
I haven't seen any football, I haven't even watched any on telly, despite there being quite a lot on.
I did, however, get invited to Aldershot last week to meet the FA Trophy.
In my day job, I work for South Western Railway (SWR) who have become partners of Non-League Day (NLD).
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| Yours truly with the FA Trophy at Aldershot |
As a result of this, they've built good links with Aldershot Town whose ground is close to the station.
When they made the FA Trophy Final in May, SWR laid on extra trains and went big on making sure they did their bit to make things as special as possible for Shots fans.
The Hampshire club went on to win 3-0 and claim the silverware on their first ever visit to Wembley.
Last Friday, the club agreed to bring the trophy down to the station and do a small presentation in honour of one of the station staff who has also volunteered at the club for years.
The chairman of Aldershot and the new MD of SWR were both present and, in my NLD capacity, I was too - it was a great occasion.
With this season's NLD date set to be announced in the next few days, I also enjoyed a meeting this week with the new commercial director of Penistone Church FC who travelled all the way down from Yorkshire to meet myself and some of the team, to gain some ideas of how he can try and drive his ninth-tier club forward.
We chatted in the inspiring surrounds of the British Library (not the reading room I hasten to add) before he headed back up north.
This week I'm making a brief trip to Switzerland for the Women's Euros.
Heading to Basel, I'm going to the hosts' opening game against Norway which should be a lot of fun.
Earlier in the day, I'm also going on a stadium visit at Bundesliga club Freiburg just across the border in Germany where TLFG reader Christoph B is a guide and will be taking me round.
Back on Thursday morning, I hope to get to see at least one friendly over the weekend too.
Have a top week - it's great to be back.
THE WEEK AHEAD
This week's highlights include the CONIFA Asia Cup and a whole load of friendlies all over London, including a couple featuring EFL teams.
As always, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or the venue or kick-off time has changed - this is highly possible for some of the lower non-league clubs. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.
Details on all of this week's games can be found on the following match maps. If you've never used them before, please note that when there is more than one match at a specific ground you'll only be able to see individual match pins if you zoom right in. If you don't, the pins obscure each other and you might miss them. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the drop down menu at the top of the map page to make sure you get all the information. Games are listed from top to bottom in date order so Monday's games (yellow pin) will appear first and Sunday's (orange pin) last. Games are also ranked in terms of status so the higher the division, the higher up the list they will appear on each day.
Also if you're unfamiliar with the English league structure I indicate the level at which an individual league sits in the national 'pyramid' with the Premier League at the top (Level 1) and various minor leagues at the bottom (Level 10). Typically a top level game will see crowds of anywhere between 20,000-60,000. These figures will gradually decline as you go down the leagues until you get to Levels 8-10 where attendances of 150 or less are most common.
It should also be noted that the top four levels are for fully professional teams. Level 5 has a mixture of professional and semi-professional teams, while Levels 6-10 will see most players paid but it will vary from no more than travel expenses at the bottom, right up to several hundred pounds a week at the top.
MIDWEEK MATCH MAP
Tuesday fixtures - green pin
Wednesday fixtures - turquoise pin
Thursday fixtures - purple pin
Friday fixtures - black pin
WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Saturday fixtures - blue pin
Sunday fixtures - orange pin
TLFG DAILY DIGEST
In the following section, I list what are in my opinion the most notable games of the week and give some brief reasons for my choice. Check the maps above for kick-off times, ticket info and directions.
Tuesday 1 July
CONIFA Asia Cup group stage
Tamil Eelam v Tibet @530pm - quite a few TLFG readers will have enjoyed watching games in CONIFA's World Football Cup which London hosted in 2018. I went to several games myself, including the final between Northern Cyprus and eventual winners Karpatalja at a packed QEII Stadium in Enfield. For those of you that don't know, CONIFA is an independent football organisation for 'national teams not under the auspices of FIFA'. Between the 1-4 July, Walton & Hersham's ground in Surrey will play host to the organisation's Asia Cup with East Turkistan (home of the Uyghurs) joining these two in a three-team tournament. These competitions are often politically controversial and I'm sure the Chinese embassy won't be best pleased that it's happening. During the World Football Cup, host venues received official letters from other unhappy ambassadors asking them not play games on their grounds. The current rankings on CONIFA's website appear to be several years out of date so I've no idea who's likely to win but it should be quite an occasion whatever. Tickets are £3 on the gate (season tickets covering all games are £10) and there's an opening ceremony at 4pm
A bit further afield
Hitchin Town v Barnet @745pm - the first of our local pro teams to take to the field this summer are the Bees. Now back in League Two after winning the National League, the north London club head to Hertfordshire to play the eighth-tier Canaries at their historic Top Field.
Tickets
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Wednesday 2 July
CONIFA Asia Cup
East Turkistan v Tamil Eelam @230pm - game two of this competition takes place at lunchtime, with the Uyghurs playing their opening fixture at the Elmbridge Xcel Sports Hub. Tickets are £3 on the gate
Friendlies
There are a handful of friendlies featuring non-league sides on Tuesday but there are two, featuring AS London and Cannons Wood, on adjacent pitches at the Bobby Moore centre in Parsloes Park in Dagenham
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Thursday 3 July
CONIFA Asia Cup
Tibet v East Turkistan @230pm - the final match of the group stage will determine who plays in Friday's final so there's plenty riding on this one. Tickets are £3 on the gate
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Friday 4 July
CONIFA Asia Cup Final
TBC v TBC @530pm - the final takes place a bit later than most of the group games and there's a closing ceremony straight after the game. Tickets are £3 on the gate
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Saturday 5 July
Friendlies
The pick of the action sees
Boreham Wood host Luton Town at 1pm. Back in the National League following their play-off victory, the Wood always pull together a decent pre-season programme and they start with this game against the Hatters. Now in League One following two consecutive relegations, the Bedfordshire club will be hoping for a much better campaign -
tickets are £15 for adults.
For a cracking bit of value, head to Honeycroft in west London where Uxbridge host Egham Town at 12pm and Harrow Borough at 4pm. One ticket for £5 will get you in to both. It's a big season for the Reds. They've been around since 1871 and thanks to last season's play-off victory, they'll be playing in the seventh tier for the first time in their history
A bit further afield
Just to the north west of London, sixth tier Hemel Hempstead Town host League Two new boys Barnet at 3pm. Tickets are £10
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Sunday 6 July
Friendlies
In men's football, the groundshare derby between Edgware & Kingsbury and Hendon takes place at Silver Jubilee Park at 2pm. Officially competing for the Jeffrey Over Memorial Cup, it's pay what you want on the gate.
Just up the road at The Hive, it's the
Barnet Community Day. With loads going on to keep all members of the family entertained, there's also a women's friendly between
London Bees and Wycombe Wanderers at 2pm. To top it all, it's free entry
If you're going to see a game, whether you're a local or a visitor, please let me know what you've been up to. If you're interested in reviewing a ground in the London area for this blog then get in touch. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.
Got any questions about visiting London? Don't hesitate to ask - be they football or more general travel/touristy queries. I do not charge for this advice like some other sites so don't hold back!
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