Well I think this is pretty much it from TLFG for this season.
There isn't a lot on this week but it's all well worth watching and there are tickets available for pretty much everything so it should be a good few days.
With the Premier League and EFL and pretty much everything else now over, I thought I'd quickly round up what the campaign has been like for London clubs.
The big story of course was Arsenal finally winning the Premier League. It was touch and go but they finally got over the line to the relief of millions of fans around the world. It could get even better if they beat PSG in Saturday's Champions League Final. I've always had a soft spot for the Gunners and actually had the kit and nominally supported them until I was eight and got taken to watch QPR - what might have been!
Shorn of their manager and several star players, Brentford were among the favourites for relegation but ended up finishing second in the London rankings! Just missing out on a place in Europe, ninth was still a huge achievement for one of the top flight's smallest clubs.
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| The World Sevens takes place at Brentford from Thursday |
A mark of how poor a season London's big clubs had was shown by the 10th-place finish achieved by Chelsea. Bowing out in the last 16 of the Champions League, they almost salvaged their year by making it to the FA Cup Final but lost to Manchester City.
Fellow west Londoners Fulham had a satisfactory season finishing 11th but they suffered a Fifth Round upset at home to Southampton ruining their chances of a good run in the FA Cup.
After winning last season's FA Cup and the Community Shield at the beginning of this campaign, a 15th-place finish for Crystal Palace is a bit disappointing. However, they've made it to this week's UEFA Conference League Final against Rayo Vallecano so there could be another great ending.
One of the biggest stories of the Premier League season has been the relegation battle between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. It went to the final day and it was Spurs who came out on top and now the Hammers will return to the Championship for the first time since 2012.
That's two 17th places in a row for Tottenham and new boss Roberto De Zerbi has urged the board to spend big or it could all go wrong again next season. As for the Hammers, things look bleak. There's likely to be a management change and numerous players will have to go to balance the books. Several fans on phone-ins have predicted another struggle and wouldn't rule out the possibility of their club 'doing a Leicester' and going down to League One.
Millwall were London's top ranked EFL club after finishing third in the Championship. Sadly the play-offs were too much for them and Hull City knocked them out before seeing off Middlesbrough at Wembley in the final.
Since coming down from the Premier League in 2015, QPR have only finished in the top half twice. This year's 15th was the same as last season and although they got up among the top six at times during the season, they couldn't maintain the consistency required to challenge and fell away.
Watford burned through another four managers as they finished a point behind the R's in 16th - there's really not much more to say!
There was a return to the second tier for Charlton Athletic and they survived. It was looking a bit dicey at one point but a win in their penultimate game made sure.
In League One it was a season of huge struggle for AFC Wimbledon and Leyton Orient but they both just kept their heads above water as they finished 19th and 20th.
One of the stories of the season was Bromley winning the League Two title during only their second year in the EFL. Pipping MK Dons by a point, they lost only seven of their 46 games on their way to promotion.
In north London, Barnet made a solid return to the EFL with an eighth-place finish which saw them miss a play-off place by just two points - a fine effort.
Staying in that part of the world, Boreham Wood ended 2025/26 as TLFG's highest ranked non-league club. Finishing fifth in the National League, they made the play-off final but heartbreakingly lost on penalties after blowing a 2-0 lead in normal time. They did, however, beat West Ham United U21s on penalties to win the National League Cup.
Wealdstone also suffered Wembley penalty woe in the FA Trophy Final losing to Southend United after a 0-0 draw.
In the sixth tier, Hornchurch also made headlines by finishing second in the National League South and beating Torquay United 3-2 after extra time in a dramatic play-off final. It means the Urchins will now get to play fifth tier football for the first time in their history.
An amazing fourth promotion in six years was delivered by Walton & Hersham as they won the seventh tier Southern League Premier South - a full eight points clear of Farnham Town who also went up.
There was also silverware for Wingate & Finchley who beat Ramsgate 1-0 in the Isthmian League Cup Final.
In the eighth tier, there were promotions for AFC Whyteleafe and Hanworth Villa who both came through play-offs in their respective divisions of the Isthmian League.
Below that, Ashford Town (Middlesex), Buckhurst Hill, Cobham and Haringey Borough all enjoyed promotion from the ninth tier and Cockfosters also made it to the FA Vase Final at Wembley but lost on penalties to AFC Stoneham after a 0-0 draw. Haringey also won the SSML Premier Division Cup to complete a memorable double.
There was also promotion joy in the 10th tier for AFC Greenwich Borough, Bedfont, Clapton CFC and Everett Rovers.
Tooting Bec picked up the SCEFL Division 1 Cup after beating Lordswood on penalties.
There were also county cup wins for AFC Greenwich Borough, Bedfont, QPR U21, Southall and Uxbridge.
In the women's game, Chelsea came third as they finally saw their dominance of the WSL come to an end - Manchester City won the title and Arsenal finished as runners-up. The Blues did win the Women's League Cup though, beating Manchester United 2-0 in the final.
With the WSL expanding next season, Tier 2 sides Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace claimed two of the three promotion spots on offer. This means seven of the 14 clubs in the top flight next season will be based in London.
Watford finished just a point ahead of Plymouth Argyle to win the title in Tier 3 so will return to WSL2 after just one season away.
In Tier 4, Fulham won their second consecutive promotion after going unbeaten in their 22-game season.
After finishing runners-up to Fulham last season, Dartford edged ahead of Saltdean United and Brentford to win their Tier 5 division this time and move up to the FAWNL.
Down in Tier 6 both Bromley and Hammersmith won promotion whilst Leyton Orient with their incredibly strong side predictably destroyed everyone in Tier 7 to move up a level.
So that's pretty much it - before the season wraps, I'm looking forward to a day at the World Sevens on Thursday and that will probably be me for the season.
I hope you've had a fun time watching football in London in 2025/26 and hopefully I'll be back at the start of July for pre-season.
Before I go, remember it's also the London Football Book Market on Saturday - hosted by Stanchion Books at Brixton Library it looks well worth a visit.
Have a great summer everyone!
THE WEEK AHEAD
This week's highlights include the Unity Cup, World Sevens and the Women's FA Cup Final.
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.
MATCH MAP
Tuesday fixtures - green pin
Wednesday fixtures - turquoise pin
Thursday fixtures - purple pin
Friday fixtures - black pin
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 26 May
Unity Cup Semi-Final
Nigeria v Zimbabwe @730pm - this mini international tournament returns to the capital this week. Being played at The Valley, the atmosphere should hopefully be really great. This is the fourth time this competition has taken place and Nigeria have won all of the previous ones. The highest ranked of the four teams taking part, they also finished third at the AFCON in January. Zimbabwe bowed out of the AFCON in the group stage without a win and they'll do incredibly well to win this and make Saturday's final.
Tickets
CCL Women's Trophy Final
Three Bridges v AFC Portchester Reserves @745pm - Cobham's ground plays host to this women's cup final. Both sides had great seasons in their respective Tier 7 divisions with Three Bridges winning the Sussex League and Portchester coming second in Hampshire. Tickets are £5 on the gate
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Wednesday 27 May
Unity Cup Semi-Final
India v Jamaica @730pm - rank outsiders India make their debut in this tournament. Also being played at The Valley, it will be interesting to see how many supporters turn up to follow them - it could potentially be loads but let's see. Jamaica have finished as runners-up on two of the previous three occasions and the draw looks likely to ensure they make the final again.
Tickets
CCL Women's Cup Final
AFC Portchester v Chatham Town @745pm - for the second night running, Portchester will have a team in a final at Cobham. This time it's the Royals' first team on show. They had a good season in the fifth tier SRWFL, finishing third. However, Chatham finished third in their fourth tier of the FAWNL, got to the fifth round of the FA Cup and are reigning champions in this competition. I haven't seen either club advertising prices but I assume it will be £5 again but take a tenner with you to be on the safe side! Update - Match Off
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Thursday 28 May
World Sevens - Day One
This women's seven-a-side tournament started in Portugal last year and enjoyed a second staging in the USA in December. It's an invitational event which sees eight teams take part in two groups before a finals day. Bayern Munich won the first one and San Diego Wave the second. Each match lasts 30 minutes on a half-size pitch, there are rolling subs and no offside. This year's event is here in London at Brentford's GTech.
Chelsea are, on paper, favourites to win but Aston Villa, Everton, Leicester City,
London City Lionesses,
Tottenham Hotspur,
West Ham United and Manchester United are all taking part too. Adult tickets are available from £17 and you'll get to see six games on this opening day, beginning with Chelsea v Everton at 3pm. The day is set to be finished by 9pm.
Tickets
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Friday 29 May
World Sevens - Day Two
There's more of the same on Friday with another six games to keep you entertained. Manchester United open proceedings against Aston Villa at 3pm before finishing the day with another game against Spurs at 8pm. All competing teams will be on show at some point during the day. The top two from each group will qualify for Saturday's semi-finals.
Tickets
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Saturday 30 May
Unity Cup Finals Day
The action gets underway at 230pm with a third place play-off before a final in the evening. India will play Zimbabwe in the former and Jamaica take on Nigeria in the latter.
Tickets are quite expensive but there are fan zones, live music and a Champions League final screening if you want to watch that instead
World Sevens Final Day
The final day of this competition begins much earlier than the other two and there are only three games. The first semi-final between Chelsea and Aston Villa is at 11am before Everton face Manchester United at 12pm. The final is at 230pm.
Tickets are available from £22 for adults
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Sunday 31 May
Women's FA Cup Final
Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester City @3pm - effectively bringing the season to a close we have this showpiece women's event at Wembley. The Seagulls have never made it to the final before and enjoyed excellent wins over Nottingham Forest, West Ham United, Arsenal and Liverpool (coming from 2-0 down) to get here. City won the WSL title and have won this three times in the last 10 years. Although starting as favourites, they lost to Brighton in the league last month so will have to be very wary.
Tickets
Soccer Aid
England XI v Rest of the World XI @630pm - the annual mega fundraiser for UNICEF returns. Being played at the London Stadium, the home of West Ham. two teams of celebrities and former pros meet in what is usually a lighthearted affair. The World XI won last year's game at Old Trafford 5-4 with Carlos Tevez scoring four goals.
Tickets are still available
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.
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