Chairman Ben Clasper speaks after a difficult week.
This has been one of those weeks that knocks for you for six, we heard of the death of Roger Granger, a long term fan who would not only make his way to Champion Hill but I would also be able to find and chat to at almost every away game despite, and I hope he will forgive me for this, not being the youngest or most mobile of travellers. Hats off to Max, the Brixton Buzz photographer, for accompanying him on many of those trips.
When you run a football club your family expands. You slowly inherit people like Roger game by game, you start with a nod, then a ‘hello’ and, before you know it, you are connecting trains together at Clapham Junction and a few hours later dissecting the game in some random pub on the coast checking trainline for whether your ticket is valid on the next train out. I have only been chairman for seven years but I have gained and then lost so many in our family that the grief can feel relentless.
But I have never lost a player and I cannot begin to believe how that feels or what Chichester City FC are dealing with.
The death of Billy Vigar has left us numb. Lord knows what his family are going through, he left to play a game of football, that shouldn’t be anything we have to worry about. What good are condolences or thoughts or prayers, when all his family want and deserve are that it didn’t happen in the first place and I ache with pain at the fact that it shouldn’t have happened.
We were blessed to have Duncan Chapman in our family when we returned to Champion Hill as he set a non-negotiable high bar for safety if he and I were going to run this club. We had Shaun Dooley, our club legend and first safety officer who enforced that bar from day one under fan ownership and we are blessed that Southwark Council recognise the importance of football ground safety and have Roy Pickard and his team with us every quarter while the club has Mel Hughes, Gavin Smith and Earl Annakie who look after everyone week in, week out. Between them all they do their best to protect every player and supporter that walks into Champion Hill because everyone should have the right to expect to walk out again at the end of the match.
You cannot guarantee that something awful won’t happen but you can guarantee you did everything in your power to avoid it and you can guarantee you prioritise those in your care and not dismiss health and safety as an ‘unnecessary drain’.
It's a home double header this weekend at Champion Hill
Football is back at Champion Hill on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend doubling everyone's chances of coming to support the pink and blue so we hope you will come and join us.
It's a mixture of league and cup action, first up are the men at 3pm on Saturday when we welcome high-flying Brentwood Town as we look to repay the wonderful hospitality shown to us on our last visit there in the FA Trophy back in 2021. Attention then turns to the women's team as they look to seize the opportunity to round out the group stages of the FAWNL League Cup at 2pm on Sunday with a third win out of three games when they face Hashtag United.
Season tickets are valid for both games and individual match tickets are available below...
Men v Brentwood Town Sat 27 Sep 3pm
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=14121
Women v Hashtag United Sun 28 Sep 2pm
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=14126
Cup draw news is released for our men's, women's first and youth teams
In the FA Trophy our men's side have been drawn at home to Hendon. A side we came up against twice in the Isthmian League last season. Supporters will have good memories of our matchups in the past including our Isthmian Premier Division play-off final victory.
They'll visit Champion Hill on Saturday 4th October and due to gate sharing rules season tickets are not valid. Match tickets can be purchased from the link below:
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=15021&isFromDashboard=True
The women will kick off their FA Cup campaign with an away tie against Leatherhead. Having reached the 1st and 2nd round proper in the last 2 seasons the Hamlet will be looking for another successful campaign in countries biggest domestic cup competition.
Last season our women's side took former Women's Championship side Lewes all the way to penalties in the 1st round proper before falling to defeat.
The tie with Leatherhead is due to take place on Sunday 5th October with more information to follow in the run up to the fixture.
Finally, after navigating two ties against Rusthall and Erith & Belvedere the youth team face another local away tie this time at Erith Town. After a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory they've been rewarded with another trip across South London.
This match has not been given a date yet but will take place week commencing the 29th September with more information to follow in the coming days.
We are back at Champion Hill with another weekend home double header
Mark Dacey and Maria Tavares bring their teams back home this weekend after both picking up points on their travels with a late equaliser from Nyren Clunis securing a point for the men in a play-off places battle at Cheshunt while the women secured their first away league victory also leaving it late with a penalty from Neve Mayes.
The men continue a punishing schedule against the top sides with the visit of league leaders Brentwood Town who dispatched title favourites and local rivals Billericay 3-0 on the weekend. It's tight at the top and the team will need every decibel of support from the rabble so we hope you will join us at 3pm on Saturday. Tickets are available via the link below...
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=14121
For the women it is a chance to round out their group phase in the FAWNL League Cup with a perfect record as they seek to make it three wins out of three. The visitors for the Sunday 2pm kick off are Hashtag United and once again season tickets will be valid for this fixture so we hope you will join the Pepper Army and if you are not a season ticket holder tickets are available here...
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=14126
It's a double header this weekend at Champion Hill
It's a festival of south east London football this weekend with the men's team taking on Welling United on Saturday afternoon in an Isthmian Premier League clash before the women entertain the Crystal Palace Academy on Sunday Afternoon in the second of their FAWNL League Cup fixtures.
With our FA Cup exit, Saturday may be the only men's home weekend fixture in September so we hope you will come and support the team as they try to maintain momentum and reclaim top spot in the league.
Having beaten London Bees at the Hive two weeks ago the women have an opportunity to make it two wins out of two in the group stage to put them in the driving seat in the competition.
Kick off on Saturday is 3.00pm, doors open at 1.30pm and tickets are available below:
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=14122
On Sunday it's a 2.00pm kick off with doors open at 1.00pm, and the link the tickets is here:
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=14124
