Based in Forest Gate in Newham, East London, Clapton Community FC was founded in 2018 with a fan-owned, democratic model. All of the club’s 1500+ members are able to vote on important issues and
get involved in the running of the club by joining committees - such as Community and Outreach, Comms, or Grounds.
Clapton Community FC play home games at the Old Spotted Dog Ground, London’s oldest senior football ground. In Autumn 2019 they were handed the lease and a few months later, the club bought the
freehold. After years of work by passionate and determined volunteers, the dilapidated ground has been repaired and refurbished. Both the men’s and women’s first teams now are based in the ground
permanently.
The women’s first team play in the sixth tier, the London & South East Regional Women’s League Division 1 North. The club also has men’s and women’s development teams, beginners, 5s, inclusive
youth teams, open training sessions for women and young people, and even a cricket team.
The men’s first team won promotion to the Middlesex Counties Football League Premier from Division One (Central & East) in 2018/19, their first season. Attendances were unprecedented for the
league, averaging over 400 and peaking when 1,266 fans watched the 3-0 win over FC Roast to clinch the title. In that season the team also won the club’s first ever cup trophy: the Jim Rogers Cup -
defeating Hilltop on penalties.
In 2021/22 the team finished third in the MCFL Premier league, but again won silverware in the Alec Smith Cup - again dramatically, on penalties after dragging the game back to 2-2 from 2-0
down.
Meanwhile that season the women's first team made history by being the first seventh tier team to reach the third round of the Women's FA Cup. They set another record, becoming the first ever to
beat a team from four divisions higher. The run saw wins against higher division Haringey Borough, Biggleswade United, Bedford Town and Hounslow, finally ending away at Plymouth Argyle.
The men’s first team won promotion from the MCFL Premier League to the Thurlow Nunn Division One South in 2022/23, winning the title by eight points. The promotion was achieved on the pitch in
front of 902 fans against Kensington Dragons, and confirmed a month later when the ground passed its ground grading.
As the name Clapton Community suggests, having a positive impact on the local community beyond football is key to the club’s activities. The club’s charity partner is the Magpie Project,
supporting mums and young children in Newham. Fans collect for foodbanks and have donated thousands to good causes.
The club gained a lot of media attention in the UK and beyond due to the success of their purple, red and yellow away kit, a homage to the International Brigades who volunteered to fight for
democracy in the Spanish Civil War. This went viral and over 20,000 shirts have been sold. A new home kit for the 2022/23 season was chosen by a member poll from a selection of kits that club members
designed and submitted.
In 2021 Clapton Community FC won the Football Supporters Association Lockdown Heroes Award in recognition of the Hardship Fund, Clapton Against Coronavirus. Members paid in what they could afford,
and those in need were able to take out small amounts to help cover key expenses. Since March 2020 over £15,000 has been donated and distributed. In 2023 the club won the Non-League Paper’s Community
Club of the Year award.
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