The Political Economy of Football V2

The bar of the Tooting & Mitcham United football club looks like a relic from the 1930s. Black-and-white photographs of past players line the walls as fans queue to buy £5 ($6.80) pre-match pints—a bargain by south London’s standards. But instead of accompanying their beers with pies like fans of yore, today’s supporters are tucking into perfectly seasoned jerk chicken and plantains served on rice. “The food is what gets me here,” says Terry, a Chelsea supporter turned season-ticket holder at semi-professional Tooting. Lower-tier football clubs are having a culinary moment. Footy Scran, an Instagram account documenting football-stadium food around the world, has singled out several clubs outside the Premier League for praise. Supporters of Whitehawk, a non-league club in Brighton, can tackle a gravity-defying burger combining chicken, beef and hash browns, topped with onion fries. Forest Green Rovers, in the Cotswolds [Forest of Dean?], another non-league club, has decid...

Whether or not National League North and South clubs will decide to play out the season or declare it null and void remains to be seen, but many clubs at Tier 2 level are very concerned about their future, not least 129-year old Dulwich Hamlet:  https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/dulwich-hamlet-fc-fear-being-forced-into-debt-to-play-out-season-could-break-the-club/

Dulwich Hamlet are to return to their home at Champions Hill after an exile of eight months. It will take four to six weeks to prepare the ground: Dulwich Hamlet The final agreement was reached following a meeting involving all parties chaired by sports ministers Tracey Crouch. Southwark Council withdrew a possible compulsory purchase order to be served on developers Meadow. The Hamlet have been playing at Tooting and Mitcham's ground, but attendances have been hit. It is not easily accessible by public transport. Darryl Chamberlain has an interesting article on Hamlet in the latest issue of the Charlton fanzine, Voice of the Valley.

In the latest development in the tragic story of Dulwich Hamlet, now top of the Bostik Premier, a subsidiary of their adversary, property developer Meadow, has registered the trademarks 'Dulwich Hamlet Football Club', 'The Hamlet' and 'DHFC'. It means that the club are barred from using their name on correspondence and on all online activity. Meadow owns and operates the club's Champion Hill Ground, receiving all gate money and only handing any money after covering its costs. Meadow executives told the club last month that it was no longer 'financially viable', despite good attendances for that level of the pyramid. Attendances have regularly been around the 1,500 mark and sometimes higher. The club has been presented with a bill for rent of £121,000. Unless it is paid by March 23rd, a winding up petition may be served. Through his affordable housing company, Rio Ferdinand made a £10m bid to buy the ground last year, but it was rejected by Mea...

Dulwich Hamlet are a popular and well-supported non-league club playing in the Bostik Premier League. They have been caught in the middle of a dispute between Southwark Council and Meadow, a property developer. Their property developer landlords have now served notice on them which would lead to immediate eviction (their next two games are away): Eviction The club issued the following statement: 'Yesterday evening, the club were served notice that our license to play at Champion Hill would be terminated immediately. We are consulting with solicitors on the matter, as we feel they do not have legal grounds to serve such a notice. This comes on top on the £121,000 ‘back rent’ bill we were served last week, as reported by The Daily Mirror .' 'Meadow have not been in touch with the Club directly, and have only communicated through their solicitors. This seems to be their preferred method. We urge Andrew McDaniel and Peter Bennison to try and act with some level of courtesy...

Dulwich Hamlet have a growing fanbase and are enjoying success on the pitch, but they are increasingly stuck between a rock and a hard place in terms of Southwark Council and their owners Meadow: Dulwich Hamlet statement Southwark Council have refused to approve plans for housing and a new stadium. The club also feels that they lack control over their own affairs. The club has now launched an appeal fund after its backers pulled their funding: Hamlet Appeal

Dulwich Hamlet are one of the highest profile non-league clubs in the country. It is not easy being a non-league club in London because of the lack of clear community identities in some parts of the city, the existence of a wide range of leisure options and competition from Premier League and Football League clubs. However, Hamlet are the epitome of metropolitan cool, and indeed have little direct competition in the immediate area. They attracted a bumper crowd on Non-League Day for a match against Needham Market. Their future is in doubt because of a complex three-cornered struggle between the property group that bailed them out, Southwark Council, and the club itself. The intention is to redevelop Champion Hill and relocate them to a new site. Meanwhile, they face financial challenges in terms of their wages budget when compared with the likes of Billericay Town (although it is still bigger than many non-league clubs at their level). The Independent has produced an excellent ...