This coming Saturday, 9th March at home to Sittingbourne, the Dulwich Hamlet support will be sizably boosted by a contingent of FIFTY fans coming over from Hamburg, in Germany!

They are followers of Altona 93, & there is a bit of a story behind this...

One of our supporters, Mishi Morath, likes to go to football matches, not just Dulwich Hamlet ones, when he gets the opportunity, especially when he's on a trip abroad.
In late November 2010 he went to Hamburg for a weekend and saw four matches (plus three of ice hockey!) One of the grounds he went to was Altona 93, who he had wanted to visit, as they were formed in 1893-the same year as Dulwich Hamlet!

He tells Hamlet Pitchero: "I was wandering round the ground, taking photos of the place, when a chap comes up to me, rabbiting away in German. I did my typical English thing & shrugged my shoulders, 'sorry, mate, I don't speak German'. His name was Jan Stover & fortunately he spoke English, & got talking to me. Turns out he was the bloke who does their fanzine, & he sold me one, as there were a couple of articles in English in it! When I got round to reading it on the plane home I saw there was a piece, in German, about their supporters playing football. I deduced this from looking at their team photo, Sherlock Holmes eat yer heart out. Back in London, I misplaced it, but when I eventually found it under a pile of old prgrammes, I sent him an email, & as a result, fifteen of us went out there last July, and we were honoured to play a game on their main stadium, which we lost 13-8! They expressed an interest in visiting us...and here they are!"

It's going to be a packed & hectic schedule for the Altonaers. Some of our supporters will be meeting up with them on Friday night, as they are bringing a ska band with them, who have a gig in a boozer over in Leytonstone. They are called 'No Life Lost' & are headlining the gig, which is at the 'Plough and Harrow', 419 High Road, Leytonstone, E11 4JU. Doors open at 8.00pm, and music will continue until eleven, with the bar staying open until half past twelve. If you fancy some live music on a Friday night then come along & have a drink with our friends from Hamburg. It's pay on the door for this, only a fiver to get in.

The following day they will be at our match, making it a little crowded behind the goal! Why not dig out your Hamlet flags to make it more colourful for them? And stay for the post match party in the bar!

And so to Sunday, & the big event...the Supporters' game, the first under the new management duo of Shaun Dooley & Lester Ford.

Shaun told us: "We're really looking forward to the weekend, to be honest we can't replicate the hospitality they showed us, as that was a special weekend for us, but we hope-and I am sure-they will have a brilliant weekend for us. We are extremely grateful to Jack Payne, our Football Club Chairman, for allowing us to use the main Champion Hill Stadium for the game, which I am sure will be a real treat for our German friends."
Lester continued: " We've got a large squad, but everyone will get a run-out. It's not about fielding our best side, but all being a part of it & enjoying the day. I know some of them will be dashing off at the final whistle, to see the FA Cup quarter final at Millwall, but hopefully a few will stay in the clubhouse, where we will have some snacks laid on after the match."

Previously the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters Team have hosted sides from Belgium, France, Finland & Estonai; while they have travelled to Wales, Scotland; Holland; Czech Republic; Italy; France; Belgium; Finland; Estonia & Germany.

If you are interested in playing for them, it's more about fun than ability, which is a bonus, (our youngest players are currently 15, the oldest is 64!) then just drop an email to Shaun ( doos1968@yahoo.co.uk ) or Lester ( lezford@sky.com )
Female fans are welcome to play as well.