The Menace will host Clapton CFC on Saturday 27 July, with kick off at 12.30pm. Clapton CFC were only established in February 2018, following a long-running dispute between supporters and the original Clapton FC. Their vibrant and noisy supporters have continued to make themselves heard at their new club, which is fully run by supporters. The team did exceptionally well to win the Middlesex County Football League Division 1 (Central & East) in their first season, and will compete in the Premier Division (Step 7) of that league for the 2019/20 season.

We will also welcome Hackney Wick to the Menace Arena on Saturday 6 July (12.30pm KO). The Wickers are also a new club - they were established by the inspirational Peckham-born Bobby Kasanga in 2015. His initial dream was to found Peckham Town FC, but his hopes were dashed when he realised we already existed. He even had dreamt up a nickname for us - the Delboys! You can hear more about this story here. They are also very much a club that cares about its community and young people, and we feel we can learn a lot from each other. They finished 6th in the Eastern Counties League Division One South (Step 6) last year.

The final game of our home pre-season line-up is on Saturday on 13 July, also a 3pm KO, when we are looking forward to welcoming Punjab Untied back to the Menace Arena. We last played the team from Gravesend in April 2017 when they were on their way to winning the treble in the Kent County League Premier Division. They achieved back-to-back promotion when they won the Southern Counties East Football League (SCEFL) Division 1 title in 2017/18, and finished a respectable 17th in the SCEFL Premier Division year (Step 5). The game is sure to be a challenge for the Menace, and one that we hope to rise to.

The team will travel away for one game on Saturday 20 July, when we visit leafy Sussex for a game at Cowfold FC from the Southern Combination League. You can read all about them at, friend of the Menace, David Bauckham's blog.

The players return to training on Saturday 15 June, when trials will also be held for prospective new players. You can find out how to sign-up for trials here.

Finally, we will be introducing a small entrance charge for the 2019/20 season - details to follow in June. We need to increase income at the club to enable our continued growth, not least redevelopment to parts of the ground. We hope this doesn't distract you from attending games! Entrance to the pre-season games will be £3 for adults, £1 for concessions. U16s will continue to be free.