Bank Holiday International Football

Something a little different this coming Bank Holiday Monday (May 6th) as the England C team, drawn from players outside of the EFL, take on the national side of Nepal at the home of Aldershot Town FC.

Having battled their way past Laos in the first round of Asian qualification for the 2026 World Cup, Nepal have lost all four of their matches in the next stage and won't be making it to the USA, Canada and Mexico but Italian coach Vincenzo Annese has named a strong squad for the game in England and it is clearly an occasion that the Nepalese are looking forward to, with a farewell ceremony for the players ahead of their journey.

Plenty of terrace tickets are still available for the 3pm kick-off, priced at £10 adults and £5 for juniors, from the official Aldershot FC website.

International Window

Good to see the England C team, representing the best players from outside of the Football League, back in action shortly as they take on their Welsh counterparts at Altrincham FC on Tuesday 21st March.

Tickets are priced at £7 for adults and £2 for under-18's with club Co-Chair, Bill Waterson telling the official website: "Altrincham FC is delighted to be hosting this fixture as our connections with the England C team go back to its inception in 1979, when club legends John Davison, Jeff Johnson & John Rogers regularly represented their country."

Some other opportunities to watch England teams in action coming up, include:

Monday 20 February: Women's Under 23's versus Belgium at Prenton Park, 7pm. Tickets £5 adults, £2.50 children.

Wednesday 22 March: Men's Under 19's versus Hungary at the Bescot Stadium, Walsall, 7.30pm. Tickets £5 adults, £2.50 children.

Saturday 25 March: Men's Under 19's versus Iceland at the New York Stadium, Rotherham, 2pm. Tickets £5 adults, £2.50 children.

Tuesday 28 March: Men's Under 19's versus Turkey at the Technique Stadium, Chesterfield, 7.30pm. Tickets £5 adults, £2.50 children.

Ticket info for all the above can be found by the FA ticket page. 

And England Under 18 Schoolboys take on Northern Ireland in the Centenary Shield on Friday 14 April. Tickets for the 7pm kick-off, to be held at Billericay Town FC, are available priced £7 adults and £3 for concessions and under 18's.

C Wales Take on England

A welcome return for the respective Wales and England C teams next month when they meet in an international fixture at the home of Caernarfon Town on Wednesday 30th March, kick-off 7pm.

The Welsh side will be drawn from the Cymru Premier, the excellent website Y Clwb Pel-droed has already had a go at naming a possible line-up, while England manager Paul Fairclough will draw from the National League ranks.

The Non-League Paper has excellent coverage of the England side in the build-up to a fixture.

Tickets for the game, priced £10, £5 and £2, are available from the FAW website.

Another international clash that might be of interest is shown below...

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Tickets for @SchoolsFootball vs @sschoolsfa Centenary Shield fixture are on sale NOW!

💵 Adult £5 | Concession/Under 18 £3

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— Spennymoor Town FC (@SpennymoorTown) February 4, 2022

Hartlepool Say Thanks & ‘C’ England In Salford

It hasn’t been a season that will stay long in the memory for Hartlepool United supporters with the club firmly placed mid-table in the National League and having undergone an unusual round of managerial musical chairs earlier on in the year when Richard Money came in as boss, briefly swapped roles with director of football Craig Hignett and then left the club altogether.

But the bigger picture is that the club is still there at all, hopefully providing a force for good within the local community.

Last season's fixture against Wrexham was designated as 'Save Pools Day’ amidst the crisis engulfing the club and as a thank you to supporters from both teams prices for the meeting on Saturday 23 March have been reduced.

It will be £10 Adults, £5 Concessions and £2 for Under 16’s.

Hartlepool's Luke James meanwhile will be part of the England C squad who take on Wales on Tuesday 19 March at the Peninsula Stadium, home of Salford City FC.

England C is the team drawn from players outside of the Football League, giving them the chance of winning caps and pulling on the Three Lions shirt.

 

A number of those who have had that opportunity previously have gone on to play in the Football League and Premier League.

 

Watford striker Andre Gray is one such player. He appeared six times for England C while with Luton Town.

 

Current boss Paul Fairclough has been in charge since 2003 and has managed to constantly refresh the nature of the squad with young players, not just from the National League but from the divisions below and see how they fare in a different environment, something of interest certainly to prospective new clubs at a higher level.

 

An excellent article by Matt Badcock in The Non-League Paper recently highlights how the England C team has evolved over the past few years to take on a more ambassadorial nature, representing the Football Association at home and abroad.

 

Admission to the game against a Wales side drawn from the ranks of clubs in the Welsh Premier League, will be £10 Adults and £5 Concessions, payable at the turnstiles on the night.

Double Football For A Fiver At Leyton Orient

A busy spell coming up at Brisbane Road and two excellent matches that may be of interest later this month.

On Wednesday 10th the stadium plays host to England C against Estonia Under-23's, kick-off 7.45pm.

Paul Fairclough is the man in charge of this particular England squad which gives an opportunity to wear the Three Lions to players currently outside of the Football League and many of those who have worn the jersey over the years are now plying their trade at a higher level.

A number of new faces have been selected for the friendly against Estonia for which tickets are priced at just £5 Adults and free for Over 65's and Under 18's.

Three days later, on Saturday 13th, two sides showing encouraging signs of having bounced back from rock bottom meet in the National League as Leyton Orient host Hartlepool United.

The game takes place on Non-League Day 2018 and all tickets are priced at just £5 for home and away supporters.

Watch England C For Free At Sutton United

The England C team was formed in 1979 as the England Non-League team (initially under the management of Howard Wilkinson) and for over 35 years has provided players from outside the Football League with the opportunity to pull on the national team shirt, belt out the anthem and get a taste of what it is like to travel the world and represent your country.

Looking back over the team’s results over the past decade, the names of goalscorers such as Steve Morison, Andre Gray and George Boyd jump out, just three of the players to have represented England at this level before going to have very good professional careers (and play internationally for Scotland in Boyd’s case!)

Restructing and financial cutbacks at the Football Association recently threatened the existence of the team but a solution was found and Paul Fairclough, manager of the team since 2003, is currently guiding his charges through the International Challenge Trophy tournament.

England started with a win in Kiev in March against Ukraine and they return home on Sunday 5 June to take on Slovakia Under-21’s.

Fairclough’s 16-man squad includes Omar Bogle, scorer of the two goals that saw Grimsby Town promoted at Wembley recently and Woking midfielder John Goddard who will be joining Swindon Town this summer.

The game, which kicks-off at 2pm, will take place at the Gander Green Lane home of National League newcomers Sutton United and will have free admission for anyone who wishes to attend.