Pre-season: It's a Deal in Kent

Three of the counties' finest offering #footballforafiver over the summer.

Ramsgate FC host Kennington FC (Fri 5th July), Brentwood Town (Sat 27th) and Kingstonian (Sat 3rd August) with admission £5 for adults and free for under-18's.

Not too far away, at Margate FC there are home friendlies scheduled against Whitstable (Sat 6th July), Dover (Tue 9th), Concord Rangers (Sat 13th) and Dover (Tue 16th) with prices £5 for adults and £3 for concessions.

And Deal Town welcome Whitstable (Tue 2nd July), Canterbury (Fri 5th), Kennington (Mon 8th), Bearsted (Fri 12th), a Gillingham XI (Tue 16th) and Faversham StrikeForce (Sat 27th). Like at Ramsgate it is £5 adults and free for under-18's.

The superb website Kentish Football has a comprehensive list of fixtures.

UEFA U-19 Euros

If you fancy seeing some of the top young international stars in action this summer then Northern Ireland is hosting the UEFA Under-19 European Championships.

The hosts are joined by seven other nations with matches taking place in Belfast and Larne between 15-28 July, the semi-finals and final taking place at Windsor Park.

Tickets are on sale now and are well-priced at £5/£2 for the group stages (£12 family); £6/£3 (£15 family) for the semi-finals and £8/£4 (£20 family).

Here Comes the Summer

 

An outside seat on the pitch at Hallam FC last weekend, looking over to Hallam Cricket Club and a game in full swing, but still time to catch up on the final acts of the 2023/24 season in the non-league game in England.

Enjoy the summer, keep up-to-date with friendlies and any other matches going on, over on X

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.

Sunday Best

Wembley Stadium around 45 minutes before the start of the FA Cup semi-final between Coventry City and Manchester United last Sunday.

It was to be an occasion that will live long in the memory of both Sky Blues supporters and neutrals too, judging by the number of messages I received afterwards from friends who follow other teams.

Affordable Football? Ticket-wise I would argue that yes it was, with plenty of price categories and I don't think too many Coventry fans would say they didn't get value for money out of the day although of course the relatively pressure-free atmosphere going into the game as huge underdogs was a factor in that.

For those cheering on the Reds it was obviously less of a novelty, before the logistics and costs of getting to and from the stadium (with the game not finishing until around 6:30pm on a Sunday evening after that unexpected 30 minutes of extra-time and penalties) to factor in.

From that perspective it is a positive move to see United subsidising season ticket holding under-16's for the final and for the kick-off time to be set at 3pm once again.

National League Promotion Final

Prior to the pandemic, my dad and I had a good run of attending the National League Promotion Final at Wembley Stadium, attracted by an Early Bird ticket offer that allowed you to sit in a really nice part of the ground at a reduced price.

We saw emotional returns to the Football League for Grimsby Town and Tranmere Rovers, the celebrations after these matches showing just how much it meant to the supporters and officials involved with those famous old clubs.

For fans of the two teams who actually make it to the final, Wembley isn't perhaps the ideal choice given that ticket prices for their respective ends have been much higher and because of the short window to arrange travel as well.

But for the neutral, the National League offer of £20 for adults, £10 for concessions and free for Under 16's (one per adult/concession, additional tickets £5 each), which runs until 23rd April is a good one.

Take a Seat

Take a seat this coming Saturday in the oldest stand in world football, dating back to 1892, at the Wellesley Recreation Ground, home of Great Yarmouth Town FC.

Admission for an important game at the top of the Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League First Division, against Stanway Pegasus, is on a Pay What You Want basis.

In the area on Friday evening? The Premier League 2 Under-21 game between Norwich City and West Ham United at Carrow Road (kick-off 7pm) has free tickets available.