In a commercial world, non-league football continues to put community at its heart
By Calum Preston Kelly
Affordability. Accessibility. Inclusion. Community spirit.
Things which can be lost on the modern football club as the game becomes increasingly globalised and yet further commercialised by the year.
While a Premier League club may alienate its fans by raising ticket prices in order to fund the wages of its new £50 million signing, hidden below the depths of national attention is a thriving, ever-expanding ecosystem of non-league football.
From the professional National League down to the near-800 clubs found in the many regional divisions of the 11th tier (and beyond), in nearly every local community you will find the shoots of an aspiring football club, run largely by volunteers for a love of the game and with its own dreams of making it to the top someday. Or at the very least, of bringing together the people of its community as they go along for the ride together.
Hampton & Richmond FC is a semi-professional football club which currently plays in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football and Step Two of the non-league pyramid.
The club was founded in 1921 and was known as simply Hampton FC until 1999, when the borough of Richmond was incorporated so to expand the club’s fanbase in the local area. The club has challenged for promotion to the National League in the past few years, a tier Hampton & Richmond have never reached in their history, and they are currently thriving under new manager and former player Alan Julian.
A club which prides itself on community inclusion and on the romance of its location being so close to the historic Hampton Court, ‘The Beavers’ as they are known by fans are a prime example of what it means to be a traditional non-league club, moving with the times but continuing to keep the community at the heart of everything.
Club Managing Director William King said: “Since I started, I feel like the club has got more involved with its local community. Part of my role here has been to set up partnerships with local schools, where we give the whole school a free ticket.
“What we find is a lot of them want to come back, because the kids really enjoy themselves, it’s a really safe place for fans to come.
“What epitomises the spirit of non-league is the intimacy of football that you don’t get anywhere else. You stand on the sidelines here watching a game and you feel like you’re a part of it.”
But he explained how the fans of a non-league club are just as important to the club as vice versa.
He said: “You need to be successful at engaging your local community, because if you’re not doing that, your club is dying a death. You need your locals to make up your numbers, to make up your fans, and your matchday revenue.”
King spoke of some of the ways Hampton & Richmond have tried to maximise revenue, particularly in the context of the grave financial difficulties faced by many non-league clubs during the 2020 Covid pandemic and the 2022 cost of living crisis.
He said: “One thing we've noticed is that when you give somebody a free ticket to a match, they are buying more drink, buying more food. From all the data that we've analysed, they end up spending more money than they would have done had they bought the ticket.”
Hampton & Richmond have been running a range of pre-match events on home matchdays this season to encourage the local community to come early and soak in the atmosphere, engaging in activities such as FIFA video game tournaments, penalty shootouts and treasure hunts to create a special community spirit.
King continued: “We're not trying to compete with other football clubs. We’re not competing with Fulham, with Chelsea, with QPR. What we're competing with is your day trippers. Family day out, you can go bowling, or to the cinema, or you can go to Hampton & Richmond.”
Another thing which makes the club unique is its close ties with Movember, which has been Hampton & Richmond's shirt sponsor for the past two seasons. In 2024, the club has raised nearly £7000 to support men’s mental health and testicular cancer awareness.
Hampton & Richmond Manager Alan Julian Speaks on his Experiences in Non-League Football - CLICK HERE
But what’s the big dream for a non-league club like Hampton & Richmond?
King said: “Listen, winning the Champions League is always everyone's dream. I'm not going to shy away from that being a dream, because it is. But the most important thing for non-league clubs is sustainability.”
Where do you see Hampton & Richmond FC in five years?
King said: “I genuinely believe we're in the National League, and we're competing for promotion. I think even in five years’ time, it's a tall order – but that would be the dream, because that's progression, both on and off the pitch.”
Lower-league football has become known as a breeding ground for developing young players capable of making it to the top. Premier League title winner Jamie Vardy is the most famous modern example to come out of non-league but there are many others, including former Hampton & Richmond forward Jamal Lowe who went on to play in the Premier League.
Non-league football offers young stars the chance to get to grips with men’s football in an unrivalled way and can be a big stepping stone both in terms of career and on a personal level. It can also represent a second chance for professional academy players who have lost their way, giving them another opportunity to achieve their dreams of being a footballer.
King said: “I think it's under appreciated by the bigwigs, by the FA, the Football League, the Premier League. I think if they took the time to really understand what was going on at this level they would want to invest more, because it is the right place to invest if they want to help their young footballers improve.”
As for the future of non-league football, King was very optimistic that the game will only continue to go onwards and upwards.
He said: “I think you're going to see more and more teams become professionally run. A lot of teams at this level still rely on volunteers – which is not a bad thing, it’s a fantastic thing – but that's when you can start to really, really grow.”
On the playing side, King believes the rise in younger coaches and players will only grow: “What I think is next, is players not even going to academies when they're younger. Starting out in non-league, to then get picked up and have successful careers.”
The National League Trust is an organisation which supports all clubs from the three National League divisions, funding community projects and helping clubs to make a difference.
This can be in the form of football coaching, arts activities, working with disability groups, and offering education programmes for adults and children. The Premier League and the Professional Football Association partner with the National League Trust in providing £1.2m each year of funding for their initiatives.
The National League Trust state that their aim is to encourage every National League club to become involved in their community.
King said: “I went to a National League Trust meeting a couple of months ago, and some of the teams in there had massively benefitted from the trust. It really helps to set them up for seasons to come.”
Furthermore, another exciting initiative is the annual Non-League Day, which is planned to coincide with an international break so that fans of higher division clubs can come down to their local non-league football club and enjoy the matchday experience on a Saturday afternoon. The idea has been a huge success since it originated in 2010, and continues to introduce more people to non-league football each year.
Hampton & Richmond Chairman Ben Hudson on the Meaning of Non-League Football - CLICK HERE
Non-league football is important. Not only does it unite communities through adversity to a common cause, but it represents an irreplaceable pillar of English football which has existed ever since its beginnings.
The English football system is renowned across the world, and that’s because of more than just the Premier League – football existed well before that.
There are very few nations in the world where each city, each community, each nook and cranny of the country has such a passion for football as is the case in England.
The non-league pyramid is the bedrock of grassroots football in this country and its impacts are endless, from the U11 Sunday league players who dream of one day signing for a club, to the local tradesman whose lifelong aspiration was always to play the sport he loves.
And the romantic non-league success stories such as Jamie Vardy, Ian Wright and Michail Antonio among many others, in addition to division-climbing clubs such as Luton Town, Fleetwood Town and AFC Wimbledon, only add to the dare-to-dream mentality of non-league, that any player or club could reach the top someday.
Furthermore, non-league football is important right now. The rise of Hollywood-backed Wrexham AFC has been well-documented; their promotion from the National League in 2022-23 alongside the internationally distributed docuseries Welcome to Wrexham shone a spotlight on all of non-league football in a way many had never experienced before. As of December 2024, Wrexham are in the automatic promotion spots of League One and have a genuine chance of reaching the second tier.
While Wrexham’s is a unique situation, success stories are to be seen all around. In 2023-24, National League South outfit Maidstone United became the first club from outside the top five tiers of English football to reach the 5th Round of the FA Cup since 1977-78. In the 4th Round, they won 2-1 away at now-Premier League Ipswich Town in front of a live BBC One audience.
FA Cup shocks and non-league cup runs have always been a key part of what makes the competition so special, and in 2024 that remains the case as much as ever.
Just as Hampton & Richmond’s Beveree Stadium displays some of its club mottos around the ground – “Pursue Excellence”, “Forward Together” – to carry out messages such as these is what each and every non-league club up and down the country strives to do each day. By making a small difference on their community every week, be that offering a community hub for a group of friends or introducing a young fan to a new lifelong passion, they work together, fans and players alike, to seek a better tomorrow. Altogether, as one.