Dulwich Hamlet

Full name	Dulwich Hamlet Football Club
Nickname	The Hamlet
Founded	1893
Ground	Champion Hill,London
Capacity	3,334 (500 seated)[1]
Chairman	Ben Clasper
Manager	Mark Dacey
League	Isthmian League Premier Division
2024–25	Isthmian League Premier Division, 18th of 22
Website	dulwichhamletfc.co.uk
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professionalfootball club based inEast Dulwich insouth-eastLondon, England. They are currently members of theIsthmian League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football, and play atChampion Hill.

The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. They were founder members of the Dulwich League in 1899, and were its inaugural champions.^[2] The club went on to retain the title the following season.^[2]In 1907 they joined both the Isthmian League and theSpartan League, leaving the latter at the end of the 1907–08 season.^[3] In1919–20 the club won its first Isthmian League title, winning the league on goal average againstNunhead. They also won theFA Amateur Cup, beatingTufnell Park 1–0 in the final atthe Den. The club won the league again in1925–26, and the FA Amateur Cup for a second time in 1931–32 win a 7–1 win againstMarine in the final.^[3] Thefollowing season the club won their third league title. In 1933–34 they won their third FA Amateur Cup, beatingLeyton 2–1 in the final. The two clubs met in the final again in 1936–37, with Dulwich winning 2–0.

In1948–49 Dulwich won the Isthmian League for a fourth time. The1976–77 season saw the club finish bottom of Division One, resulting in relegation to Division Two, which was renamed Division One the following season, with Division One becoming the Premier Division. The club went on to win the Division One title in1977–78 and were promoted back to the Premier Division. They finished bottom of the Premier Division in1989–90, and were relegated to Division One. The club were promoted back to the Premier Division at the end of the1991–92 season after finishing third in Division One. In1998–99 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1948, losing 1–0 toSouthport.

After finishing bottom of the Premier Division in2000–01, the club were relegated back to Division One. After finishing seventh in2003–04, the club played off againstWealdstone for a place in the Premier Division after league restructuring but lost 5–4 on penalties after a 2–2 draw. In2010–11 Dulwich finished fifth and entered the promotion play-offs, beatingBognor Regis Town 3–1 in the semi-finals before losing 4–3 toLeatherhead in the final.^[4] The following season the club finished third, again qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beatingFolkestone Invicta 2–1 in the semi-finals, they lost the final 1–0 to Bognor Regis.^[3] They returned to the Premier Division after winning the Division One South title on the last day of the2012–13 season with a 1–1 draw againstBurgess Hill Town.

In2014–15 Dulwich finished fourth in the Premier Division, qualifying for the play-offs. However, they lost 2–1 atMargate in the semi-finals.^[5] Thefollowing season the club finished fifth, and reached the play-off final after winning 1–0 atBognor Regis Town in the semi-final,^[6] before going on to lose 3–1 atEast Thurrock United.^[7] In2016–17 Dulwich finished third in the Premier Division, qualifying for the play-offs for the third season in a row. After beatingEnfield Town 4–2 in the semi-finals, they lost 2–1 atBognor Regis Town in the final.^[8] Thefollowing season saw the club finish as runners-up in the Premier Division. In the subsequent play-offs, they beatLeiston 1–0 in the semi-final,^[9] before defeatingHendon 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw in the final to earn promotion to theNational League South.^[10]

The2019–20 season saw Dulwich reach the first round of the FA Cup, with the club losing 4–1 at home toCarlisle United.^[11] In2022–23 the club finished fourth-from-bottom of the National League South and were relegated to theIsthmian League Premier Division.^[12][13]

The club played at Woodwarde Road until 1895, when they moved to College Farm. The following year they moved to Sunray Avenue, where they remained until 1902. Between 1902 and 1912 they played at Freeman's Ground on Champion Hill,^[15] before moving to an adjacent plot of land, where they played until the opening of theChampion Hill stadium in 1931. The stadium was used for amateur international matches, including the1948 Summer Olympics.^[16]

The Champion Hill stadium gained notarity as a film location for very first episode of The Sweeney TV series, with a scene shot in May 1974 , with the two main characters Jack Regan (John Thaw) and George Carter (Dennis Waterman) meeting a villain Driscoll (Ray Mort) in the south stand.Sweeney TV series locations.

In 1991 the stadium was demolished, as it was too run-down and dangerous to bring up to modern safety standards, as a result of new regulations brought in as a result of theHillsborough disaster. During the1991–92 season the club played atTooting & Mitcham United's Sandy Lane ground, whilst a new, smaller stadium was built on the same site, opening for the start of the1992–93 season. The new stadium was funded by the sale toSainsbury's of land that had once been the club's training pitch, situated immediately behind the large covered terrace on the north side of the 'old' Champion Hill, by the landlordsKing's College London. The new ground remained in King's ownership, with the club having given up the lease on the old ground in return for the new ground being built.

In September 2013 it became the first football ground in Greater London to be listed as anAsset of community value,^[17] but this was withdrawn by Southwark Council not long after, due to a legal technicality.^[18] In February 2014, Champion Hill was bought for £5.7m by Meadow Residential.^[19] In March 2018 the company forced the club out of the ground, resulting in a temporary groundshare with rivals Tooting & Mitcham, at theirImperial Fields stadium,^[20] which lasted until Dulwich returned to Champion Hill in December 2018.

As of 25 November 2025^[21]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Pos. Nation Player GK   Toby Bull DF   Joseph Adewunmi DF   Michael Chambers DF   Tom Chambers DF   Freddie Davison DF   Geofrey Okonkwo DF   Giovanni Palmer MF   Sean Bennett-Johnson MF   Solomon Baugh MF   Nyren Clunis MF  ENG Anthony Cook

Pos. Nation Player MF  GUY Anthony Jeffrey MF  ENG Amadou Kassaraté MF   Gaspar Mico MF   Alfie Payne MF  ENG Jadan Raymond MF   Lonit Talla MF   Luke Wanadio MF  ENG Jordan Wynter FW   Ruben Bartlett-Antwi FW  ENG Danny Mills FW   Marley Sablier

During the 1920s the club had two players capped by the fullEngland team.Bert Coleman was capped whilst playing for Dulwich in 1921, whilstEdgar Kail won three caps againstFrance,Belgium andSpain in 1929. Kail was the last amateur player to play for England whilst solely with an amateur club, and shunned many approaches from professional clubs to stay with Dulwich Hamlet, his local side, for whom he scored over 400 goals, and is still the subject of terrace songs by fans of the club.^[22]Peter Crouch formerly played for the club.^[23]

As of August 2025^[24]

From 1966 onwards:

Dulwich Hamlet supporters are explicitly left-wing in political orientation, with a focus on anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-fascism, and inclusivity across gender, sexuality, and ethnicity. Fan groups such as The Rabble and the ComFast Chapter combine political messaging with fan engagement, supporting initiatives like fan-funded player signings, LGBT-inclusive events including matches againstStonewall FC, and local charitable projects such as winter clothing collections for Wrap Up London.^[25][26] Slogans used by Dulwich fans include "Communism is inevitable" and "Ordinary morality is for ordinary football clubs".^[27] Politics are visible in matchday culture through banners, chants, and fan activities, while the club maintains affordable ticket prices and encourages community participation. Supporters aim to provide an alternative to the commercialised and often aggressive culture found at higher-level professional football, fostering a participatory and locally oriented atmosphere. Over time, Dulwich Hamlet has gained recognition beyond its immediate area, drawing comparisons to Germany’sSt Pauli for its combination of football support and social advocacy.^[25][28]

Despite being relegated, Dulwich Hamlet had the highest attendance in the National League South 2022–23, with an average attendance of 2,464.^[29] The club has gained a reputation for the activist element of their support, with the fans behind the goal going by the nickname of "The Rabble".^[30] In recent seasons, the Football Club Committee, Supporters Trust and fans have backed anti-discrimination and anti-homophobia initiatives, amongst many other initiatives within the community.^[31]

The efforts made by the club and all of its volunteers to ensure that the club connects with all parts of its local community were recognised in 2016, when they were awarded the Football Foundation Community Club Of The Year at the National Game Awards in London.^[32]

The Rabble has also gained a reputation for creating a party atmosphere during games and a creative and witty approach to songs and chanting.^[33]

Hamlet fans have developed a friendship with supporters of German clubAltona 1893, as the two clubs were founded in the same year, which began as a friendship started by the Dulwich Hamlet supporters' team. In recognition of the relationship, the club adopted the Altona 1893 home strip as their away strip during the 2014–15 and 2022–23 seasons,^[34] the club's 24–25 away strip also features the red and white of Altona 1893. On 12 July 2015, Altona 1893 and a large group of fans made the journey to South East London to play a friendly between the two sides.^[35] Altona 1893 won 5–3 on the day. In July 2015, Altona 1893 unveiled their new away strip in pink and blue colours, featuring a friendship logo on the sleeve.^[36] Dulwich Hamlet returned to Hamburg in July 2018 for a match against Altona 93 to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the founding of both clubs.^[37] The clubs met again in a fixture at Dulwich's Champion Hill ground on 7 July 2023.^[38]

• FA Amateur Cup
  • Winners 1919–20, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1936–37
• Isthmian League
  • Champions 1919–20, 1925–26, 1932–33, 1948–49
  • Division One champions 1977–78
  • Division One South champions 2012–13
• Dulwich League
  • Champions 1899–1900, 1900–01
• London Senior Cup^[39]
  • Winners 1924–25, 1938–39, 1949–50, 1983–84, 2003–04
• Surrey Senior Cup^[40]
  • Winners 1904–05, 1905–06, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1919–20, 1922–23, 1924–25, 1927–28, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1973–74, 1974–75
• London Challenge Cup
  • Winners 1998–99
• London Junior Cup^[39]
  • Winners 1899–1900

• Most appearances: Reg Merritt, 576 (1950–1966)^[15]
• Most consecutive first team appearances: Chris Lewington, 290 (1977–1982)
• Most goals:Edgar Kail, 427 (1919–1933)^[15]
• Most goals in a season:Edgar Kail, 53 (1925–26)^[41]
• Biggest league win: 10–1 vsWest Norwood, 1920–21, 9–0 vsWorthing, 1990–91^{[citation needed]}
• Biggest cup win: 13–0 vs Walton-on-Thames, Surrey Senior Cup, 1936–37^{[citation needed]}
• Heaviest league defeat: 0–9 vs Walthamstow Avenue, Isthmian League, 1945–46; 1–10 vs Hendon, Isthmian League, 1963–64^{[citation needed]}
• Heaviest cup defeat: 0–9 vsHornchurch, FA Cup third qualifying round, 2004–05^{[citation needed]}
• Record attendance (oldChampion Hill): 20,744,Kingstonian v Stockton,FA Amateur Cup Final (1932–33)^[42]
• Record attendance (newChampion Hill): 3,336 vsCarlisle United, FA Cup first round, 8 November 2019^[43]

• Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players
• Dulwich Hamlet F.C. managers

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