In our division, the Eastern Counties League Division One South, the top team gets automatically promoted and the next four enter play-offs for one additional spot.

Congratulations to Benfleet who are champions with over 100 points and therefore promoted.

Well done too to Wormley Rovers, Hutton and Dunmow Town, who are confirmed as reaching the play-offs.

As we enter the last day of the season, the Clapton CFC men’s first team are still in the mix for the fourth and final play-off place.

	Team	P	Pts	Pts/game	Possible Points
Promoted	Benfleet	41	100	2.44	103
Play-offs	Wormley Rovers	41	94	2.29	97
Play-offs	Hutton	41	78	1.90	81
Play-offs	Dunmow Town	42	76	1.81	76
Play-offs	Clapton Community	41	72	1.76	75
	Cannons Wood	41	71	1.73	74

The equation is simple – if we win our final game against Harlow Town, we will make the play-offs. If we don’t, we will need to rely on Cannons Wood also dropping points away at Enfield Borough.

Clapton CFC win = we’re in the play-offs
Clapton CFC draw = we’re in the play-offs if Cannons Wood draw or lose
Clapton CFC lose = we’re in the play-offs if Cannons Wood lose

The play-off semi-finals will take place on Saturday, April 27 and the final on Saturday, May 4.

The second highest finishers plays fifth, and third takes on fourth, then the winners play each other in the final. So that means the play-off semi-finals are:

• Wormley Rovers vs Clapton CFC or Cannons Wood
• Hutton vs Dunmow Town

They are one-legged ties held at the home of the highest placed team. If CCFC were to qualify for the play-offs and then win the semi-finals, we would also be away from home in the final.

You may wonder why Harlow Town are third in the table but aren’t in the play-offs. That’s because FA rules say they cannot be promoted as a result of withdrawing from the football pyramid midway through last season due to pitch problems. The league has confirmed they are effectively ignored for play-off purposes – so it will be the top 4 eligible clubs that enter the play-offs.

Unlike our promotion last season, the ground grading for the next level up would need to be attained by the end of March 2025 – ie after promotion – not the season before.

The champions and the play-off winners will be allocated by the FA in the most appropriate geographical division.

For CCFC, that would most likely be the Essex Senior League, where local teams like Ilford, West Essex, Sporting Bengal United and Athletic Newham play.

But boundaries are always subject to change depending on who goes up and down, and it’s possible we’d be in the Spartan South Midlands, where you will find the likes of Cockfosters and FC Romania.