Romford Town vs Clapton Community FC takes place on Sunday, September 7 2025 with a 2pm kick off at Noak Hill Sports Complex, Church Road, Harold Hill, RM3 7YA.
The Clapton CFC Women’s First Team travel to Romford Town on Sunday looking to recapture former glories in the FA Cup.
Everyone with even a passing interest in our club surely knows that we made history in 2021/22. We were the lowest ranked team ever to reach the third round and the first ever to knock out a team four divisions higher.
Since then we’ve had patchy form in the competition. For instance, last season, we were knocked out at the first hurdle away at Hutton on penalties. Four years on from the heroics, is it our time to have another moment?
The venue for this game has now been announced – it won’t be at Romford’s usual home ground but instead on the 3G at Noak Hill in nearby Harold Hill.
The winners of this First Qualifying Round tie will receive £1800 with £450 going to the losers as the prize fund is unchanged from last season.
About the competition
DATES OF ROUNDS
Second Round Qualifying Sunday 21 September 2025
Third Round Qualifying Sunday 5 October 2025
First Round Sunday 26 October 2025
Second Round Sunday 23 November 2025
Third Round Sunday 14 December 2025
Fourth Round Sunday 18 January 2026
Fifth Round Sunday 22 February 2026
Quarter Final Sunday 5 April 2026
Semi Final Sunday 10 May 2026
Final Sunday 31 May 2026
PRIZE FUND PAYMENTS
ROUND | WINNING CLUB | LOSING CLUB
Preliminary Round £600 £150
First Round Qualifying £1,800 £450
Second Round Qualifying £3,000 £750
Third Round Qualifying £4,000 £1,000
First Round Proper £6,000 £1,500
Second Round Proper £8,000 £2,000
Third Round Proper £35,000 £9,000
Fourth Round Proper £54,000 £13,000
Fifth Round Proper £80,000 £20,000
Quarter Final £90,000 £22,500
Semi Final £160,000 £40,000
Final £430,000 £108,000
About the opposition
Romford Town play in the Essex County Women’s Football League Premier Division, the seventh tier, which is one level below CCFC. They were formed in 2023 and were promoted in their first season into the Eastern Region Women’s Football League but bounced back down last season. They are an ambitious club with a stated aim of reaching the National League (fourth tier) within 5 seasons.
Form guide
This will be Romford’s first game of the season, and with a new manager Luke Camillieri and a majority of new players, they will be a bit of an unknown.
Previous meetings
None. However, our manager Alice Sharpe did make 12 appearances for Romford two seasons ago. We also signed Claire Huggins and Kierra Gabriel from them last summer, though they only made a handful of appearances each in the end.
Players to watch
11 of Romford’s squad of 16 players are new this season, so it’s hard to know which ones to keep a close eye on. So we’ll go for Sharmari Crawford who has been pretty much an ever present over their three seasons.
Admission
Admission is £5 with U16s free. You can pay by cash or card.
Noak Hill looks a similar set-up to Mabley Green, with a spectator area running down one side of the pitch. Hot and cold drinks will be available for purchase and there’s toilets too.
Transport
The nearest station is Harold Wood, on the Elizabeth Line. It’s a 45 minute walk from there, though, so you might want to catch the 256 bus from the station which will take you to right outside Noak Hill in 9 minutes.
Alternatively, get off the Elizabeth Line two stops earlier at Romford and catch the 499 bus from outside the station directly to Noak Hill in 18 minutes.