Clapton Community FC vs Benfleet takes place on Saturday, August 8 2026 with a 3pm kick off at the Old Spotted Dog Ground, Walter Tull Way, 212 Upton Lane, Forest Gate, East London, E7 9NP.
After many a memorable game in the Women’s FA Cup, it’s a historic occasion on Saturday as Clapton CFC field a side in the Men’s FA Cup for the first time ever.
The competition is nowadays only for teams in Step 5 or above, so promotion last season means the Men’s First Team have qualified for a long-anticipated debut.
We’re 14 wins from Wembley starting with a home game against Benfleet who play in the same division as us, the Essex Senior Football League. We’ve had a couple of excellent games against them before so it should be a cracker.
If scores are level at 90 minutes, there will be a replay in midweek – it must be played on or by Thursday, August 13. The winners will receive £1,125 and the losers £375. The winners will then be at home on Saturday, August 22 in the Preliminary Round against the winners of Concord Rangers and Bedfont Sports.
There are some additional rules in this competition to note:
- There is a minimum admission price of £6 set by the FA for the Men’s FA Cup so we will need to charge this for standard admission. However, the usual concession prices are still available. This is only for Men’s FA Cup games
- Gate receipts are split between both home and away clubs (once the visitors’ travel expenses covered)
- Alcohol in cans is not allowed to be drunk pitch side. So if you buy a can, the bar staff will need to pour it into a cup
- Seven subs can be named but only five are allowed to come on
About the opposition
The club started in 1922 under the name Benfleet United later becoming Benfleet Rangers after a merger but they became simply Benfleet in 1972 when they joined the Essex Olympian League. They won a variety of honours but the cost of improving the club’s Woodside Park ground to Step 5 standards proved prohibitive. In 2018 due to an FA restructure they landed a three-promotion jump to the Eastern Counties League, ground-sharing at Canvey Island FC. After several near misses, they were promoted in 2024 and were able to start life at Step 5 back at a redeveloped Woodside Park.
Form guide
Benfleet have finished sixteenth and then ninth at this level so far and started the season with a 1-0 home win last Saturday.
Previous meetings
There were two really exciting and competitive league meetings in 2023/24. We won the home game 2-1 thanks to two goals from Noah Adejokun, but lost 1-0 late on in the season as Benfleet marched on to win the title.
Player/s to watch
Many of the players we faced three years ago are still with the club, including striker Max Jobson who has hit double figures in each of the last three seasons.
Entrance – where and when
Gates and bar will open for the game at 2pm ahead of kick off at 3pm.
Spectator entry is via the Upton Lane gate, next to the Spotted Dog pub. 212 Upton Lane, E7 9NP (What3Words: option.dark.limes).
However…. it’s just a 30 second walk down the Walter Tull Way if you want to arrive via Disraeli Road, (E7 9JT, lifted.paying.influencing) instead.
Admission prices
No tickets are needed, just turn up and pay at the turnstiles.
Standard: £6 – for the Men’s FA Cup only, usually £5
Concessions: Pay what you can
Under 13s: Free
Concessions include:
- Clapton CFC members
- Newham residents
- Teenagers (13 to 19)
- Over 60s
- Students and apprentices
- Trade union members
- Unemployed people and those on low income
- People with disabilities and health conditions
- Refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants
The concessions option is available to anyone who needs it. No ID is required to qualify for concessions, we will take your word for it. At the turnstile, just say that you are a concession (you don’t need to say which) and pay what you can for entry.
If you can afford it, however, please do pay the standard price.
Public transport
There are 7 stations, on umpteen different lines, within walking distance of the Old Spotted Dog.
- Forest Gate (Elizabeth) – 14 minutes’ walk
- Wanstead Park (Suffragette) – 17 minutes’ walk
- Plaistow (District/Hammersmith & City) – 19 minutes’ walk
- Upton Park (District/Hammersmith & City) – 19 minutes’ walk
- Maryland (Elizabeth) – 22 minutes’ walk
- Abbey Road (DLR) – 26 minutes’ walk
- Stratford (National Rail/Mildmay/Elizabeth/Jubilee/Central/DLR) – 28 minutes’ walk
Buses
These bus services stop on Upton Lane (St Georges Road stop or Stratford School stop, 4 minutes’ walk away)
325 (from East Beckton or Prince Regent)
678 (From Beckton or Stratford)
These bus services stop on Romford Road (Disraeli Road stop, 7 minutes’ walk away).
25 (from City of London or Ilford)
86 (from Stratford or Romford)
425 (from Lower Clapton or Ilford)
These bus services stop on Woodgrange Road (Claremont Road or Romford Road stops, 11 minutes’ walk away).
58 (from Walthamstow or East Ham)
330 (from Forest Gate or Silvertown)
Bikes
Our new bike racks are now installed! We have room for about 25 bikes just inside the Upton Lane gates with about 5 more outside.
If those spaces are full, there are various fences and posts outside the entrance which can be used. If you can’t find anywhere else, please ask at the gates if you can bring your bike in. If there’s room, you might be able to.
Parking
There is no parking on site but there is free on-street parking on the streets around the Old Spotted Dog Ground.
The streets to the north and west of the Old Spotted Dog Ground (e.g. Disraeli Road and Margery Park Road) are in the Stratford North East controlled parking zone. Parking is free on Saturdays and Sundays and after 6.30pm on weeknights.
The streets to the east of the Old Spotted Dog Ground (e.g. the streets around Stratford Academy, St Anthony’s and St Bonaventure schools) are in the Green Street North and Upton Park controlled parking zones. Parking is free on Sundays and after 6.30pm on weeknights and Saturdays.
Always check local signage for any changes. And if possible come by public transport, bike or walk.
Drinks
London’s oldest senior football ground has one of the best bars around, too.
The Clubhouse bar opens an hour before kick off and will remain open after the full-time whistle for a couple of hours with a wide range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks on sale.
On tap, we have three beers from Pretty Decent Brewery for £5 per pint – the Old Scaffold Daze IPA, the new Hair of the Dog lager and a cider.
There will also be an outside bar, just to the side of the Clubhouse behind the goal.
For the FA Cup and FA Vase, there is an additional rule that you cannot drink alcohol from a can in view of the pitch, so all drinks will need to be poured into cups.
Due to our licence, we ask that you don’t bring your own booze in. The profits from the bar are invested in maintaining and improving the grounds.
Returnable pint and half-pint cups
The Clubhouse has ditched single use plastic and switching to returnable pint and half-pint cups.
Just pay a £2 deposit, which is refunded when you return the cup to the Clubhouse bar. If you’d rather keep the cup, you’re welcome to take it home instead.
If you already have a reusable cup, please do bring it in and we’ll serve your drink in that.
Hot drinks
We have coffee, tea, hot chocolate and Bovril in the Clubhouse on a ‘help yourself’ basis.
There’s no charge if you bring your own reusable cup. If you need a cup, buy one at the bar for £1 then refill it as many times as you like.
Please make sure any children using the water heater are supervised.
Water
We now have a tap to fill your water bottle on the left hand side of the Clubhouse bar.
We also have a water fountain on the front of the toilet block.
Food
Simply Moreish Flavours will be selling Caribbean food – meat and vegan options.
Heart of Humanity will also be with us selling food and other items raising money for a water tank in Gaza.
We usually have crisps, nuts, scampi fries and sweets on sale in the clubhouse.
Toilets
The new toilet block is now open next to the seated stand with urinals at the back and cubicles at the front.
These are in addition to the toilets in the Clubhouse.
Merch for sale
The merch stall is open before the game and at half-time. The stall can be found inside the Clubhouse, on the stage. The merch stall is taking cards only at the moment.
Most of the merch is also available to buy online on our store page.
Matchday programme
We produce a small (four-page) printed programme for all competitive Women and Men’s First Team home games. Pick one up for free.
The programmes are also uploaded to the website after the game for those who could not make it. An 8-page programme is uploaded for Men’s First Team games.
You can also buy a bundle of six random printed programmes for £3 from our website.
Cash or card?
Both cash and cards are accepted everywhere in the ground – entrance, bar, and food stall – except the merch stall, which is card only.
Paying cash at the entrance is speedier for all, so if you can bring the right money in hard currency, we would appreciate it.
Hygiene bank collection
The hygiene bank collection is back at all home games, with a new permanent collection point inside the ground.
Our charity partners Magpie Project support mums and young children in temporary accommodation. They need:
● Toothpaste ● Toothbrush ● Shower gel ● Shampoo ● Deodorant ● Sanitary towel
Pitch access
During the game, everyone (kids and adults) needs to stay behind the fence and aware of the risk of being hit by a ball.
Nobody should come on the pitch at half-time.
For games until November, children can play on the pitch after the game once the officials and players have left the field. Adults should only be on there to supervise a child and nobody should take any drinks onto the playing surface.
Children
Children are very welcome – including prams and pushchairs. We have baby changing facilities in the toilet block.
Please do supervise your children and make sure everyone is behind the perimeter fencing during games please.
Dogs
Spectators are welcome, in fact encouraged, to bring dogs to the OSD, but please keep on leads and behind the perimeter fence.
It’s free entry for dogs.
Any questions?
If you have any further questions, look for anyone wearing a pink hi-viz vest or the bar staff who will be happy to answer.
Map of the Old Spotted Dog Ground
