Show notes

On this episode of The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered , Chris Horwedel is joined by Bernard Vere of Clapton Community FC to tell the remarkable story of one of English football’s most distinctive supporter-owned clubs. Clapton Community FC was founded in 2018 after supporters of Clapton FC became increasingly frustrated with how their club was being run. After attempts to gain a meaningful voice and two separate home-match boycotts, supporters decided to create something of their own: a football club built around one member, one vote, democratic decision-making, affordability and community ownership. Bernard explains how CCFC operates without traditional ownership or a conventional board structure, instead using member-led committees to run virtually every part of the club. He discusses the advantages and challenges of running a football club democratically, how more than 1,500 members across 30 countries can participate and why the club remains almost entirely volunteer-run. The conversation explores CCFC’s commitment to making football accessible through its pay-what-you-can admission system, equal support for its men’s and women’s teams and an explicitly inclusive philosophy built around opposing racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and fascism. Bernard also explains the club’s approach to accountability, restorative justice and its response to the FA’s restrictions on trans players in women’s football. Chris and Bernard dive into the story behind Clapton’s famous Spanish Republic-inspired away shirt, which became an international symbol of anti-fascism and sold tens of thousands of copies around the world. Its unexpected success helped CCFC secure the Old Spotted Dog, London’s oldest continuously used senior football ground, bringing supporters back to a stadium they once believed they might never call home again. They also discuss the separate charitable trust that operates the Old Spotted Dog for community benefit, CCFC’s rapid rise through the English football pyramid, crowds exceeding 2,000, the club’s first appearance in the FA Cup, and the difficult question of how far a supporter-run amateur club can climb without compromising the principles that made it special. Bernard also shares his perspective as an art historian on football, politics and visual culture, explains why politics has always been inseparable from the sport and discusses what traditional football clubs can learn from CCFC’s alternative model. It’s an in-depth conversation about fan ownership, affordable football, football culture, community, politics and what it actually means for supporters to say a football club belongs to them. Find out more about Clapton Community FC at https://www.claptoncfc.co.uk/ Here's the picture Bernard references in the show of the overgrown ground.