By Ross Daggett
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably played some Sunday League football before, or at least know what it’s about. It’s well documented how the playing surfaces can be challenging to say the least. Whether the pitch is covered in mole hills or qualifies as a mud bath rather than a pitch for playing the beautiful game, it’s what makes Sunday league football what it is, and we love it for it. In
celebration of Sunday League football this article will go through the five most iconic pitches in British Sunday League. All iconic for their own reason.
The Fortress
“The Fortress” is not much different to any other Sunday league pitch you’d have played on. But this one is iconic for its collection of hit YouTube videos recorded on it. Located in St. Johns Village, Jersey, the pitch reached notoriety after successful YouTuber ChrisMD recorded various football related challenge videos on it. Chris regularly references to the abundance of mole hills, a trademark of Sunday league football. The Jersey born YouTuber at the moment of writing has 5.67 million subscribers and one of his videos “scoring a screamer at the fortress” reached 3.2 million views. He also has uploaded multiple videos reviewing his performances in Sunday League on the fortress. So, it’s safe to say the fortress is one of the most well-known Sunday league pitches in the whole of the UK thanks to the exposure from ChrisMD.
Bamburgh Castle FC
Located in Northumberland, England, Bamburgh Castle FC are lucky enough to play with the historic and beautiful Bamburgh Castle as the backdrop to their football pitch. The pitch is an iconic one as you won’t find any other pitch in the UK which matches the aesthetics that this one has. With most Sunday league grounds being in a random field in the middle of a housing estate the venue Bamburgh Castle FC has is certainly a unique and memorable one. Pictures of the pitch have circulated social media regularly in the last few years, most notably being shared by SportBible.
Palmer’s College
Home to possibly the most famous Sunday league team in modern history, Palmers FC were followed by many on YouTube as they filmed their journey through Sunday leagues. The side based in Essex won leagues, cups and amassed 65 million views from 523 videos in the process. Palmer’s College would see fans arrive in the dozens to watch the Sunday league side, making it one of the iconic Sunday league pitches in the Uk. However. Not necessarily for the pitch, it was due to the amateur club that the pitch and name ‘Palmers’ iconic.
Silver Jubilee Park
Situated in North West London, this set of pitches in Hendon has a backdrop of the Wembley Arch. To play Sunday league football with the shadow of the National Team over you makes the pitch a special one for Sunday league football. Also, home to semi-professional side Hendon FC, the park has a 3G pitch regularly rented out for university games.
Hackney Marshes
By far the most iconic Sunday league venue in the UK is Hackney Marshes. Known as the spiritual home of Sunday league football, in the 1950’s and 60’s the Marshes were home to 120 football pitches, attracting 2,500 players each Sunday. Today, there are 88 pitches, of which 60 are described as full-size adult pitches. The Marshes is a multi-cultural hub in London, originally attracting Italian and Irish migrants in its early days. Now, there are 3 Ukrainian teams along with teams consisting of Bulgarians, Ghanaians, and a Brazilian team, known as “The Brazilian Boys”. Hackney Marshes as a result, perfectly epitomises the values of Sunday League football.
