TLFG: 8-14 April 2019

Greetings one and all - welcome to the latest edition of TLFG.

I'm afraid it's been another busy week and once again I've only been able to produce the match maps. Instead of working on this blog this morning, I was doing a run from Waterloo to Hampton Court via the South Western Railway stations on the route. I clocked up 28km in the process and have been a bit frazzled since.

It's a real shame because I've got so much to tell you about but don't have enough time to do it properly here but in a nutshell I won an 'Unsung Hero' award from QPR last Saturday. Why? I hear you ask. Well way back in 2010 a couple of friends and I set up an annual fundraising walk for the QPR Tiger Cubs - a sports club for children with Down's syndrome. This year's event has now generated over £11,000 taking the overall total past the £100,000 mark.

Soon after this, I was then lucky enough to get a ticket for the opening match at Tottenham's new stadium on Wednesday thanks to an old friend unexpectedly coming through with one at the last minute - it was awesome!

There was also a special friendly in north-east London on Sunday morning where UE Sant Miquel from Catalonia celebrated their 40th anniversary by taking on Clapton CFC at the Stray Dog - winning 6-2 in the process in front of almost 200 fans (not bad for 11am on a Sunday).

A proud moment - leading my daughter onto the pitch at Loftus Road

This was particularly pleasing for me as the visitors had approached me several weeks ago looking for suggestions as to who to try and play. I suggested Clapton CFC, the two got in touch and the rest is history.

Unbelievably, the 12th tier MCFL side are travelling out to Barcelona to play another friendly on Monday as their links with sides in the region seem to get stronger by the day. They've also got a cup final on Saturday which is being played at Uxbridge so get down to Honeycroft for what will probably be one of the liveliest crowds of the day - it kicks off at 745pm too so you can easily combine it with an earlier game.

The week ahead has thrown up some more quirky and unusual fixtures including the 100th playing of the AFA Senior Cup Final at the Bank of England Sports Club in Roehampton. Old Carthusians, one of the finalists, are one of the oldest clubs in the country and won the FA Cup way back in 1881.

I've included some other minor cup finals and matches in the 11th and 12th tiers so you should have plenty to choose from over the next few days.

Lastly from me, many thanks to all who have donated to TLFG's lung cancer fighting fund over the last few weeks - you've raised nearly £150 between you. I really really appreciate it.

To recap, I recently received the news that my Dad has lung cancer. This condition also claimed the lives of my Mum and grandfather so with me powerless to do anything medically to help him, I've decided to ask for all donations to this blog to go to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation which you can contribute to through the fundraising page I've set up. 

As always - enjoy your football and have a great week.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The highlights of the next few days include action in the Champions League, Europa League, Premier League and EFL and loads of games in our local non-league competitions too.

As always, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or the venue or kick-off time has changed - this is highly possible for some of the lower non-league clubs. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.

Details on all of this week's games can be found on the following match maps. If you've never used them before, please note that when there is more than one match at a specific ground you'll only be able to see individual match pins if you zoom right in. If you don't, the pins obscure each other and you might miss them. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the drop down menu at the top of the map page to make sure you get all the information. Games are listed from top to bottom in date order so Monday's games (yellow pin) will appear first and Sunday's (orange pin) last. Games are also ranked in terms of status so the higher the division, the higher up the list they will appear on each day.

Donate to TLFG's lung cancer fighting fund here

Also if you're unfamiliar with the English league structure I indicate the level at which an individual league sits in the national 'pyramid' with the Premier League at the top (Level 1) and various minor leagues at the bottom (Level 10). Typically a top level game will see crowds of anywhere between 20,000-60,000. These figures will gradually decline as you go down the leagues until you get to Levels 8-10 where attendances of 150 or less are most common.

It should also be noted that the top four levels are for fully professional teams. Level 5 has a mixture of professional and semi-professional teams, while Levels 6-10 will see most players paid but it will vary from no more than travel expenses at the bottom, right up to several hundred pounds a week at the top.

MIDWEEK MATCH MAP
Monday fixtures - yellow pin
Tuesday fixtures - green pin
Wednesday fixtures - magenta pin
Thursday fixtures - purple pin
Friday fixtures - black pin

WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Saturday fixtures - blue pin
Sunday fixtures - orange pin

GET INVOLVED

If you're going to see a game, whether you're a local or a visitor, please let me know what you've been up to. If you're interested in reviewing a ground in the London area for this blog then get in touch. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.

NEED HELP?

Got any questions about visiting London? Don't hesitate to ask - be they football or more general travel/touristy queries. I do not charge for this advice like some other sites so don't hold back!

You can contact TLFG through the comments section below or via Facebook, Twitter or even by good old email.

Has this blog been helpful? Donate to TLFG's lung cancer fighting fund here