Bucks Free Press: Wilks ParkWilks Park This weekend’s charity game at Flackwell Heath is an important initiative that will not only raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK, but will also see a bumper gate at Wilks Park.

The Heathens are admitting spectators free of charge with a donation to the charity.

It comes after their chairman beat cancer for a second time.

Flackwell sit in mid-table in the ninth-tier Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division, so have little to play for, but the income from spectators coming through the turnstiles is what keeps them going.

Wilks Park is one of the many Non League ground in the county

Wilks Park is one of the many Non League ground in the county

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Volunteer-run clubs like this rely on revenue from the punters, both through admission and in the clubhouse, so hopefully the increased attendance against Arlesey Town on Saturday will result in more people returning regularly.

Non-league football crowds have been going through something of a purple patch in the last month, with the plethora of Bank Holiday fixtures over the festive period attracting huge numbers.

Particularly when there were little or no EFL games, some of the attendances were through the roof.

Three different clubs in the Northern Premier League Premier Division in the seventh tier had crowds of over 2,000 in late December and early January, namely FC United of Manchester, Matlock Town and South Shields.

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The Southern League Premier Division Central had three crowds in four figures on December 27 at Banbury United, Bromsgrove Sporting and Hednesford Town.

Also in the seventh tier, there was a massive attendance of 2,239 for the derby between Worthing and Bognor Regis Town, while Taunton Town, Lewes, and Poole Town were among the other clubs to break the 1,000 barrier for the New Year fixtures.

Attendances that high are unheard of for some of those clubs, and while many sides in the National League are almost of an equivalent standing to those in the EFL, Stockport County and Chesterfield both attracted more than 8,000 spectators recently.

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Non-League Day is coming up at the end of March.

It coincides with the international break in an attempt to get Premier League and Championship fans to support their local non-league club, but many of these clubs need support from the community for more than one day a year.

 

In the south Bucks area, Beaconsfield Town play in the seventh-tier Southern League Premier Division South, the highest level they’ve ever been at, and their brand new 3G pitch and facilities deserve more support than their average attendance of 133 so far this season.

Chesham United play in the same division and have a fantastic ground which is a throwback to the 1980s, with terracing going all the way around the pitch.

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Marlow ply their trade in the league below, and Holmer Green and Risborough Rangers are in the ninth tier.

Risborough’s incredible recent unbeaten run has seen some big crowds at Windsors, and if clubs continue to engage with local EFL fans and even arrange matches at times when those clubs aren’t playing, then hopefully the current surge in support for non-league football will last long into the future.

To see a full list of Non League games around the ground, go to www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/global/fixtures.