In the second of our articles looking at the clubs we will play on our return to the Isthmian League, we look at a fellow promoted club – the Purps of AFC Stoneham.
AFC Stoneham were, like us, champions of their Step 5 division in 2025-26. In addition to lifting the Wessex League title, the Purps claimed the FA Vase at Wembley, defeating Cockfosters on penalties.
The club has grown from a single team formed in 1919 to the second-largest grassroots football club in the country, with 157 teams which encompass approximately 1700 players and 500 managers and coaches.
The Stoneham Lane Football Complex is managed by the Hampshire FA and everyone attending matches there – including players, coaches and spectators – is required to register for an individual QR code to gain access to the site. Like the RPS, the stadium pitch at Stoneham Lane is 3G.
Because the ground is a multi-pitch venue, it has lots of parking. The ground-to-ground journey is 62 miles, which should take around an hour and 10 minutes. By train, National Rail Enquires recommends going from Ashford to Weybridge, then from there to Woking, then changing a final time for a service to Southampton Airport Parkway.
Ashford Town (Middlesex) and AFC Stoneham will meet for the first time ever during 2026-27.
The club now called AFC Stoneham was established in 1919 by demobilised soldiers home from the First World War. They were originally known as Royal Engineers (Ordnance Survey Office) and were renamed Ordnance Survey in 1929, which is why their club crest features a map of Great Britain. As FA Vase holders, the Purps will be one of the teams to watch in 2026-27, which you can do for the equivalent of just £3.13 by buying a Season Ticket. Because the ticket includes 21 home Men’s First Team League matches and 11 Women’s First Team League matches, anyone present at all 32 fixtures would have paid just £3.13 per match AND got 20% off purchases in the Clubhouse and at the Tea Bar for the entire season.
