On 25 April, our U7s and U8s headed out to face AFC Wimbledon Pre-Academy in what turned out to be a really enjoyable afternoon of football.

AFC Wimbledon have built their club on community values from the ground up — so there's always something fitting about Forestdale FC facing them. Two clubs that care about doing things the right way.

Both groups were excellent. At this age it's all about enjoyment, effort and getting comfortable on the ball in different environments — and they delivered on all three. They went into the game with confidence and came off the pitch with big smiles.

This is what Forestdale FC is here for. We're a youth football club in the Croydon and Bromley area, and giving our players the chance to test themselves against professional academy sides is a big part of what we offer. It builds character as much as it builds footballers.
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Proud of both groups. Thanks to AFC Wimbledon Pre-Academy for a good game.

On 18 April, Forestdale FC faced Crystal Palace Pre-Academy in a pre-academy fixture — and for a club based in Croydon, this one had a little extra to it. Crystal Palace are our local Premier League club. Playing against their pre-academy setup, in our own patch of South London, is the kind of fixture that means something to the community we're part of.

The players turned up ready and gave a good account of themselves. There was real effort and quality on show, and the occasion brought the best out of the group.

Forestdale FC regularly competes against professional football clubs at pre-academy level — it's one of the ways we give our players experiences that go well beyond what most grassroots clubs can offer. For families in the Croydon and Bromley area looking for serious, ambitious youth football, that's what we're building.
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A brilliant occasion. Thanks to Crystal Palace Pre-Academy for the game.

On 18 April, our U8s took on Fulham Pre-Academy in a pre-academy fixture that gave the group a brilliant taste of what competing against a Premier League club looks like.

Fulham have a well-regarded academy setup and a clear identity as a football club — and our U8s rose to the occasion. These are seven and eight-year-olds, but you wouldn't have known it from the way they carried themselves on the day. They were organised, they worked hard, and they enjoyed every minute of it.

That enjoyment is the whole point at this age. When a kid comes off the pitch having faced a Premier League academy side and can't stop talking about it on the way home, that's the job done.

At Forestdale FC we're a grassroots youth football club based in Croydon and Bromley, and giving our players real experiences against professional clubs is central to what we do. It's not a one-off — it's a standard we hold ourselves to.
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Well done to all the U8s. Thanks to Fulham Pre-Academy for a great afternoon.

Forestdale FC U7s and U8s Visit Arsenal's Training Ground11 April 2026  ·  Forestdale FC, Croydon

On 11 April, two of our youngest squads — our U7s and U8s — headed to Arsenal's training ground for a Pre-Academy fixture against Arsenal Pre-Academy.
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For most of the kids, it was their first time stepping inside a professional football club's facility. Walking through the gates at Arsenal's ground, seeing the pitches, the setup, the whole environment — that's something they won't forget in a hurry.
Both groups competed well. The football was lively, there was plenty of effort on show, and the smiles at the end said everything you needed to know about the afternoon.

Fixtures like this are exactly what Forestdale FC is about. We're a grassroots youth club based in the Croydon and Bromley area, and we make it our business to give our players experiences that go beyond the park and the local league. Facing professional academy sides — at their own training ground — is part of how we develop not just footballers, but young people with confidence and ambition.

A great day for the club. Thanks to Arsenal Pre-Academy for hosting.

Well done to the U10's who took part in the National Youth Futsal Cup. The boys travvelled to Stoke Mandeville Stadium in Aylesbury to compete in an 8 team futsal tournament run by the FA. A different experience for these players who have had less experience playing futsal than football but they took everything in their stride to really compete as a team.

Each game their performance improved and they really grew into the tournament. They were positive in position to make runs forward for goal scoring opportunities. When they needed to defend, they tracked back well and were aggressive to regain possession of the ball.

Overall the team had the best time, lots of fun, some brilliant goals and a great experience and lasting memory in playing in such a professional environment with stands filled with supporters cheering them on every step of the way.

The U10's finished the futsal tournament incredibly as Runners Up in the competition which was testament to their hard work all the way throughout.

Well done U10s!​

Forestdale Football Club were recently invited to take part in a coaching session recorded for The Boot Room, the Football Association's grassroots coaching platform.
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The session was delivered by Peter Augustine, Surrey County Coach Developer, and hosted by Horsley Football Club on their 4G pitch. It ran for an hour and the kids loved it.

The focus was goalkeeping — not just the basics, but encouraging goalkeepers to be brave, to communicate, and to take control of phases of play. It's a side of youth football coaching that doesn't always get the attention it deserves, and Peter delivered it brilliantly.
Forestdale FC is a grassroots youth football club in the Croydon and Bromley area. We regularly work to give our players coaching and experiences that go beyond the ordinary — from FA-led development sessions like this to pre-academy fixtures against professional clubs. This was another example of that.

Thanks to Peter Augustine, The Boot Room, and Horsley Football Club for having us.

If you're a parent in Croydon, Bromley or Surrey looking for a youth football club, come and find out what we're about.