A Fisher Live: Fan-owned football in South-East London.

Images: Mike Bayly

Words: Tom Reed

Fisher FC is a far more simple setup than the skyscraper backdrop of Canary Wharf, behind their St Paul’s Sports Ground.

They favour a fan-owned setup in this particular corner of Rotherhithe, South-East London. Prices are kept deliberately low. It’s a good place to escape the stresses of everyday life.

Fisher FC were in 2009 as a community-owned outfit, following the demise of Fisher Athletic. They currently play in the Southern Counties East League Premier Division, at Step 5 of the non-League pyramid.

The original Fisher Athletic were founded in 1908 to provide sporting facilities for underprivileged youths of Bermondsey and that sense of giving back continues to this day.

©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. Fisher FC vs Bearsted FC.

The club was named after the Catholic martyr Saint John Fisher, making it one of the few clubs named after a person rather than the area a team is situated.

St Paul’s opened in 2016 close to Fisher Athletic’s old Surrey Docks Stadium. On the site of the old ground is Mayflower Park, with new housing around the periphery.

Rotherhithe, was an important part of London’s old docklands and the rise of the towers at Canary Wharf is symbolic of the changes in the socio-economy of the area.

The club has attracted a young professional fanbase, alongside older supporters of the original Fisher Athletic.

In every respect it is a diverse group, from the playing staff to the spectators, reflecting the manor where the club is based.

There was one chap at the game who had been watching the club for over 60 years, and even played for the original Fisher Athletic at one point.

Links to nearby Millwall FC are well established, with the Millwall Community Trust sponsoring Fisher and linking up with the Fish on youth and girls football projects.

On the day Terrace Edition visited, Fisher took on Bearsted FC which made it the Bears taking on the Fish but this one wasn’t on Sky Sports nor the Discovery channel.

There were a plethora of excellent flags, banners, and stickers around the ground, with a clubhouse featuring a wider array of memorabilia, which always hints a decent supporters’ scene.