Strictly Casuals: The enduring amateur philosophy of Corinthian-Casuals

Words: Zac Welshman

Images: Sam Wainwright

In suburban Tolworth, on Greater London’s border with Surrey, it can be easy to succumb to the weighty pull of the capital’s glamour clubs.

The Premier League trio of Chelsea, Fulham, and Brentford all sit tantalisingly North of the River Thames.

AFC Wimbledon and their local rivals at Sutton United add to the roster of accessible, professional sides for residents of Kingston upon Thames to watch and support.

Yet, nestled between a trading estate and a train station rarely used for anything other than commuting to the City is an amateur club whose history is arguably greater than any of those named above.

©Sam Wainwright/ Terrace Edition. Corinthian-Casuals FC.

If you walk down the slip road that leads toward the club’s stadium, accompanied by the thunderous blur of cars on the adjoining A3 speeding away in either direction, you would be forgiven for heading straight past the turn into the ground and assuming nothing of any interest can be found here.

Because for those that don’t know the story of Corinthian-Casuals, this is a non-assuming, seventh-tier side with a quirky little stadium and a questionable choice of colours.

But for those that do know the tale, or at least some of it, the club’s position within the English football pyramid is largely irrelevant. For those that understand the history, and especially for those that contribute their free time to keep it alive, this club is a footballing institution that is concerningly underappreciated in the modern game.

An institution that bore witness to the unstoppable rise of professionalism in football, and despite remaining strictly amateur to this day, is irrevocably connected to what modern football has become.

This can be seen everywhere you look at the club’s home, King George’s Field and its creaking clubhouse.

Banners depicting the Brazilian great Socrates - who once donned the club’s eye-catching “chocolate and pink” in a friendly between the Corinthian-Casuals and their “brothers in football” Sport Club Corinthians Paulista -are draped over the corrugated iron frame of the stands, a raft of club scarves from sides that the club’s two predecessors – Corinthians FC and The Casuals FC – played in their early tours abroad.

A pennant from Manchester United, commemorating Corinthians’ 11-3 victory over them in 1904, still United’s heaviest defeat on record, are all mementos of the club’s enviable historical significance.

In that sense, the glory days are far behind this club now, the side that takes to the pitch nowadays is unsurprisingly struggling to pull itself away from the mire of relegation as they compete with their exclusively semi-professional counterparts.

A managerial change called halt on a 14 game winless run on March 25 , but a 10 point gap must be sealed within five games if this club are to pull off the greatest of escapes.

But the threat of relegation is not enough to even prompt the discussion of abandoning tradition. Founded as a protest against the rise of professionalism, amateurism is where the club’s story starts and where it continues to this day, regardless of division.

Operating relatively free from the trepidations of financial mismanagement and with an unwritten moral code that permeates through the day-to-day running of the club, the Corinthian-Casuals exist in a footballing bubble of sorts. Serving to preserve the essence of the sport as everyone around them clamours for success by whatever means necessary.

But football’s charm is its intrinsic desire to keep its history alive in whatever form can be found, and for the fans and volunteers at Corinthian-Casuals, who every week reject the allure of the modern game and embrace footballing tradition, their history is as alive today as it ever has been.

Every new set of away supporters are beguiled by stories, with almost every inch of the club’s home potentially unearthing an interesting nugget of football history.

Young footballers throughout the borough often join one of the club’s many junior divisions and occasionally, local school children sit down and hear talks about the club that sought to take football to the world.

All of them learning about the team that once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the game’s future giants but now sits happily and graciously in their shadow.

You can find Zac on Twitter: @zacwelshman1

Sam is on Twitter: @SamWainwrightUK and Instagram: @Wainwrightsam

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