Dulwich Hamlet FC: How to take on a corporate giant online
Dulwich Hamlet Football Club directors Liam Hickey and Tom Cullen are guest speakers for AtTheMatch's Business and Sport Networking Club's monthly event on Monday 11 June at The Nelson Bar in Euston, London.
Dulwich Hamlet is a non-league football club like no other and has had a season, like no other.
On May 7, the club were promoted to the National League South from the Bostik Premier Division, leaving the Isthmian League behind for the first time in their 125-year history.
This had been a long time coming after losing the play-off final last year to Bognor Regis Town and the year before that in the final, to East Thurrock United.
This year they had pushed big spenders Billericay Town all the way in the league only to finish second. Their final tally of 95 points would have won the league on the last 16 occasions.
After scraping past Leiston 1-0 in the semi-final, they played Hendon, in front of a crowd of 3,321 in the final. The game finished 1-1, with penalties the decider after goalless extra-time. Dipo Akinyemi scored the all-important penalty-kick to secure promotion.
But events like this happen every May in the lower leagues and non-leagues. So what makes this any different?
Firstly, the final, nominally at Dulwich’s ‘home’, was played seven miles south of Dulwich, at Tooting & Mitcham United’s KNK Stadium.
Dulwich’s historic home, Champion Hill, has been empty and locked up for months. The team were evicted in March by the ground’s owners, Meadow Residential, the UK development arm of a New York-based private equity fund.
Meadow purchased the ground in 2014 to turn it into flats but Southwark Council have not allowed them to do so.
The result has been a long battle over the future of Champion Hill, with Meadow on one side and Southwark and Dulwich Hamlet on the other, with the latter paying the price.
The battle has seen Rio Ferdinand make a ￡10million offer, Labour figures including Sadiq Khan and Jeremy Corbyn pledge support for the club and Southwark begin the CPO process. Amid all this, Meadow attempted to trademark the club’s name and initials and in turn try to ban the club from using them.
This is why promotion was such a remarkable achievement: because so much time and energy this season was spent on trying to stay alive, find a home, pay wages, fight legal threats, even before the club could focus on the football.
While first-team manager Gavin Rose was guiding his players and the club to a promotion to the sixth tier of English football, and two leagues away from the professional realms, an experienced and dynamic duo of Liam Hickey and Tom Cullen were at the forefront of Dulwich's resistance and fight off the pitch.
Liam's business acumen mixed with Tom's social media nous ensured every angle was covered and no stone was left unturned as Dulwich Hamlet took on a corporate giant online.
Join Simon Maurer as he quizzes Liam and Tom on facing a corporate giant in a match off the pitch. With the new season on the horizon, there's no better time to understand the club's journey as the fairytale story continues.
See you on Monday 11 June at 7pm. Book your place here.
AtTheMatch Networking Club...
The AtTheMatch Business, Sport & Football Networking Club brings together contacts and friends within the industries every month for an evening of networking, business and entertainment
It is a platform for members to network and do business in a social and friendly environment whilst gaining a real insight into the lessons we can learn from sport for our everyday business.
While social media and the internet are increasingly prominent, traditional face-to-face networking and a personal handshake remains the best way to be introduced and to begin trustworthy and mutually beneficial business relationships.
The individuals and organisations who attend on a regular basis include football, rugby and sports club and foundations commercial managers, owners and chairman to investment firms, wealth management, lawyers, travel agents, merchandise suppliers, stadia services, event management, financial services and printers to name a few.