Bislett FK - Ferd Stadion

Bislett FK

Ferd Stadion

Bygdøyveien 20

0287 Oslo

Official Website

Ground Number: 1433

Friday 6th June 2025

Bislett 2 - Ski 2

9. div. Menn avd. 02

BISLETT FK - A BRIEF HISTORY

In 2008, a group of friends who worked together at the same place wanted to play football against other teams. They realised that to be able to do so, they would have to either join a club or start a new one. After talking to a few clubs, they decided to start a new club. While registering the club, they first considered naming it "International Oslo," about the fact that most players were from abroad and wanted to pay homage to one of the largest clubs in the world, Football Club Internazionale Milano, also known as Inter Milan. However, this name was not allowed, so they decided to come up with a more Norwegian name. Since many players lived in the Bislett neighbourhood, they chose the name Bislett FK. They play at the Ferd Stadion in Bygdoy and currently have nine teams and over 120 players from 15 countries. Their first team plays in the eighth tier of Norwegian Football, and they have second and third teams in the tenth and eleventh tiers, respectively.

MY VISIT

Back on 19th March, it was time to finalise the destination for my European June trip. I had originally selected two dates, both this weekend and next. However, the latter was later cancelled due to the inability to find anything suitable. Ireland was once more considered and then dismissed as being very limited in terms of football and pricey. I will get there one day, but I have found better options several times. An equally pricey place, in fact more pricey in terms of food and drink, was Oslo. However, despite being an international weekend, there was plenty of choice of games, even if some stadiums were not the best. A pair of flights were booked for under £50 with the usual precautions taken when using RyanAir. The hotels on the various booking sites were expensive as expected, but quite sketchy. I tried my usual favourite IBIS, but they offered nothing suitable. I finally found something by researching the biggest hotel chains in Norway. Radisson Blu came up trumps; their hotel was a bit out of the way, but I could get a room for under £100 a night. This was all with maximum flexibility and the ability to cancel up to 6 PM on the day of arrival.

It had been a boozy and unhealthy Saturday, but a great one. Sunday at work was the usual double-edged sword. It was pure bliss having an empty store for the first 4.5 hours, but pretty grim once the store filled up. As well as being extremely busy, there were loads of kids running around and rolling around the floor like it was a playground. I was glad when 1 PM came and I could go home. I was jaded in the afternoon after a good and boozy Saturday, so I ended up going to bed at 7. It did me good, and Monday was a breeze. Tuesday was my usual day off, but I had to delay my walk to town and back until the afternoon because of the rain. It was whilst walking down Wycombe that I found that my intended Friday game was being played on Wednesday. It's not altogether surprising given that Norway was playing Italy on the same night, but it's annoying being back to square one. When I came back, I narrowed it down to a few options, the easiest of which was Bislett 2 v Ski 2 in terms of proximity to my room, but with it being a reserve team game, it wasn't ideal. I decided to leave it until the game day and see what time I got into Oslo. As a result, I cracked on with this blog, updating all of the leagues down to step 4. Below that, a few appeals are going in, so I held off doing the rest.

Thursday was a very busy one at work, it was so busy, I wondered if there was a bank holiday I didn't know about. I was glad when it got to 1 and I could go home. It was a busy afternoon, getting stuff ready for the trip away, having a bath, and getting a fresh change of clothes. I also had my annual checkup at the dentist. It was nice to get through with no problems, but it was £105 including a clean. A bit crazy that such basic healthcare is not on the NHS, though. A few drinks were had to help me unwind, but I was asleep around 9. As a result, I woke at 3 and couldn't get back to sleep. I was glad when I checked the weather for the weekend in Oslo and saw minimal rain. After a couple of hours of watching YouTube, I got up, had breakfast and got ready. Leaving at 7.15, I had 15 minutes walk and a couple of minutes wait for the bus to Amersham Station. The bus made good time, and it was another couple of minutes wait for my train to Liverpool Street, an earlier one than expected. I was well ahead of time, leaving Liverpool Street at 9.10. It was a pleasant enough train journey, with me getting to the airport at 9.55. Rather than barriers, the gates were manned, very old-fashioned. But it's always been that way.

Security was a breeze, and so it was time to head to Wetherspoons. I eventually found a table after much searching and had myself a couple of pints of Stowford Press. Very reasonable at £5.20. A portion of airport exclusive cheesy chips was £6.55. These were excellent and very tasty. It was then to WH Smith for a meal deal originally but the prices were completely different to what was displayed. In the end, I got an energy drink for £1, and that was it. It was a fair walk to gate 52, with the queue spilling out onto the stairs. It was seen to quite quickly before a longer wait to get on the plane. It was a very busy flight and we only started to take off at 1.05. We had a bumpy landing in Oslo at around 3.50. Annoyingly, the hotel's online check-in was not working. I also looked at Norway v Italy tickets, in the hope that they'd fallen to a reasonable price on ViaGogo. They were £110 when I looked last night, around half of what they'd been earlier in the week. They were now a colossal £453 each. I'd decided upon Bislett 2 v Ski 2 by now as I preferred the earlier kickoff and opportunity of backups should there be a problem with the game. Passport control was swift, and I was able to get a train into Oslo and two hours' worth of local transport for £9.47. It was quick, clean and efficient. I went out for a wander and initially fancied a bar. It spits me out at the wrong end of the station, and in the end, I opt for a supermarket. The Co Op has a decent range, I get a couple of alcoholic drinks, crisps, chocolate biscuits and pizza for £14.50. Not too dissimilar to what you'd pay in a train station shop in the UK, to be fair. It was only a ten-minute walk from Skoyer station, and I was glad to see a lot of activity. I'm concerned when I see kids on the pitch, but I spotted the away team and players warming up on the smaller, back pitch.

It's rainy and everything is low-key, as you'd expect from a reserve team game. It's a convenient and easy option, though. It's 9th vs 8th in the table with just pointless Tvieta below them. In their last three matches, Bislett 2 have lost 10-0 at Haslum 2, 9-0 to Gruner 3 and 8-0 at Hvit-Rod Oslo. They line up in navy blue whilst Ski 2 are in yellow. The visitors have lost their last 2 by more moderate scores and did win 3-1 at Oldenborg 4 before that. Within ten minutes, Ski were 2-0 up thanks to finishes from within the six-yard box. Showers were heavy now, the weather forecast at odds with what it said this morning. Bislett had a couple of chances on the break, but Ski dominated. After a short half-time, the visitors added a third, again getting on the end of a low cross from around six yards. Just before the hour, Bislett pulled a goal back from a free kick from 30 yards. Ski restored their 4-1 lead on 70 minutes thanks to a keeper's miskick. It was 5-1 on 80 minutes, a decent low shot from the edge of the area. That was how it stayed, although no goalscorer information was available at the time of typing this blog.

THE GROUND

FERD STADION is conveniently located for bus and train, being ten minutes from Skoyer train station. It was all very quiet when I visited but it looks like they do food and merchandise at least for joint tenant Monolitten, whose signage dominates. There's only one side with spectator accommodation, which has very little cover but a decent-sized seated terrace which is open to the elements.

Old Windsor - Old Windsor Rec

Old Windsor FC

Old Windsor Recreation Ground 

Saint Luke's Road

Old Windsor 

Berkshire

SL4 2QX

Official Website

Facebook

Twitter

Ground Number: 1432

Saturday 31st May 2025

Old Windsor 2-2 Britwell

East Berks FL Premier

OLD WINDSOR FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1898 and represents the village of Old Windsor. It would play only friendlies first, joining the Slough & District League sometime in the 1910s. They won the Division 1 title shortly after the end of the Second World War. Between the ’50s and ’80s, the club ran a first and reserve team in the Slough and District League. In 1988, they amalgamated with the local Working Men’s Club and switched to the East Berks League. The start of the 90s was especially successful, with them winning Division 4 in 1990 and Division 3 in 1991 whilst remaining unbeaten throughout those two years. In 1993, Old Windsor were promoted to the top tier, which at the time was Division 1. They remained there until 2009, by which time it had been renamed the Premier Division. They were then relegated from Division 1 the following year, but would bounce back with the Division 2 title in 2012. By 2015, they were back in the Premier Division after finishing as runners-up to Barley Mow in Division 1. Old Windsor won the title in the curtailed 2019/20 season, winning all ten of their games. They were then runners-up to Britwell in 2022 and had two 3rd place finishes before winning the title again last season.

Local honours include the EBFL Presidents Cup in 1991, with their reserves winning it again in 2024. They also won the EBFL League Cup in 2024. By default, they won the Maidenhead & Norfolkian Cup in 2019 after their opponents fielded an ineligible player. Old Windsor was the oldest Saxon town in Berkshire and the seat of Edward the Confessor. It continued in importance up until about 1100 when it was gradually overshadowed by the building of Windsor Castle two miles upstream.  The River Thames bounds it to the east and the Windsor Great Park to the west, and the village has a population of around 5,000. Famous residents include the musician Elton John, who lives at Woodside on the edge of the Great Park.

MY VISIT

This game was decided upon a few weeks beforehand when I realised that this game would be a title decider. Visitors Britwell has a two-point lead, so they would be favourites, although Old Windsor had the home advantage and were also defending their title from last season. Britwell, meanwhile, had enjoyed a good first season in the EBFL following their transfer from the Hellenic D2 East. I had seen them last season at their home ground, and they seemed like a decent community club. It was also a decent venue with signage and its own bar. As ever, it was all about the day out for me, and so I had been eyeing up visiting Windsor Wetherspoons for a while. Old Windsor was always going to be the favourite as I'd been to Windsor & Eton a number of times. It just so happened that the perfect game at the perfect time came up, and the event was also well publicised by the league.

It was a noisy bus home from Reading, but I was in a good mood. When I got back to Wycombe, I was bursting for a piss but the bus station bogs were closed. I legged it to a bit of wasteland to empty my bladder before heading back to the bus station. Colin had left Reading an hour early to get home, so I was surprised to see him at the station. A symptom of the limited service, which drops to hourly after 6.30 in the evening. I delayed ten minutes so we could get the same bus home together. At least he had a good sleep on the way home. I was home at 8, having walked 13 miles. I had a chicken wrap and a couple of cans before bed. Early research revealed that Windsor would be a great day out, pub-wise, and I was looking forward to it.

It was a quiet week for me personally, with no midweek football. The world was mad elsewhere, though. On Sunday, a Women's Cup Final between Clapton and Dulwich Hamlet at Maidstone United was abandoned after 20 minutes. The reason was due to a Maidstone United official objecting to flags in support of Palestine and condemning the genocide by the Israeli Government. After a demand to take the flags down or play the game behind closed doors was rejected, the referee abandoned the game. On Monday they were outdone by a driver in Liverpool who was smashed off his tits on drugs. For whatever reason, he decided to drive into an innocent group of fans celebrating Liverpool's title win, seriously injuring multiple people. The biggest upset for many though was that he wasn't a brown skinned terrorist and some of the same people tried to make excuses for the nutter's actions.

I was glad to get to Friday and a few drinks before my day off. I had spent the week doing all the research for next weekend's trip to Oslo and was a week ahead of myself for once. I had a fairly early night and as a consequence, woke up around 4.30. I watched YouTube for a few hours before getting up for breakfast. I left at 8.30, getting to the bus station with ten minutes to spare. The Windsor bus was not on the departure board but thankfully, it was present and correct in Bay 2. I'd walked 4.5 miles at that point and was glad that my journey was still on. It was a nice quiet bus this week and it was good to put my headphones on and watch the world go by. I watched an entertaining video about visiting Lviv in Ukraine, arriving in Windsor just as it finished. The bus had to stop short due to a function at Windsor Castle, so I was ten minutes behind. It was a pleasant sunny morning and even though I am not a Royalist, the castle looked great and it was a nice town. 

The first stop was the King and Castle Wet, number 405 for me. It was a great pub, though with limited cider range and food options. After using the toilet, I secured what I thought was a nice quiet table and put my order in. Everything was a quid more expensive but even so, breakfast muffin, large spicy chips, a pint of Stowford Press and an energy drink to take away was only £11.36. The service for drinks was excellent but it was annoying when a large family turned up right next to me. Thankfully, they weren't too noisy though as you do get some right horrors in Spoons and I wasn't even a pint deep. I left at 12.15 and walked to the Windsor Trooper. I was only intending on staying for a pint but it was a great place and they had a couple I'd not tried. First up was Rich's Somerset Farmhouse Still, which was excellent with caramel notes. The second pint was Sandford Reserve, not quite as nice as the first but a strong one at 7.2%. Both were £5.20 a pint, a fair price I thought. I was ten minutes behind and rather sluggish by the time I left, but was on schedule for kickoff. I'd met two Wycombe fans in Windsor who recognised my shirt that I'd bought in the sale just this week. Another four miles in the tank and I was at the ground in time for kickoff. I missed out on a programme and a look at the clubhouse however. Tons of hoppers had swelled what already was a decent attendance of 283. I did eventually get a programme during the first half.

 

Old Windsor were in 2nd place and had won seventeen and lost two games. Aside from their loss to today's opponents, they'd also lost 5-3 at Frontline on 1st December. Britwell sat top of the league on 53 points and had won seventeen and drawn two of their games. Their two draws came at FC Baylis United and Langley Reserves. When the two sides met on 8th February, Britwell won the game 2-1. The game kicked off at 14:11 which gave me a chance to rest and say hello to a few people. A bench was kindly provided for me to sit on. On ten minutes, Old Windsor took the lead, a header from the corner. Britwell had a free in an advantageous position, but it was blasted into the wall. The Old Windsor keeper produced a couple of cracking saves to keep his side ahead. It was all square on 38, #15 beating the keeper from an acute angle. The hosts came close from a free kick on 40 minutes. Britwell started the second half brightly and looked to have scored but for a miracle save. A couple of corners later, they led 2-1, amidst much jubilation for their players. One hand on the title now. On the hour, it was all square, a header from a corner. Britwell prevented any further chances and even had a few themselves to win the East Berks Premier title. There were handshakes at the end, but the reign of Old Windsor was over. 

A deserved win for Britwell then, but getting photographs after a delayed kickoff set me behind. Come what may. I walked back, only for an SUV to pull over halfway. I was expecting hoppers but it was some random Asian chap who offered the two-mile lift back to town. A Hoppy Place was pub 3 of the day, a great Micro Pub where I got a couple of bottles to take away. Also a pint to drink there, namely Green Shed Ellis Bitter. This was sensationally good, dry and perfect just like I want. Rather than go to another place, I had a second pint, two-thirds of Green Shed I Like The Way This Is Going which was pleasant. I'd have liked a soft drink and so to Co Op it was for some Traditional Lemonade. Then back to the bus stop for the delayed bus back to Wycombe. It was disappointing not to be able to change in Beaconsfield, at least according to the Carousel App and Google Maps. With the bus filling up rapidly, I was glad I had a single seat with a table so I could crack on with my blog. Once I got to Beaconsfield, Googlr Maps recalibrated itself. i was however, one minute late for the bus home so had a stop in Beaconsfield. Not the end of the world, no time lost but no time gained either with a predicted ETA of 19:50. Just as I went to publish, the 31 turned up, a whole bus to myself for the journey home.

THE GROUND

A decent venue to watch a game, although the pitch is just that roped off on the sides with no dugouts. A clubhouse is available and this has some trophies to look at. Soft drinks are available, as are Cruzampo beer and Inch's cider. Upon my visit, a programme was also available for £2. The town of Windsor is 45 minutes walk away and has food and drink options to suit most tastes. 

Caversham United - Mapledurham Playing Fields

Caversham United FC

Mapledurham Playing Fields

Upper Woodcote Road

Caversham

Reading 

Berkshire

RG4 7LB

Official Website

Twitter

FIB Page

FAFT Page

Ground Number: 1431
Saturday 24th May 2025

Caversham United 5-1 Old Windsor Reserves
East Berkshire League Division 1

CAVERSHAM UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was founded in June 2015, although in previous guises they have been known as AFC Palmer,  RBC Unison, FC Brettle and Miah's. They had three adult football teams at the club, including two men’s sides in the Reading and District Sunday League, Divisions 2 and 4 respectively, and a women’s side in the sixth tier nationally, in the Southern Regional Division 1 North. That was until this season when they joined the East Berkshire League Division 1, which sits at step 9 of the Non-League Pyramid. They are in the promotion hunt and so are looking likely to win promotion to the Premier Division, which feeds into the Thames Valley Premier League, facilities permitting.

The Goats – as they are known (originally the Billy Goats before establishing a women's team) have been making waves off the pitch, have 20,000 followers on Twitter and have used that to raise well over £5,000 for charity. Caversham is a large village and suburb of Reading, located directly north of Reading town centre across the River Thames. Notable landmarks include Caversham Court, a public park and former country house; Caversham Lakes; and part of the Thames Path national trail. The population is just under 24,000, with women's footballer Fran Kirby hailing from the village.

MY VISIT

This game was decided upon around ten days in advance when I received the final Football Traveller of the season. Although it was the dying embers of the season, there were still 18 options available, and that was after excluding anything more than around 80 miles away. After visiting London last week, I was less likely to do anything that was in that area or, indeed, anything that went through it. That only left one option, really, and it was a good value option. That was the East Berkshire League, and I had two options - either FC Bracknell or Caversham United. I opted for the latter due to their prominent social media presence. It was also nice and easy on the bus, albeit it took ages compared to the car. But the cost was less on the bus, and there was a great range of pubs in Reading too. Plenty to keep me on the bladderation trial both before and after. There was even the possibility of getting the Newbury Wetherspoons ticked, if I was willing to fork out for a train and allow time to travel. Though with such a good range in Reading, it was gonna be put off until another day.

From Central London, luck was not on my side, and I had to wait 25 minutes for the tube back to Amersham. Had the bus fare cap been £2, I'd have gone out for an hour or so in London as the train stopped on the way to London Bridge, near one of my favourite pubs. I'd have only had to spend a tenner, and the government would have got back the difference from the old cap in VAT, but that lot ain't the sharpest tools in the box. Back in reality, the increase had meant I'd driven and so, had to be responsible. I was back in Amersham at 7 and home 20 minutes later. I had some food and drink at home, far cheaper, but not as fun. I didn't get the greatest night of sleep as I never get two good nights in a row. Sunday was standard at work, the bliss of an empty store for four and a half hours, followed by the gradual building of the busiest day of the week. The rest of the week dragged with no midweek game, something I'll no doubt have to put up with until July. At least I had a double revisit to Basford United on 14th June with cheap Flixbus tickets secured. Also on Wednesday evening, I completed my research for this blog.

It had been a long week at work without midweek games, so I was glad to have a rest and a few drinks. I was in bed by 10 and got a decent night's sleep despite being woken up by rain. The weather had taken a turn for the worse in the past few days with me having to scrape frost off of the windscreen on Friday morning and rain was scheduled for the day of the game. After having some breakfast, I left at 8 for the walk to the bus station. It was a pleasant morning and a walk with me meeting Colin at 9.20. We got the bus to Reading with a rare case of the £3 cap providing great value for money. The journey was nice at first with some lovely architecture in Henley, but as we got closer to Reading it started to fill up with individuals who are the reason why I'm not a people person outside of football or pubs. People playing music out load and generally being too noisy, so with Colin asleep, I put my headphones on. It was a good decision to come to this game as opposed to FC Bracknell, as the latter's Wetherspoons was closed for refurbishment.

 

We were in Reading at 11.10 and it was a short walk to my first stop of the day, The Alehouse in Reading. This was a mecca for me and I had a pint of Reading Press from Seven Trees cider. An excellent local pint of cider although Colin wasn't too happy with the soft drink range. He wasn't happy with the food prices at either of the next pubs too, but I was happy enough to head to Wetherspoons. The Big Smoke Burger was great for £11.72 with all the trimmings and a pint of Black Dragon. A good example of a Wetherspoons for sure, albeit a revisit for me. The place was packed but the service and drinks range was excellent. Then it was over to Siren. Sadly no Irn Bru Beer as intended but a new cider tick in the form of Red Fin Fresh Apple, which was OK. Finally, Colin was happy after he deemed his hot chocolate in Wetherspoons not chocolately enough. It a cracking place with good vibe and great music. My favourite though of pre-match was The Alehouse, a remarkable place. It was 50 minutes walk to the ground, across the Thames and a bit of a knackerer uphill, but it had all been in a good cause.

 

Caversham United were 3rd in the league and had won fourteen and lost five of their games so far this season. They'd won their last four games that they had played, beating Prospect 8-1 last Saturday. Old Windsor Reserves were 4th, having won eleven, drawn two, and lost five of their games. They were unbeaten in three and had drawn 2-2 at FC Bracknell in their last game. Caversham were the better side and they took the lead on 13 minutes with a close-range finish. The hosts also hit the right-hand post on 21 minutes. They extended their lead a couple of minutes later thanks to a good through ball and tidy finish. Windsor reduced the arrears on 25 minutes through Spires, although the keeper got a hand to the shot from around 15 yards. A player apiece was sent off for their part in a scuffle on 38 minutes - Luck for Caversham and George for Old Windsor. Caversham were unlucky not to score after they chased down a goal kick just before half-time. A dog stealing the corner flag provided a halftime highlight. Five minutes into the second half, a header made it 3-1 to Caversham. A hat trick for Doran. Then on 75 minutes, it was 4-1, a fantastic strike by Mole from 30 yards that sailed past the keeper. In injury time, it was 5-1, Abery turned the ball home from a right-wing cross from within the six-yard box.

 

That was it as far as goals were concerned. It had been a proper hoppers convention with them making up a good proportion of the 30 or so there. Brekk and Laurence were good company and provided many a good tale. Though it was a basic venue, it was a good day out, and I regret not embracing it earlier. From there, it was around 50 minutes walk to the Nag's Head, the two isolated locations meant it wasn't worth getting the bus. Colin headed off home as he didn't fancy the Nag's Head. The place was superb, I got a seat, but my blog would have to wait. First up was my second Seven Trees cider, a half of the locally made Royal County. The pub had a fair few Sunderland fans in it, and they were delighted when their team got a late winner to see them return to the Premier League at the expense of Sheffield United. They only had one of the two needed left, so I had a pint of Kicking Goat whilst a Mackem cracked open some champagne. I could have gone to many more places, but opted for moderation. I was still in a fit state to type my blog and had enjoyed a great day. Via a back alley to relieve myself, which judging by the stench was a well-used place, I was at the bus stop well on time. Another noisy mob on the way home, but with alcoholic anaesthetic imbibed, it was not as irritating as the morning bus.

THE GROUND 

MAPLEDURHAM PLAYING FIELDS is a basic but pleasant setup. There is a building, sadly, no signage for Caversham United. The complex has multiple pitches with no railing or dugouts. Parking is plentiful and there are bus routes nearby.