Soul Tower Hamlets

Soul Tower Hamlets FC from London's East End were formed in 2000 by Mohammed Nurul Hoque and Akhtar Ahmed as Bethnal Green United FC to give local youths an organised outlet to show their talents and to play football.

The 'Green Army' played in the Canary Wharf Summer League, the Inner London Football League and the London Intermediate League, before joining the Middlesex County League, winning the competitions’ Premier Division in 2008-09.

The club was granted senior status as they joined the Essex Senior League, as well as introducing an academy as well as other Saturday and Sunday teams as they progressed. The side fitted in well in their new surroundings finishing fifth in 2019-10 under manager Justin Gardner.

Green also lifted the League Cup and Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy in the same season as Anton Stephenson put away the goals prior to weighing in with fourth place the following season, playing home games at Mile End Stadium.

Two mid table endings ensued before the club changed title to Tower Hamlets FC in the summer of 2013 at which point striker Stephenson had taken charge of the team which changed colours to orange and black.

The new moniker worked in 2013-14 as another fourth place was won under joint managers AJ Olatunbosun and Steve Willis. Ade Abayomi took over as manager in 2015 as form dropped after that with the team coming close to relegation in 2016-17.

Hamlets were second from bottom of the Essex Senior League when the 2019-20 campaign was abandoned owing to COVID-19, at which point the club moved across the river as tenants to Phoenix Sports at the Mayplace Ground in Barnehurst.

The move meant a transfer of competition, with the club being placed in the Premier Division of the Southern Counties East League, from where they were relegated at the end of the 2012-22 season to Division One South of the Eastern Counties League.

Justin Gardner arrived as manager in August 2022 to replace Deniz Koca who had taken over from Carlos Santos, in time for the clubs return to Mile End Stadium. Kiernan Hughes-Mason became manager from the end of the 2023-24 season after the side finished fifteenth in the league table before the club was transferred to the Southern Counties League.

'Soul' was added to the clubs name during the summer of 2024.

Soul Tower Hamlets FC will play in the Southern Counties League Division One in the 2024-25 season.

My visits

Wednesday 4th October 2006

I was nearing the end of a days groundhop around Kent and South East London when I found I still had time on my hands so I fitted in a visit to Clapton and then Mile End Stadium.

The stadium was surrounded by high wire fencing and had an athletics track around the football pitch. The stadium was shared by Bethnal Green United and Sporting Bengal of the Kent League.

I didn't actually get inside the arena but could see inside to take photos. A Main Stand was the only spectator structure on the half way line with facilities underneath. A leisure centre backed onto the far side. There was a falt standing path as well as grass all the way around, with a little terrace at the side of the stand.

 
Behind one end were ten small artificially turfed five a side courts which would bring in revenue to the complex. Beyond this was a raised railway line that serves Fenchurch Street. I then realised I'd passed the stadium on a few occasions without really knowing what it was.

Bethnal Green United 1 Witham Town 1 (Wednesday 5th January 2011) Essex Senior League (att: 45)

I set out for this re-arranged fixture by tube to Mile End intrigued as to what I would find. BGU played their home fixtures at the multi use Mile End Stadium.

I arrived a little earlier than I intended. I hadn't held up much hope of there being a clubhouse and my judgement wasn't let down. I paid £6.50 for admission including a programme. Entry was through the reception to the changing rooms.

 
The programme was colourful but only included a four page loose page in the middle that changed for each game. The match had originally been scheduled for Saturday 27th November, but it had been postponed owing to snow and ice. 

Inside were details about the club and a history of Bethnal Green itself. The club seemed to have high ambitions and Conference football was even mentioned. They prided themselves very much on the ethos of equality and diversity.

I had a wander around the stadium to have a proper look and to try and take some decent photos but the damp weather and the lights weren't a big help. It was a shame as the lights of Canary Wharf looked dramatic in the background. 

I managed to get some change to use the vending machine for a cold drink. There was no refreshment hut inside the ground and just a few vending machines in the reception. The hot drink machine was out of order!

The game promised to be a tight encounter with BGU sitting in second place and Witham in fourth. The home side were youthful and certainly reflected the demographics of the area the represented. The away side weren't as quick, but more measured. 

Their manager was Danny Greaves, son of the great Jimmy. The appearance of the officials raised a little giggle as the nearside linesman had the look of someone who hadn't said no very often over the Christmas festivities.

I sat in the decent Main Stand which had wooded benches on concrete. It appeared there were quite a few other groundhoppers in attendance taking advantage of the dearth of fixtures elsewhere to get a new ground in.

United took a deserved lead in the first half and probably should have added to it. The second half saw Town use their experience and get back into the game to please their sprinkling of followers. They grabbed an equaliser and then contrived to miss a penalty as the youngsters started questioning each other.

The conditions weren't the best but there was no excuse for a poor challenge from the BGU sub who caught a visitors defender late. He decided to react by thumping his aggressor. The referee sent both off. It was a shame as it had been a decent game.

Neither side could find a way to take all three points as the game petered out. I had enjoyed the match and thought Bethnal Green were heading the right way. The only problem with playing games at the Mile End Stadium was the athletics track and the amount of time wasted while waiting for a ball. 

I spoke to a local who said he'd heard a rumour that United may look to share at Tilbury FC if they finished in a promotion place. Their current home was lacking a proper turnstile, some covered standing and a tea hut.

I headed back to enjoy another convincing England display in The Ashes.