DHFCW: The First Five Years

This season Dulwich Hamlet’s women’s team enters its fifth season at Champion Hill. The team made their Dulwich debut in July 2019, as the last women’s World Cup was in full swing. Concurrent with the global growth of women’s football, DHFCW have steadily built a following. A small, newly curious faithful tripped to away games in their inaugural season. As Covid restrictions opened up for grassroots football, one DHFCW game notched the highest football attendance in the UK. Today they draw hundreds of fans to home games, and over the last year, the devoted and tuneful marauders of the Pepper Army have added atmosphere and a full complement of songs to every game.

As the 2023 World Cup looms, and manager Ryan Dempsey locks in players for the 23/24 season, we spoke to some regular supporters of DHFCW to discover what drew them in and how the developing women’s football space compares to the established men’s football landscape.

Chloe Rowlatt

How did you end up supporting DHFCW?

I’ve supported DHFCW since the very beginning. I had supported the men’s team for a few years by the time the women’s team came into being and for me, it was never in doubt that I would support the women’s games too!

How does the experience compare to supporting men’s football?

The crowds are (currently) smaller but that makes me shout even louder. I love the supportive atmosphere at DHFCW games and the way the team engage with the fans at the end of every match, dancing to the songs.

How often do you get to games, and how do you like to enjoy them?

I have a season ticket and get to as many games as I can! Most people sat in the stands at the very beginning and just a few of us watched from the Toilets Opposite stand. This season I realised how much support had built as I walked up to TO and people were decorating it with banners and flags! The atmosphere and noise at that match was something else; you really feel that sense of community.

What’s your favourite DHFCW memory?

Witnessing Rosie Stone score the first ever goal felt like a bit of history! I also have to give a shout out to that first match against TRUK in 2022.

Who’s your favourite player and why?

I remember players like Liz Wicks and Raky Arran from that first season. More recently I’ve loved watching Asia Harbour Brown who epitomises a modern day fullback. Chana Hinds and Madi Parsonson have been brilliant and it’s great to see players like Ceylon Hickman going from the reserves to the first team.

What impact has supporting DHFCW had for you?

The sense of acceptance and inclusion you feel at DHFCW games is so wonderful and hard to manufacture.

Alex Wilson

How did you end up supporting DHFCW?

I’ve been watching the DHFC men’s team since 2014. When the Lionesses blew my mind at Euro 2022 I realised I’d been silly in not watching DHFC Women too.

How does the experience compare to supporting men’s football?

It’s different, especially off the pitch. The women’s game is much younger than the men’s game, so a lot of norms around fan culture are still up in the air. That’s really exciting, because you don’t have to fit into a preconceived template of what being a football supporter should be. It reminds me of the earlier days of The Rabble at men’s games, when things were rougher around the edges. What we have on Saturdays now is fun, but Sundays are a bit more creative and feral.

How often do you get to games, and how do you like to enjoy them?

You will find me in the Toilets Opposite as often as possible, often banging a bin.

What’s your favourite DHFCW memory?

Taking over The Den for our last game of last season against Millwall will take some beating. I don’t think anyone expected there to be so many of us, or for us to make so much of a racket for 90 minutes solid.

Who’s your favourite player and why?

Ceylon Andi Hickman will always be the General of The Pepper Army.

What impact has supporting DHFCW had for you?

It is a source of transcendent happiness. There is no better Sunday than a Spicy Sunday.

What are your hopes/expectations for the season?

Promotion would be nice, followed by the sort of bacchanalian binge where no one sleeps for a week.

Anything else you’d like to add?

The Pepper Army is always looking for new recruits and, gentle reader, we need YOU. Come over to the Toilets Opposite and say hello. We’re very nice, even if we look quite hungover.

Alex Fernandes

How does the experience compare to supporting men’s football, at this or other levels?

At Dulwich it’s a much more relaxed affair with its own energy; I would probably use the word ‘wholesome’? The women’s games have their own identity, even though a lot of the fans overlap–there’s a real connection with the players.

How often do you get to games, and how do you like to enjoy them?

I try to make the games as often as possible, especially when I know a few others from the gang are going to be there. I’m proud to be one of the ones screaming my lungs out from the TO. It’s such a lovely bunch of people and definitely one of my top ways to spend a Sunday, and it all feels worth it when, win or lose, the players are dancing and jumping along to our songs.

What’s your favourite DHFCW memory?

The shenanigans at Aylesford away might be my best football memory ever. After the Aylesford captain complained about the noise from the fans during the home game (to the ref!), a few creative souls planned a stunt for the away game. We came up with a version of It’s Oh So Quiet by Björk, and (trust committee member) Danny Lester brought his trumpet along–none of the players were expecting it, it was chaotic and great. Monki took the audio of us chanting about her and made it into a video that she tagged Calvin Harris in.

Emma Warren

Who are you and how did you end up supporting DHFCW?

I’d been coming to Dulwich since I moved to London–two of my siblings were already fans–so when we signed a women’s team I knew I wanted to support them!

How does the experience compare to supporting men’s football, at this or other levels?

It’s a more chilled out vibe, lots of families. I’m not always the best with crowds so I love having a more relaxed option (compared to the men’s games). You can actually see what’s happening, which is great! How often do you get to games, and how do you like to enjoy them?

I come to home games whenever I’m free, and occasionally away. I started off sitting in the stands, but once we got a bit of a crowd together I joined in on chanting from the Toilets Opposite!

What’s it like going to DHFCW away games?

It’s often an adventure getting there, but it’s like a concentrated version of home games, as it’s often just the die-hards, so it is great for meeting other fans and everyone’s so committed so there can be great vibes.

What’s your favourite DHFCW memory?

Often it’s about the interaction with the players–them coming over at the end of matches once we started singing, occasionally joining in on chants. Millwall at the end of last season was amazing, Luna’s goal and the support and celebration after was incredible, and that photo of the team and fans celebrating the end of the season together really summed up what’s lovely about supporting DHFCW.

Who’s your favourite player and why?

I’m looking forward to seeing Luna (Alves Etienne) develop, Ceylon (Hickman) is such a great player on and off the pitch and of course Madi (Parsonson)’s in the Rabble, so we’ve got a big soft spot there. What impact has supporting DHFCW had for you?

Solidifying great relationships and making new ones with other fans. I feel like there’s so much scope for this team in terms of performance and influence on the women’s game, and I’m excited to be part of it. Do you support any other teams?

Just the men. I’ve had a go at supporting a WSL side but the vibes weren’t even close to as good!

One of the novel joys of supporting women’s football is that, thanks to the malevolent machinations of those who spent a hundred years suppressing it, there are still so many firsts in the game. Countries are developing their domestic programmes and building world-class teams; major clubs are taking their game to new professional heights, as players become household names, and grassroots leagues and clubs stake new claims.

The few top-flight clubs who invested early in women’s football have deservedly become the big players, and helped to lay the groundwork for a full, sustainable pyramid. As the landscape evolves, there are supporters groups to establish, records to break, communities to build. There can be no gatekeeping in this space, no “where were you fifteen years ago” or dullard accusations of “plastic support”. It shouldn’t be new, but it is, and we’re all building it. There is something deeply special about helping it grow from the ground up.

Though the walls have been coming down, it’s only in the last few years that a team like DHFCW has been able to play at a proper club, with its resources and existing fanbase. Their first generation of fans are creating a new, organic culture for an exciting team who dominate on the pitch. If you haven’t been to a Dulwich Hamlet FCW game yet, there’s never been a better time to become part of this beautiful new chapter in Dulwich’s history and the wider story of women’s football.