Clapton FC are acknowledged by the Football Association as being the country’s first representatives of the beautiful game on the Continent when they beat a Belgian XI 7-0 at Antwerp in 1890.

The five-time FA Amateur Cup winners, alas, never really pushed on in comparison to their Premier League neighbours West Ham, and have been plying their trade in the hard world of non-league, most recently in the home of tough tackles, the Essex Senior League.

But the club founded in 1878 are hoping to shatter their season’s attendance figure by attracting a whopping gate of 100 for their final league game against Hullbridge on Thursday April 27,  at their Old Spotted Dog ground, Forest Gate, east London - just a short bus ride from the Olympic Stadium.