AFC Croydon Athletic faces up to £10,000 clean-up bill after travellers dump rubbish at stadium

AFC Croydon Athletic say they have been left to cover costs approaching £10,000 after travellers broke into their Mayfield Stadium, dumped large amounts of rubbish and occupied the site for about two weeks.

Members of the group allegedly forced open a locked gate at the end of June and set up initially six campervans, a number that grew to eight before the occupants were evicted in July. The club, which plays in the eighth tier of English football and is part-owned by rapper Stormzy and former Premier League forward Wilfried Zaha, said the fly-tipping created a threat to public safety, wildlife and community sport and forced them to cancel a junior football event.

Although Mayfield Stadium is council-owned, Croydon Athletic said they were told arrangements to remove the waste would be made after the travellers were evicted. Rubbish, however, remained on the site for a further three weeks, and the club say the removal ultimately fell outside the remit of the council's environmental enforcement team.

"The club is paying to remove the rubbish which is not an insignificant cost," club secretary Paul Smith told Daily Mail Sport. He said several flatbed loads of waste were taken away and that the five-figure bill would have been beyond the club's means without the investment of their high-profile owners.

The club said the encampment caused a "massive" build-up of rubbish that delayed pitch work that had been planned for the summer. While the club does not own the land and has said it could not lock the gates permanently because of ambulance access concerns, the disruption contributed to Croydon Athletic having to stage a number of early-season home matches at nearby Carshalton Athletic and Cobham FC.

The club also reported a small, separate fire at their clubhouse this summer. The fire was not connected to the encampment, but added to the period of disruption that affected maintenance and preparations for the new season.

Despite the off-field issues, Croydon Athletic have begun the Isthmian League South East Division campaign strongly. Managed by Danny Kedwell, the Rams sit second in the division with 10 points from their opening four matches, level on points with the leaders but behind on goal difference. The club has also reached the second qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time in its history and will travel to Hampton & Richmond Borough, a club two tiers above, in the competition.

Since 2023 the club has been owned by a three-man consortium that includes Zaha, the Ivorian forward who came through Crystal Palace’s academy and scored 72 goals in 315 appearances before moving to Galatasaray and later MLS side Charlotte FC; British rapper Stormzy; and Danny Young, a former Crystal Palace head of care. Both Zaha and Stormzy grew up in Croydon and have cited local ties in their investment in the club.

Officials at Croydon Athletic said the cost of the cleanup, and the delay to pitch improvements, represented funds that otherwise could have been invested in the playing squad and club facilities. The club continues to seek information from the local authority about future measures to prevent a recurrence and is continuing with its season while arranging for the remaining work to restore the stadium to full use.