Non-League and Academy football writer

The 2024/25 Middlesex County Football League Premier Division season was yet another really interesting one, in the many years of this quality step 7 division. Starting in August, and finishing in early May, the Premier Division of the Middlesex League was won by SL Benfica, who following their promotion from step 8 during the previous season, would go on to deservedly clinch the 2024/25 title. However, the Premier Division season, as a whole, was once again, highly competitive.

SL Benfica, under the tutelage of manager Ricky Nelson and his coaching staff, would adapt really well to the Premier Division, after a bit of a difficult start to the season, with them having some tough early fixtures. A really good footballing side, the team who play at Amersham Town FC, won a hugely impressive 24 of their 30 league games, last season. With some excellent team performances over the course of the season, Benfica finished the season with 66 points, clinching the title on the last day of the season, against runners up Camden & Islington United.

For Benfica, who have a really good squad, with experienced players like Rafael Barbosa Dos Santos (the Premier Division’s top goalscorer), Egidio Mahmoud, and Marco Raposo, I am confident that they’ll do well next season, in Division One of the Combined Counties Football League (step 6). Nick Wigmore’s Camden & Islington United also had a really good season, during 2024/25. Reaching the semi-finals of The Alec Smith Premier Division Cup, and achieving a second place finish in the Premier Division, it was a season of fine progress for this real community club.

Camden & Islington are in my opinion a really good side. They are a really well organised side, who play really good football, and who have a very good and ever improving squad of players. Ryan Pickles once again finished the season as the first team’s top goalscorer however, Karl Usher-Williams and Josh Gruby also had great season’s in front of goal. I reckon that the east London based side will really challenge for the Premier Division title again next season, especially as they finished last season one point behind the champions, Benfica.

Hayes & Hillingdon were another club who made great strides as a team and as a club, last season. A very good team, who manage games really well, Hayes & Hillingdon finished in third place in the table. Gavin Shepherd’s side challenged Benfica for the league title and promotion, for a really good amount of the season, and they’ll be up there again next season, looking to secure promotion to step 6.

In fourth place in the table were Jolof Sports, and like Hayes & Hillingdon they did very well for so much of last season. Their previous manager, Danny Brissett, left them in a really good place in the table, and he did a fantastic job as manager, helping his side to record some really good results. Recording an impressive 17 wins from 30 league matches, was Eric Najib’s Stonewall side, who finished the season one place behind Jolof Sports in the table. Under Eric and his coaching staff’s management, Stonewall achieved their best ever league finish in the Premier Division of the Middlesex League. Stonewall are another really good team, who last season won the 2024 IGLFA World Championship, in Argentina.

Finishing in sixth place in the Premier Division season, was Eagles Land Cricklewood, who following their merger with Cricklewood Wanderers, they did really well as a club, in my opinion. They are another side who I think will really challenge for the league title, next season. It was Soccer Stars Fennecs’ (they finished the season one place below Eagles Land Cricklewood in the table) debut season at step 7, during 2024/25. Zack Bettache’s side were adapting to the league last season (they were promoted from step 8 in 2024) but, his very talented side still recorded some really good results. Soccer Stars Fennecs are very ambitious, and I think that they’ll improve further in 2025/26.

Finishing in a respectable eighth position in the table, was north London based side Camden United, with Kodak (Harrow) and then Hilltop 2nds, finishing in the resulting two league positions. On Kodak, and their departing manager, Sajad Mohammed, did an outstanding job at Kodak, during his time as first team manager. Sajad has a really promising future in the game, as a coach. 

Larkspur Rovers improved a lot as a team during the latter stages of last season, and they managed to get themselves away from the bottom positions of the table, to finish in 11th place in the league. Below Larkspur was Kensington Dragons, and then Shepherds Bush, who won last season’s Middlesex FA Intermediate County Cup. Following Shepherds Bush in the table was 2025 Alec Smith Premier Division Cup winners, Indian Gymkhana Club, and then in the bottom two places in the league, were London Tigers, and the previous season’s league champions, Pitshanger Dynamo, who had a much changed squad last season (from 2023/24), with a number of players having moved on.

My Premier Division manager of the season (2024/25): Ricky Nelson (SL Benfica). Ricky Nelson has played such a big part in SL Benfica’s journey, so far. And Ricky Nelson’s management, along with his coaching staff, of this very talented SL Benfica side, was once again excellent last season, with the experienced Benfica manager leading them to the Premier Division title.

My Premier Division game of the season (2024/25): From all of the many Premier Division matches that I covered last season, my game of the season took place back in August. A very lively Premier Division fixture between Hayes & Hillingdon and Eagles Land Cricklewood, the game finished 2-1 to Eagles Land Cricklewood, and it saw some brilliant football on show. The competitiveness, passion and quality of play was right up there with the very best that I saw in the Middlesex Football League, in 2024/25.  

My Premier Division player of the season (2024/25): Kristo Beshiku (Eagles Land Cricklewood). With 28 goals from 33 competitive appearances for Eagles Land Cricklewood in 2024/25, Kristo Beshiku’s clinical finishing in the final third of the pitch, and his form and consistency throughout the season, was very impressive. Kristo continues to improve as a footballer, and his stats for goals scored (in 2024/25) were outstanding.