Non-League and Academy football writer

On late Sunday afternoon (kick off is at 4:30pm) at Oaklands Park Stadium in Bristol, Hilltop and FC Olympia will compete for the prestigious 2024/25 Somali British Champions League title. Founded in 2005, Hilltop is a very well known and established football club, with roots in north west London’s Somali community. An excellent footballing side, Hilltop play their football at step 5 of the FA pyramid, and their journey from the lower levels of the Middlesex County Football League, to the level in which they currently play their football at in non-League, is remarkable.

Hilltop finished second in group A of the SBCL, in fact their opening match of this edition of the competition was against FC Olympia, with the team from Birmingham winning that match. With seven points accumulated from four group stage matches played, Hilltop would progress in to the play-offs. Hilltop’s next game would be in the semi-finals stage, when they would face another London side, in OIR FC. Over the two legs Hilltop would deservedly reach the final, especially from the second leg, which they won in Enfield. Hilltop will be looking to make history on Sunday, by becoming the first team to win the SBCL on more than one occasion. The London club recently won a tournament in Minnesota, and they’ll be hoping to win more prestigious silverware this Sunday.

Established in 2008, FC Olympia, like Hilltop, are another club that has been going for a long while. This Sundays final will be their first in the SBCL, but the club who already has a lot of experience of competing in the SBCL in the past, will be really looking forward to the occasion, as well as the prospect of them lifting the trophy for the very first time in their history. A quality side, the Birmingham based club who finished top of group A, ahead of second place Hilltop, would face Bristol based side Phoenix Next Gen, over two legs in the semi-finals of the competition. After winning the first leg 2-1 in Bristol, Olympia would then win the second leg 4-1, in Birmingham.

Not that long ago FC Olympia won a tournament in Australia, with Hilltop winning their tournament in Minnesota, Olympia will be hoping that 2025 will be the year in which the SBCL title will be theres. I will be travelling to Bristol on Sunday, for what will be my first SBCL final. I’m really looking forward to covering the final on my blog. There is also an SBCL Youth All Star match (the game starts at 3pm) that will be taking place at the same venue in Bristol, between a London team, and a team that will be representing the rest of the UK. Both that match and the SBCL final will be a great occasion. There will be a really good crowd at the final, and I would like to wish all of the teams involved all the very best for Sunday.

My interview with Hilltop’s SBCL representative – https://nonleagueandacademyfootballwriter.co.uk/2025/08/07/my-interview-with-hilltop-fcs-sbcl-representative-guuleed-hassan-ahead-of-this-sundays-somali-british-champions-league-final/

My interview with FC Olympia – https://nonleagueandacademyfootballwriter.co.uk/2025/08/08/my-interview-with-fc-olympia-chairman-mohamed-hagi-and-the-clubs-manager-mohamoud-hagi/

My interview with the SBCL’s founder and chairman, Ahmed Hassan – https://nonleagueandacademyfootballwriter.co.uk/2025/08/03/my-interview-with-the-somali-british-champions-league-founder-and-chairman-ahmed-hassan/