Non-League and Academy football writer

North London club OIR FC was founded in 2020. A club with roots in Enfield, in north London, OIR started out in the Middlesex County Football League Division One (Central & East) for the 2020/21 season. During the following 2021/22 season, OIR were promoted to the Middlesex County League’s Premier Division (step 7), after winning the Division One (Central & East) title, after accumulating 38 points from 18 league matches played.

Despite being relegated from the Premier Division during their debut season in that division, OIR would return to the same step 8 division of the Middlesex County League for the 2023/24 season, going on to finish in fifth place in the table during that season. The club which also competes in the Somali British Champions League, would quite fittingly win the that season’s (2023/24) title at Haringey Borough’s Coles Park ground in north London, over Hilltop, in front of a very big crowd. That has been one of OIR’s proudest achievements, since the club was founded.

OIR are a very good footballing side, and since returning to step 7 of non-League football for the 2024/25 season, they have been playing their football in the Herts County Senior League Premier Division, after moving across from the Middlesex County League. The club which also runs a Sunday side in the Edmonton & District Sunday Football League, saw their Saturday side finish in 12th place in the Premier Division of the Herts County Senior League, last season.

This season (2025/26), OIR are currently in 16th place in the Herts County Senior League Premier Division table, after 16 league matches played. It has been a difficult start to the season for OIR in the league, but whenever I’ve seen them play, the quality that they have in their squad is very good. And I believe that they can stay up in the Premier Division, this season. 

Abdullaahi Khalif is one of the founders of the club. He is still an important player for OIR in central defence. Abdullaahi Khalif is without doubt a club legend, but there also many other players who have been very good for OIR in their relatively short history. Highly skilful goalscoring winger Adnan Jaamac, Said Yusuf and Khalid Madey are just some of the OIR players (both former and current) who have played their part in the club’s history so far. However, OIR are a club with ambitions of getting to step 6 of non-League football, and I’m sure that first team manager Mohamed Khalif’s side will get there in the future.

A very friendly club, who play some really good passing football, OIR face Newmont in their penultimate group-stage fixture of this season’s Somali British Champions League, on Sunday afternoon. That is a big game for OIR, but they will be looking to make it two wins from two this weekend, as they also face Owens FC in an important league fixture on Saturday afternoon. I would like to wish OIR all the very best for the remainder of this season, and I look forward to covering their SBCL match this Sunday.