‘Everyone’s excited’: AFC Croydon responds to new owners Stormzy and Zaha

Staff and supporters of Croydon Athletic share hopes for football club under new ownership

When he was at secondary school, George Pickering, a supporter of AFC Croydon Athletic, would make it a ritual to play football on a recreation ground near where the club is now. One day, a young, really talkative" kid with lots of energy" turned up to play with them.

It just felt like he wanted somewhere to go, a bit of an outlet," Pickering, now 34, recalled. It was only years later and from a friend's recollection that he learned the boy they kicked around with was Stormzy - or Michael, as they knew him.