Stormzy Croydon football club: rapper and Wilifried Zaha join up to buy AFC Croydon Athletic

Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha and British rapper Stormzy have agreed a deal to purchase non-league club AFC Croydon Athletic.

The pair, who both grew up in the South London area, have joined forces in a three man consortium with Danny Young, who currently acts as head of player care at Crystal Palace.

The football club released a statement on social media confirming the news of the takeover.

AFC Croydon tweeted: “We are delighted to embark on a new era at AFC Croydon, subject to final FA and league approval. This has been the culmination of many months of discussions.”

The statement explained that the three man consortium would own, operate and develop their childhood hometown football club.

But who are AFC Croydon and what division do they compete in? Here is everything you need to know.

Who are AFC Croydon Athletic?

AFC Croydon Athletic is a football club based in Thornton Heath in the borough of Croydon, in South London. The team compete in The Combined Counties League Premier South Division, which is the ninth tier of English football.

They are nicknamed The Rams and they play their home games at the Mayfield Stadium which has a capacity of 3,000 supporters with 300 seats.

AFC Croydon were formed in 2012 by fans of the now dissolved football club Croydon Athletic. The team is managed by Kevin Rayner and Lee Roots, with AFC Croydon finishing 15th last season in the Combined Counties League, finishing nine points ahead of the relegation places.

What has been said about the takeover?

Wilfried Zaha expressed his excitement about the takeover of AFC Croydon and tweeted: “May the journey begin.”

The Ivory Coast international has enjoyed a successful career which has been spent with Crystal Palace and briefly Man United. He is incredibly popular with Crystal Palace fans and is regarded as one of the club’s greatest players.

Zaha, who was raised in Croydon, recently opened up his own academy for young players in 2021 with the hopes of giving young players an opportunity.

Stormzy also expressed his excitement following the takeover and posted an emoji on Instagram of a house, a football and a love heart.

The Big For Your Boots singer was given the freedom of Croydon award earlier this year in April.

The singer said at the time: “It feels like a full circle moment. Anyone who knows me knows that I was born in Croydon, raised in Croydon, went to school in Croydon, all of my friends and family are in Croydon, so to be awarded with the Freedom of the Borough means a lot to me. I thank the community and the people at the council who made this possible.”

How have fans reacted to the takeover?

The AFC Croydon takeover has been heavily praised by many football fans on Twitter.

One user commented: “Happy to see a local club go through what should be a positive change! Even happier for Kev though, he deserves it, one of non league footballs’ great guys.”

Another added: “Brilliant news. Best of luck for the club’s future.”

Another fan said: “Brilliant to see a group who are Croydon through and through investing in their community club. Good luck to all concerned.”