Zaha & Stormzy - the non-league club with superstar owners

On paper, AFC Croydon Athletic's game at Camberley Town in the Combined Counties League on 9 April seemed a pretty unremarkable affair.

So unremarkable, in fact, only 43 paying spectators bothered turning up to watch the midweek match in English football's ninth tier.

Yet among those inside Krooner Park that night was Wilfried Zaha, who has become accustomed to playing in front of crowds of 50,000 since joining Turkish giants Galatasaray.

As co-owner of non-league AFC Croydon Athletic, former Crystal Palace star Zaha takes his responsibilities seriously.

"Wilf had a few days off so decided to fly over and watch us at Camberley," Rams manager Jermaine McGlashan says.

"He came into the changing room to wish us well before the game and it was great for the boys to see him."

Zaha's presence inspired the team nicknamed the Rams to a 5-1 win.

When they defeated Knaphill in the play-off final in May to win promotion to the Isthmian League South East Division, music superstar Stormzy was in the dressing room celebrating with players and staff.

Rapper Stormzy - real name Michael Omari - has won three Brit awards, headlined Glastonbury, persuaded Usain Bolt and Jose Mourinho to star in a music video and is close friends with Zaha, in part because of their connections with Croydon.

In June 2023, it was announced they had bought their "childhood hometown football club" along with Danny Young, former head of player care at nearby Crystal Palace.

"Wilf and Stormzy don't just stand on the sidelines and watch," Brandon Pierrick, AFC Croydon Athletic's captain, adds. "They come into the dressing room and are part of the squad and the camaraderie."

On Saturday, the Rams host Guildford City in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup (15:00 BST).

"We have a target on our back because of our high-profile owners," says McGlashan who, like Zaha and Stormzy, grew up in Croydon.

AFC Croydon Athletic were 17th in the Combined Counties League Premier Division South when McGlashan, veteran of more than 300 Football League appearances, took charge in October 2023.

Seven months later, the players were in Ibiza celebrating promotion.

"Stormzy let them know before the play-off final he would fly them out if we won," adds McGlashan, whose former clubs include Gillingham, Southend United and Cheltenham Town.

"Tactically, it didn't really matter what I said after that. The players came flying out of the traps and played like bravehearts.

"I always get an extra 10% out of my players when Wilf, Stormzy or Danny are watching. The boys give an extra bit more."

Winning promotion to the Football League is the long-term goal for the Rams, who have only been going since 2012 when around 30 fans gathered at Selhurst Evangelical Church in South Norwood to form the new club.

The original Croydon Athletic had folded the previous year after becoming the innocent victims of an international cricket spot-fixing scandal involving their then-owner Mazhar Majeed.

"When I was interviewed for the job, the co-owners mentioned Sutton United and Bromley in terms of they want AFC Croydon Athletic to be the next ones," says McGlashan on the club's Football League ambitions.

"When you have got owners like we have, everyone assumes they are just chucking money at it."

However, the Rams boss said comparisons between his club's high-profile owners and Wrexham's Hollywood owners - who have taken the Welsh club from non-league to League One - are well wide of the mark.

"We run a tight ship. There's a lot of work that needs doing in and around the ground and that costs a lot of money," he says.

"We were probably in the top five in terms of playing budget in the league we have just won promotion from. The league we are joining, we're probably in the top 10."

Four years ago, AFC Croydon Athletic winger Pierrick was playing with Zaha at Crystal Palace under Roy Hodgson.

"One minute I was the talk of the town, the next I was under the radar," says the 22-year-old, who became the second-youngest player to appear for Palace in the Premier League when he made his debut against Norwich City on 1 January 2020 at the age of 18.

Pierrick went on the play against Liverpool at Anfield, facing Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, but his first league game of 2024-25 will be against Ramsgate on 10 August after a fall from grace.

After Hodgson's exit in the summer of 2021, Pierrick opted to leave Palace, where he had been since the age of nine, and move to Danish Superliga club Vejle to get more game time.

It did not work out for the then 19-year-old.

A change of manager, a new language and a new playing style ultimately led to Pierrick making an early return to England and, following a short spell at Dover, he joined AFC Croydon in August 2023, where he continues to rebuild his career.

"It's easy to get lost in the league you are playing in or to even not care because it is so low compared to where you have previously been at," he adds.

"But football is my dream, it's my job. I want to try and prove people wrong. My aim is to still play at a higher level.

"Wilf was a big factor in me joining AFC Croydon Athletic along with Danny. I can see what they are trying to do and the road they want to go down.

"I said to myself: 'Why not give it a go?'"

Zaha achieved iconic status at Crystal Palace, scoring 90 goals - including 68 in the Premier League - in 458 senior appearances before joining Galatasaray in July 2023.

He was four when his family moved from Ivory Coast to London and was raised on Rothesay Road, yards away from Selhurst Park, and two miles from AFC Croydon Athletic's 3,000-capacity Mayfield Stadium in Thornton Heath.

Zaha, 31, gives 10% of his wages to charity, external and has has helped transform the lives of young people in south London, while Stormzy is also looking to "encourage youths" through his #MerkyFC project.

"Wilfried scored his first-ever professional goal playing for Crystal Palace reserves at the Mayfield Stadium," says AFC Croydon Athletic secretary Paul Smith.

"We know there is a commitment to the area and a commitment to the community from the co-owners. Both Stormzy and Wilfried grew up a long goal kick from the ground. They care about the area."

Zaha marked his first season in Turkey by helping Galatasaray win the Super Lig while overseeing AFC Croydon Athletic's promotion to the eighth tier.

His playing commitments mean visits to Mayfield Stadium are limited. Saturday's FA Cup tie clashes with the Turkish Super Cup, in which Zaha's Galatasaray face cup winners Besiktas.

But Rams captain Pierrick is looking forward to welcoming Zaha back at some point this season.

"It gives the players a massive buzz to keep going when he watches us play," he adds.