The Wilberforce Wanderers A.F.C.
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The Wilberforce Wanderers AFC are an amateur English football club based in North London. The Wanderers were founded at a meeting held on 6th August 2002 by Daniel Taylor, Peter Ramsay and Colin Read in the Chandos Public House, Trafalgar Square. The original team was largely made up of a group of footballers from Cambridge University who had wanted to continue to play competitive football after moving to London. The club were founded under the latin moto liber per ludos, meaning freedom through sport which continues to underpin the philosophy of the club.
The Wanderers began in Middlesex County Football League Division Two, with their first game on 14th September 2002 away to Eastcote, which they won 1-0 with a late goal by Giles Byford. The Wanderers first home was The Regents Park.
For their second season The Wanderers moved home ground to Tufnell Park, which remains their base today. The Wanderers were promoted to Middlesex County Football League Division One on 23rd April 2004 following a 1-1 draw at home to Parkfield, and a late equalising goal from all time top scorer Ijoma Maluza. The Wanderers finished the season as runners-up only losing 3 league games.
At the end of the 2005-6 season Wilberforce went on their first overseas tour to Malawi, where they came up against Malawian Super league opponents the ADMARC Tigers. The game was played at the Kamuzu stadium, home of the Malawian international team. The tour was supported by the English football association who provided kits and equipment to be dontated to local African clubs and received coverage in both the UK (The Times) and Malawian press (The Nation)
This team is unrelated to the legendary Norwich-based Wilberforce Wanderers (founded in 2000) who went a whole season undefeated in 2001 in the Norwich University League. There are some similarities - both clubs have the same name, both were formed in a pub and both played football. However, the Norwich Wanderers certainly did not have a latin moto and have never been on tour abroad although they did play many foreign teams on their home pitch at Earlham Park.
