27/08/2026
Last night, the sun literally set on a chapter of Chillacticos history. 🌅⚽
For 12 years, Wednesday nights at Chilwell have been home. Pitch 3 in particular has been ours.
When the gaffer took over, the group was slowly unravelling. Numbers were dropping, and for a while we even found ourselves on Pitch 1, sometimes playing 4 a side just to keep things going.
But we fought back. Rebuilt. Grew. We got ourselves back to 7 a side.
Along the way, we launched Saturday mornings, which eventually came to a rather dreary and unorganised end 😂. The 11s team, two kits and what looks to be a record 25+ games this year. Then came Monday nights and what a success that turned out to be. That group has gone from strength to strength, expanding to 9 a side at Hickings Lane earlier this year.
And now, Wednesday joins Monday.
But while the pitch is changing, what Chillacticos has become is something far bigger than football.
When we started, we were just a group of lads playing football. Now, we’re a community.
We look out for each other. We’ve made friendships. We’ve supported people through good times and bad. We’ve raised money for charity and tried to make a genuine difference.
Over the years, more than 250 people have turned up for the Chillacticos, even before we had a name, people who found us through Facebook, Reddit, a mate, a mate of a mate, and yes… even Gumtree. 😂
Some stayed for years. Some only played once. But every single person has been part of the story.
So, to everyone who has ever played, served us for the post match pint at The Crown, organised, donated, supported, turned up on a freezing Wednesday night, scored a worldie, missed an absolute sitter, or simply helped keep this thing going:
Thank you. ❤️
Chilwell might no longer be our Wednesday home, but Chillacticos isn’t going anywhere.
12 years down.
The next chapter starts now. ⚽❤️
