Preparations for the 2026/27 Enterprise National League season are finally getting underway, as Chris Millington’s side will be facing Knowle Football Club away from home. Solihull Moors will be coming up against a team on the rise, with Knowle coming into the new campaign off the back of sensational back-to-back promotions under managers Matt and Clive Seeley. 2026 is their centenary year, and it has been very memorable for them so far. The history of Knowle begins all the way back to its founding in 1926, originally going by the name of Knowle Men’s Institute. They have been playing on the grounds of Hampton Road ever since the club first came into existence, and it is land that they share with the local cricket club. The plot was owned originally by John William Murray, and five years before Knowle’s founding, he passed the land onto the local trust to ensure the “maintenance and interest of any athletic or other similar sport for the use of and enjoyment of any of the residents of Knowle.” This arrangement is firmly in place to this day, and the two sports clubs still share the land. Before the outbreak of World War Two in 1939, Knowle did enjoy plenty of early success, winning no fewer than two league titles as well as a number of trophies, which included the Dr Nelson Charity Cup, the Henry Butler Cup, and finally the West Bromwich Shield. Just after the war was over, they built their clubhouse in 1947. Many players offered sheets from their used Anderson Shelters to assist in its construction. The club’s name was changed to Knowle Town at this point, but the club was then known as Knowle FC, as it is today, by the time the 1960s arrived. In the 1968/69 season, they narrowly failed in their bid for promotion from the Worcester Combination League Division Two after finishing as runners-up, though they would finally get over the line the following campaign, sealing their place in the Worcester Combination League Division One. Fast forward to the 1981/82 season, which was also a successful campaign for the club. Knowle got as far as the fifth round proper of the FA Vase under the stewardship of then-manager Gordon Cooper, losing 2-1 late on in the game against Barton Rovers. They did briefly change their club’s name to Knowle North Star, but by 1986, they were known as Knowle FC once again. The 1990s saw Dave Prust take over as Chairman of Knowle in what would turn out to be a great period for the Midlands club. During this period, they secured what is still the club’s highest ever league finish, which was 4th place in the Midlands Combination Premier League back in the 1995/96 campaign. Just a season later, they enjoyed winning some more silverware, lifting the Les James Challenge Cup in the 1996/97 season after defeating Kings Heath in the final. Unfortunately for the club, they would suffer relegation despite what was an 11th place finish in 1997/98, which was a consequence of not having floodlights at their ground. Tragedy struck Knowle Football Club back in 2003 with the death of Chairman Dave Prust at the age of 44, with Liam Coyle taking over. They did win the league title that season, but they were not allowed to be promoted after their ground still lacked floodlights. By 2008, they had won the title for the second time in three seasons, whilst also winning the President’s Cup, and this time they were determined that they were not going to miss out on their place in the league above. They were successful in their efforts after agreeing to ground share with another local Midlands club, Studley, and in the 2008/09 campaign, they ended up with what was a very respectable 12th place finish under joint managers Dave Cox and Martin Bishop. However, by the time 2010 arrived, the costs of ground sharing, running Hampton Road, as well as running their Reserves and Ladies teams, saw them take a voluntary relegation. More success did arrive a few years later after lifting the Presidents Cup again back in the 2013/14 season, and by this time, Tracy Lake was appointed as Chairperson of Knowle Football Club. In 2015, there was a merger, with the Midland Combination League and the Midland Alliance League combining, with Knowle placed in Division Two, with Chris Knott then being appointed as manager. There was bad news for Knowle in 2017 when Storm Doris tore apart their clubhouse, which included those original panels from the Anderson Shelters of World War Two. After Dave Ratcliffe took over from Tracy Lake, a modular building was installed as the new clubhouse by October 2018. Clive Seeley, who is now part of their present first team managerial duo, took over in the 2018/19 season, supported by Nic Oakley and Gary Ingram. They were successful in their first campaign, which included a run all the way to the Les James Challenge Cup Final, before narrowly losing 2 – 1 to Redditch Borough. Like clubs at all levels, Knowle Football Club were massively affected by the pandemic during the 2019/20 season, with the campaign being ended prematurely with Knowle sat as high as 2nd place in the league, having also reached the semi-final of both of their domestic cup competitions. The 2020/21 season was also curtailed by the pandemic. By the start of their 2022/23 campaign, there had been further changes in the dugout, with Matt Seeley joining forces with Clive as joint managers of Knowle Football Club, and they have gone on to secure plenty of silverware that has also seen them gain back-to-back promotions in 2024/25 and 2025/26. Last term, they did so by winning the Capelli Sport MFL Division One title with no less than 106 points to their name, scoring 115 goals and conceding just 27 times. The upcoming 2026/27 season will see them compete in the United Counties League Premier Division South. In the opposition dugout – Matt & Clive Seeley Matt and Clive Seeley have been a successful managerial partnership ever since Matt joined Clive in the Knowle dugout just before the start of the 2022/23 campaign, with Clive having previously been in sole charge since 2018. Their most recent campaign in charge of the Knowle First Team back in the 2025/26 season, where they secured their second successive promotion, which sees them play in the United Counties League Premier Division South this term. They won the Capelli Sport MFL Division title with 106 points, six ahead of Gornal Athletic, who finished as runner-up in second place. The season before that in the Midland Football League Division Two, they got promoted via the playoffs after finishing in second place with 70 points in total, just three behind Champions Northfield Town. Not only that, Knowle Football Club have won plenty of silverware under their stewardship, winning two Les James Cups, doing so in consecutive years back in 2023 and 2024, whilst also leading the club to a Saturday Vase win in 2023. Key Player – Talib Copeland Prolific forward Talib Copeland is undoubtedly a key player for Knowle ever since he joined the club back in July 2025, ahead of the start of last season, and they will be delighted that he is set to remain at the club next term, with confirmation of this arriving in May. The 21-year-old was the club’s leading goal scorer last season, scoring no less than 31 goals in 42 starts, with only Sam Grouse (Heather St. John’s – 32 goals), Taylor Homer (Gornal Athletic – 34 goals), and Traevay Wright (Gornal Athletic – 42 goals) scoring more than him. Copeland was also voted as the opposition’s player of the match no less than seven times last term. He will be hoping for another prolific campaign this term in what he hopes will be another successful season for himself and his club, Knowle FC. Opposition Preview written by Adam Holt