Welcome back to the Matchside weekly roundup!
If you subscribed to Matchside because you don’t want to miss out on the big once-a-year events then I’ve got a good one for you this week: Premier Padel is taking over Olympia, with the best padel players in the world coming to London from next Tuesday. And if somehow you didn’t get your football fix over the summer, the non-league football season is back from next week so you haven’t got long to wait now. Read on for what’s on this week, including a few pre-season friendlies.
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📣 Matchside updates 📣
Win £80 tickets — closes Thursday
In case you missed it, I've teamed up with London Broncos to give away two pairs of Gold Plus tickets (worth £80 a pair) to their game against Goole Vikings on Sunday 9th August. Entry's easy: refer a friend to Matchside using your unique link below, and every successful referral is another entry. Entries close Thursday, so get sharing. Details and T&Cs are here.
👀 What's on this week 👀
Here's what's on over the next week:
1. 🎾 Premier Padel London (Tuesday 4th to Sunday 9th August)
📍 Olympia | Tickets from £41
Britain's first ever elite professional padel tournament touches down in London this week, with the world's top men's and women's pairs playing at Olympia's newly-transformed Grand Hall. I'll be there for the opening day on Tuesday.
2. 🏏 The Hundred
London Spirit vs Southern Brave, Saturday 1st August (Women 2.30pm, Men 6pm)
📍 Lord's | Tickets from £40
MI London vs Manchester Super Giants, Sunday 2nd August (Women 2.30pm, Men 6pm)
📍 The Oval | Tickets from £44
3. 🏏 One Day Cup
Middlesex vs Yorkshire, Sunday 2nd August (11am)
📍 Lord's | Tickets £25
Surrey vs Kent, Wednesday 5th August (11am)
📍 The Oval | Tickets £15
4. ⚽ Football pre-season friendlies
There are pre-season friendlies happening all over London in the run-up to the start of the new season. Below are a few of my favourite picks:
Millwall vs Royal Antwerp, Saturday 1st August (3pm)
📍 The Den | Tickets £15
AFC Wimbledon vs QPR, Saturday 1st August (3pm)
📍 Plough Lane | Tickets £12
Dulwich Hamlet vs QPR U21, Saturday 1st August (3pm)
📍 Champion Hill | Tickets £8.40
Barnet vs Bromley, Saturday 1st August (3pm)
📍 The Hive | Tickets £14
Leyton Orient vs Royal Antwerp, Sunday 2nd August (12.30pm)
📍 BetWright Stadium | Tickets £15
Premier Padel London, Olympia
📅 Dates for the diary 📅
NIHL ice hockey fixtures are out for 2026/27
The new National Ice Hockey League season has been confirmed, with fixtures now live for all five of our London men’s teams: Romford Raiders, Romford Buccaneers, Streatham Redhawks, Haringey Huskies and Lee Valley Lions. Full fixtures for all of them are on the Matchside website.
NIHL Ice Hockey
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That's your week of sport sorted.
Thanks for reading! If you go to something, let me know, I read every reply.
Louis