It’s international football, but not as you know it — the England C national football team represents the country at non-league level and are back for the first time in three years this month.
The team, managed by former Barnet boss Paul Fairclough, is made up of the best talents from the National League and below. It’s been three years, though, since England C last got together with the Covid-19 pandemic wiping out their fixture list. All that is set to change later this month, however, as they head over the border to face Wales C on March 30.
The squad will be vastly different from when England C last played, a 2-0 defeat away to Estonia U23s in June 2019. Many of those in action that day have since gone on to move into the Football League, rendering them now ineligible for selection. But regardless, England C goalkeeping coach Mick Payne is looking forward to working with non-league’s best and brightest once again.
“It’s been a while and it’s been difficult for many people and unfortunately players have lost the opportunity to play for England C," Payne told Mirror Football. "That’s why it’s been made open age this time because we felt that these lads who would’ve missed out if it had been under-23 again deserved a chance.
"It’s a terrific honour for them as they’ll get an England cap and an England shirt which can be framed up. It’s a real opportunity for people to see what non-league football can produce because there’s lots of players with good ability and the potential to go onto even bigger and better things."
The England C squad dates back as far as 1979 and has been competing regularly ever since, mostly against U23 sides from other nations. The team had great success in the old Four Nations tournament, winning it a record seven times. Recent years have seen England C also reach three finals of the International Challenge Trophy in 2009, 2011 and 2017, finishing runners-up on each occasion.
This time around against Wales, though, it is just international pride that is at stake with the sides meeting in a friendly. But for Payne, he believes the team will be thoroughly motivated just by the thought of representing their country.
“They are representing their country. They are getting everything perfectly done as an international side," he added. "They get an international cap and honours they take with them for the rest of their lives. We had Fejiri Okenabirhie (now at Doncaster ), who scored a hat-trick for us and I believe that pushed him on to bigger and better things. The players themselves, when they come away with England, they get everything in place in terms of the tracksuits, they get all their training equipment. We have a doctor on board, a physio on board, a sports scientist - everything."
Down the years, a number of well-know footballers have played for the many iterations of the England squad. Aaron McLean and Lee Tomlin both went on to feature in the Premier League, while Steve Guppy was capped by England in 1999. Guppy is not the only former England C man to earn international honours, with several others playing at football’s highest level around the globe.
Craig Mackail-Smith and George Boyd both played for Scotland, while Danny Collins, Kieffer Moore and Sam Ricketts all turned out for Wales. Jamaica have been represented by Clayton Donaldson, Andre Gray, Barry Hayles and Jamal Lowe, with Keanu Marsh-Brown appearing for Guyana. Junior Agogo and Andy Yiadom both went on to enjoy successful careers with Ghana, while Kevin Betsy made his senior international debut for the Seychelles.
And seeing some of the players he worked with in the past play at such a high level has filled Payne with an immense sense of pride. “It’s great to see them go on and we’ve got players who are playing in the Premier League now who were with us in the past," said Payne.
"Ethan Pinnock’s now at Brentford; five seasons ago, he was playing for Dulwich Hamlet and now he’s plying his trade in the Premier League week in, week out. He’s in the Jamaica squad with Andre Gray and Jamal Lowe, lads who were with us not long ago. Kieffer Moore couldn’t even start for us a few years back in Estonia, and now he could be going to the World Cup with Wales. It proves how worthy and how great this England C side can be to their career.”
Whether any of the current cohort will go on to win international honours around the globe remains to be seen. But for now, they can enjoy the feeling of pulling on an England jersey and doing their best to claim bragging rights against Wales.
* England C take on Wales C at Caernarfon Town on March 30 at 7pm.
