Tony Incenzo Completes NLS
Tue 7th April 2026 | General | By
Fulwood Amateurs' Easter Monday game against Thornton Cleveleys made National and International headlines yesterday, with broadcaster and groundhopper Tony Incenzo visiting the ground to complete a lifelong ambition.
Tony's visit means that he has now visited every single ground in the top ten levels of English Football, something very few people - if any - will have ever done before.
His quest began early, and by the time he was 17-years old, he had visited all 92 Football League grounds, becoming the youngest person at the time to have done so. This led to him being featured in 1981 on BBC's Swap Shop where John Craven interviewed him about his feat.
He revealed to John that his next ambition was to visit every single non-league ground in the county next. At the time, non-league football was a lot smaller with around 500 clubs. The Conference had just being formed a couple of years earlier, and nobody had heard of the North West Counties League as it was still a year away from being formed from what was previously the Cheshire County League and Lancashire Combination!
We popped along to Fulwood on Monday to catch up with Tony about his achievement, and typical of the man, he was overwhelmed by the attention he was receiving.
He said "Its just my hobby really! I was still a teenager when I set off on this voyage across the non-league clubs. I go to all QPR home games, and visit non-league grounds when they are away or in midweek. About four years ago, I just decided that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to finish the National League System, so I cut back on a lot of the radio and TV work that I do to complete it."
When Tony says he does QPR home games, he really means it! Incredibly he has not missed a home game at Loftus Road since 1973, a run of 1,359 consecutive games which is another achievement that many will never have done!
Back to his the main achievement though, Tony was full of praise for Fulwood on the day saying "Everybody here has been fantastic and really friendly. Like with all the clubs I've visited in your league, I've got here 2 or 3 hours before kick off and all the volunteers are here, marking the pitch, putting up the net, getting the tea's ready and making sure that everybody that is coming for the afternoon has a nice day out.
"One of the reasons I left Fulwood to last is that I heard that the ground is a little bit different. The fact that they have converted an old golf driving range is quite mindblowing, it's really special. The other stand is unusual as well, and I like the clubhouse because apparently a year ago it was just a cover, and they have converted it into a really nice Aladdins den of football memorabilia and put their homely stamp on it".
Ahead of kick off, players from both teams lined up for a guard of honour for Tony, with Fulwood and the League both presenting Tony with engraved crystal to mark the occasion. Pictured is League Vice-Chairman Geoff Wilkinson presenting Tony with his award from the league, with Fulwood Manager Phil Blackwell standing by to present the one from the club.
Speaking afterwards, Tony said "It was incredible and I wasn't expecting any of that. For the guard of honour, I thought the players would look at it as a chore, but they all bought into it saying 'go on Tony lad' and 'great achievement Tony'. I couldn't believe it!"
So what's next for Tony? Well the ever changing nature of the National League System means that there will always be top-up's for him to do.
"If you look at your league, you will likely have two or three promoted clubs come into Step 6 for next season. You've got MSB Woolton who are moving back to their spiritual home. Around the country you've got clubs like Workington who are going to groundshare with the rugby club. It changes every year and I don't want the hobby to end. I want it to continue for many years to come".
Congratulations once again Tony. We look forward to seeing you again when you return to the region!
Tony Incenzo Completes NLS
Tue 7th April 2026 | General
By
Fulwood Amateurs' Easter Monday game against Thornton Cleveleys made National and International headlines yesterday, with broadcaster and groundhopper Tony Incenzo visiting the ground to complete a lifelong ambition.
Tony's visit means that he has now visited every single ground in the top ten levels of English Football, something very few people - if any - will have ever done before.
His quest began early, and by the time he was 17-years old, he had visited all 92 Football League grounds, becoming the youngest person at the time to have done so. This led to him being featured in 1981 on BBC's Swap Shop where John Craven interviewed him about his feat.
He revealed to John that his next ambition was to visit every single non-league ground in the county next. At the time, non-league football was a lot smaller with around 500 clubs. The Conference had just being formed a couple of years earlier, and nobody had heard of the North West Counties League as it was still a year away from being formed from what was previously the Cheshire County League and Lancashire Combination!
We popped along to Fulwood on Monday to catch up with Tony about his achievement, and typical of the man, he was overwhelmed by the attention he was receiving.
He said "Its just my hobby really! I was still a teenager when I set off on this voyage across the non-league clubs. I go to all QPR home games, and visit non-league grounds when they are away or in midweek. About four years ago, I just decided that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to finish the National League System, so I cut back on a lot of the radio and TV work that I do to complete it."
When Tony says he does QPR home games, he really means it! Incredibly he has not missed a home game at Loftus Road since 1973, a run of 1,359 consecutive games which is another achievement that many will never have done!
Back to his the main achievement though, Tony was full of praise for Fulwood on the day saying "Everybody here has been fantastic and really friendly. Like with all the clubs I've visited in your league, I've got here 2 or 3 hours before kick off and all the volunteers are here, marking the pitch, putting up the net, getting the tea's ready and making sure that everybody that is coming for the afternoon has a nice day out.
"One of the reasons I left Fulwood to last is that I heard that the ground is a little bit different. The fact that they have converted an old golf driving range is quite mindblowing, it's really special. The other stand is unusual as well, and I like the clubhouse because apparently a year ago it was just a cover, and they have converted it into a really nice Aladdins den of football memorabilia and put their homely stamp on it".
Ahead of kick off, players from both teams lined up for a guard of honour for Tony, with Fulwood and the League both presenting Tony with engraved crystal to mark the occasion. Pictured is League Vice-Chairman Geoff Wilkinson presenting Tony with his award from the league, with Fulwood Manager Phil Blackwell standing by to present the one from the club.
Speaking afterwards, Tony said "It was incredible and I wasn't expecting any of that. For the guard of honour, I thought the players would look at it as a chore, but they all bought into it saying 'go on Tony lad' and 'great achievement Tony'. I couldn't believe it!"
So what's next for Tony? Well the ever changing nature of the National League System means that there will always be top-up's for him to do.
"If you look at your league, you will likely have two or three promoted clubs come into Step 6 for next season. You've got MSB Woolton who are moving back to their spiritual home. Around the country you've got clubs like Workington who are going to groundshare with the rugby club. It changes every year and I don't want the hobby to end. I want it to continue for many years to come".
Congratulations once again Tony. We look forward to seeing you again when you return to the region!
