LOOKING for your football fix with Cherries not in action due to the international break?

Look no further than your local non-league team, with Non-League Day taking place this Saturday.

The annual event has been postponed the previous two seasons due to the pandemic, but it is now back for the first time since 2019.

Taking advantage of the fact that Premier League and Championship clubs are not in action due to the international window, fans of teams not in action are encouraged to check out their local teams lower down the pyramid.

With players such as Leicester hero Jamie Vardy and current Cherries Kieffer Moore and Jamal Lowe grafting in the lower leagues before joining the professional ranks, fans might spot the next big thing this weekend.

On their website, the organisers state: "Non-League Day was set up by James Doe in 2010 as a social media experiment, after being inspired by a pre-season trip to Devon to watch Queens Park Rangers play at Tavistock.

"It has now grown to become an annual part of the football calendar, backed by Premier League and Football League clubs, MPs, celebrities, media organisations, charities and most importantly the non-league clubs themselves and the fans who turn up on the day.

"Always scheduled to coincide with an international break, Non-League Day provides a platform for clubs to promote the importance of affordable volunteer-led community football while giving fans across the country the chance to show support for their local non-league side.

"Many non-league clubs are almost exclusively volunteer run, with money taken at the turnstiles often funding thriving youth set-ups, projects and facilities which are of benefit to the whole community."

First organised in 2010, this year's Non-League Day has partnered with Prostate Cancer UK for the eighth year in a bid to add more to the £200,000 already raised for the charity.

Unfortunately, three out of the four next-highest ranked Dorset clubs in the pyramid after Cherries are all playing away, with Dorchester Town the only side at home.

The Magpies will host Metropolitan Police at the Avenue, a ground Cherries used to briefly call home during the 2001-02 season.

With Cherries fans across Dorset and the surrounding counties of Wiltshire and Hampshire, we’ve put together a list of clubs in the local areas and their games, alongside any promotions they are offering to entice fans to try out non-league.

If you’re a Cherries exile far from home, you can visit nonleagueday.co.uk to find your closest non-league game.

National League

  • Torquay United v Weymouth – Buy one get one free through the National Lottery Weekend campaign
  • Eastleigh v Stockport - Buy one get one free through the National Lottery Weekend campaign

Southern League Premier South

  • Dorchester Town v Metropolitan Police - £1 from every ticket will be donated to Prostate Cancer UK
  • Chesham United v Poole Town
  • Beaconsfield Town v Wimborne Town – Free entry with encouraged donations to Action Duchenne

Southern League Division One South

  • AFC Totton v Bideford AFC
  • Sholing v Highworth Town – Half-price entry
  • Winchester City v Mangotsfield United – Free entry

Wessex Premier League

  • Bournemouth Poppies v Hamble Club
  • Bashley v Fareham Town – £5 entry for holders of a season ticket for a Football League club (Southampton + Cherries) + free entry for all under-18s
  • AFC Stoneham v Brockenhurst - £1 entry for Southampton and Eastleigh season ticket holders
  • Shaftesbury v AFC Portchester – Pay what you want entry with club making a donation to Prostate Cancer UK
  • Blackfield & Langley v Hamworthy United – Free entry to Southampton ticket holders + free entry to NHS workers and Veterans
  • US Portsmouth v Christchurch – Proceeds to the Steve Bernard Foundation
  • Portland United v Horndean

Wessex League Division One

  • New Milton Town AFC v Petersfield Town - £1 entry for kids + shirt raffle
  • Downton v Eversley and California – 2.45pm kick-off
  • Ringwood Town v Whitchurch United
  • Folland Sports v Millbrook
  • Ash United v Verwood Town
  • Andover Town v Bemerton Heath Harlequins