With the structure for the National League South confirmed, we take a look at the six new teams joining us at Step Two for the 2025/26 campaign.
We continue with a look at the final newly promoted team, with Sussex neighbours Horsham making their debut in The National League South after a prevailing in a dramatic Isthmian Premier title race.
2024/25
Having ended 2023/24 with penalty shoot-out heartbreak in the Play-Off Semi-Final at Chatham Town, Horsham had an indifferent start to the new season – with just ten points from their first 7 games.
Despite that form, they would go on to come through the early rounds of the FA Cup to reach the First Round for the third straight season – beating Dorking Wanderers for the second time in as many seasons on the way. Their reward was a trip to Chesterfield, where they lost 3-1 to the League Two outfit.
They started December in 14th – six points off Lewes in fifth and 17 points off top spot Dover. However, their form started to turn around. A run of five wins out of six saw them enter 2025 in the Play-Off places, and they were just four points off top – albeit still in fifth spot – upon the start of February.
The Hornets would drop points in just three of their final 14 games, though, which would be enough for them to seal the title on a dramatic final day.
Billericay Town led the way by one goal from Horsham, with Dartford further back all on 84 points. Despite ‘Ricay winning 4-2 against Cheshunt, Horsham’s rampant 5-1 win over Hashtag was enough for them to turn goal difference into their favour to be crowned Champions by one goal.
The Manager
Since taking charge of the Hornets in 2015, Dom Di Paola has overseen an extraordinary period of growth and transformation at the club.
Di Paola first made his mark at East Preston, masterminding two County League titles and reaching the final of five Sussex cup competitions as well as reaching the last sixteen of the FA Vase.
Hastings United offered Dom his first stint as a manager at Step 4 but his stay in East Sussex lasted just three months, after which he was invited to revive the fortunes of a Horsham side already doomed to relegation to the County League for the first time since 1956. Rebuilding the side almost entirely from scratch, he secured the club’s first league title in twenty years by winning the 2015/16 Southern Combination League by eleven points and has since enjoyed a year-on-year improvement in the league.
In 2018/19 he took the club back to the Isthmian Premier Division via the Play-Offs after finishing second in the table and recorded a best-ever league finish of fifth in 2023/24, thus qualifying for the Play-Offs where Horsham lost out to Chatham Town on penalties in the semi-finals. Success has also come in the cups under Dom’s leadership, with the Hornets securing a first-ever Isthmian League Cup (Velocity Trophy) and ending the club’s forty-eight year wait to lift the Sussex Senior Cup, thus completing a clean sweep of Sussex trophies for the manager. In addition, he led the Hornets to a best-ever run in the FA Trophy in 2024, an FA Cup first round appearance in 2021 and a record-equalling second round qualification in 2024. They then of course went on to achieve even more in 2024/25 – winning the Isthmian Premier for the first time in the club’s history before retaining the Sussex Senior Cup at The AMEX.
The Stadium
The Hop Oast Stadium, known for sponsorship purposes as the Fusion Aviation Community Stadium has been the home stadium of Horsham FC since 2019 after they moved out of their old Queen Street stadium in 2008.
The club sold their ground at Queen Street, which had been their home since 1904, to property developers and moved out in 2008. A two-season groundshare with Worthing was terminated after one season, and they moved in to share with Horsham YMCA at Goring’s Mead. After YM ended the groundshare arrangement at the end of the 2016/17 season, Horsham signed a contract to play their home matches at the headquarters of the Sussex FA at Culver Road, Lancing, an arrangement that lasted for two seasons while the new ground was built.
The 3G Stadium was finally opened in 2019, with a friendly against Crawley Town the official opening in July 2019.
Head-to-Head
This season will be the first time the two clubs would have come up against each other at this level – though it’s Horsham who came out on top when the two teams met in the FA Cup in 2021.
The Sports came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at The Camping World Stadium in the Third Qualifying Round, forcing a replay. However, back at Priory Lane, it was the Isthmian Premier side who came out on top – winning 1-0. Horsham would go on to reach the First Round – losing 2-0 away at Carlisle United.
