The Opposition - Key Facts
Full name: Shepshed Dynamo Football Club
Nickname: The Dynamo
Founded: 1994
Ground: The Dovecote Stadium
Capacity: 2,500 (500 seated)
Chairman: Mick Sloan
Manager: Gary Drake (since October 2024)
Last season: 7th/21 (NPL Midlands)
Journey distance: 28 miles

The Opposition - History
Football in Shepshed dates back to the late 19th century, with Shepshed Albion joining the Leicestershire Senior League in 1907 and winning titles in 1911 and 1921.

In 1975, backed by Maurice Clayton of Charterhouse Holdings, the club became Shepshed Charterhouse and began a remarkable rise. Between 1978 and 1984, they won six consecutive league titles, reaching the Southern League Premier Division and even the FA Cup First Round in 1982, losing to Preston North End. Former Nottingham Forest player Martin O’Neill briefly managed the club in 1989.

After back-to-back relegations in 1991–92, the club reverted to Shepshed Albion, then reformed as Shepshed Dynamo in 1994. They won the Midland Football Alliance in 1995–96, earning promotion to the Southern League.

Subsequent years brought fluctuating fortunes, with league restructures and financial struggles. Despite occasional reprieves from relegation, Dynamo eventually dropped to the United Counties League in 2012, later joining the Midland Football League Premier Division after a merger in 2014.

The Opposition - This Season
The Dynamo started pre-season on 4th July against Leicester Nirvana.
They have since tested themselves against Hinckley, Ashby Ivanhoe, Ilkeston Town, Burton Albion and a Notts County XI.
They come into the match off the back of a 2-0 win at Stamford last weekend.

The Nailers
Belper's results improved as pre-season went on.
Beginning with a defeat at Sheffield, back to back 2-2 draws followed at Matlock and Heanor before Belper United secured the inaugural Belper Memorial Cup.
After four matches without a win, the Nailers won the last three against Gresley Rovers, Congleton Town and last weekend's comprehensive victory against Kidsgrove Athletic.

Head to Head
The two sides have met on 22 occasions (this includes one abandoned), all since 2004.
The Dynamo had much the better of the early meetings, going unbeaten in the first four.
Belper then won back to back games before Shepshed did the same.
The Nailers struggled to get any momentum in the fixture until they achieved three wins in a row, a run which was ended when Shepshed won at the Raygar Stadium in March 2022.
Last season, Shepshed took a point from the encounter at Belper in early December but they picked up all three at the Dovecote, winning 2-1 in March.
Belper's biggest win is 6-0 in April 2012 while Shepshed's is 3-0 in September 2008.

Overall record for Belper:
P 22 W 7 D 5 L 9 (1 abandoned) F 34 A 30
(21 x NPL Step 4, 1 x Challenge Cup)

Form Guide (all competitive matches)
N/A

Team News
Full team news will be announced at 2:15pm.

Permutations
As this is the first game of the season, if either team betters everyone else's result, they will be top of the table!

Match details
Shepshed Dynamo vs. Belper Town
Pitching In Northern Premier League Midlands Division

Saturday, 8th August 2026 - 3:00pm kick-off

The Dovecote Stadium
Butthole Lane
Shepshed
Leicestershire
LE12 9BN

Admission prices: Adults £10, Concessions £7, 16-18 £5, U16 £3, U10 £0

Follow the match
Full coverage of the match:

Audio commentary with Joey and James on Belper Town Live
Full text coverage on X and Facebook.
Match reports on the website (all matches) and in the Non-League Paper (Saturday matches only)

NPL Midlands fixtures
With many teams featuring in FA Cup action, there are only three games in the league on matchday one:

Barwell vs. Basford United
Shepshed Dynamo vs. Belper Town
St. Ives Town vs. Carlton Town

There are three further games on Monday, five on Tuesday and three on Wednesday.