Carlton Town FC has locked in a packed programme of seven preseason friendlies as the Millers prepare for the 2026/27 campaign at the Bill Stokeld Stadium. The run kicks off at home against Radford on 4 July and wraps up with a visit from Alfreton Town on 1 August, giving supporters a full month of midweek and Saturday football at Stoke Lane. Chairman Mick Garton confirmed the fixtures through the club’s Pitchero portal, where the full list also shows the club remaining in the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands.
The schedule pairs local derbies with tests against higher-division opponents. Eastwood CFC arrive on 11 July, followed by Sherwood Colliery three days later on 14 July. Coalville Town visit on 18 July, then Lincoln United on 21 July, before Matlock Town close the home slate on 25 July. Saturday kick-offs are set for 15:00 and Tuesday night matches for 19:45, though the club advises checking its social channels for any changes. Earlier this month Garton announced that Lindleys Autocentres has signed on for a seventh straight year as front-of-home-kit sponsor, a deal that also secures prime advertising board placement at the ground. “Sponsorship is so crucial, so a massive thank you in particular to Dave and Ryan at Lindleys for their loyalty and continued support for what will be their seventh year with us,” Garton said.
Industry Bar and Friends have also renewed their backing, while principal sponsor MSR Newsgroup, Castle Rock Brewery, Aerocom UK, and the Football Foundation remain part of the club’s commercial portfolio. Commercial and marketing chief Gary Clarke has been working on retaining partners since the end of last season, pointing to the loyalty of firms like Lindleys as a bedrock for the non-league outfit. The Bill Stokeld Stadium sits off the A612 Burton Joyce road, and the club has played at Stoke Lane since moving to Gedling in the early 1990s.
Off the pitch, the Millers have just closed out a Millers Community Month that raised more than £12,000 through charity events held at the ground. The centrepiece was an 8-1 victory for a Carlton Town XI, captained by Jason Law and managed jointly by Garton and kit manager Phil Jennings, against Punjabi Forest. Stoke Lane has previously hosted charity matches for causes including Florentina’s Footsteps and Children’s Cancer UK, and the club says the funds raised this year will again be directed to local organisations.
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