Bath City will face an exciting mix of familiar rivals and brand-new opponents in the upcoming 2026-27 Southern Premier South season. The team can look forward to local derbies against Chippenham Town, Frome Town, Taunton Town, and Yate Town, alongside trips to new grounds and encounters with unfamiliar sides.
This season, Bath City will meet seven sides they have never faced competitively before — Berkhamsted, Chichester City, Hanwell Town, Hanworth Villa, Malvern Town, Plymouth Parkway, and Uxbridge. Fans will no doubt relish the fresh competition these matches will bring.
Among the most frequent foes in the 22-team league is Gloucester City. The upcoming clash will mark their 73rd competitive meeting, underscoring a deep-seated rivalry. Additionally, Bath City has recent history against clubs like Bracknell Town and Chertsey Town through FA Trophy ties, and a memorable 2-0 FA Trophy victory over Sholing at Twerton in 2019.
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Wimborne Town join the division for the first time and have a fierce FA Cup record against Bath City, having pulled off two giant-killing victories, including one last season. This will add an intriguing new chapter to Bath City’s fixture list.
Supporters can expect to visit nine new stadiums this season. Notably, Basingstoke Town has shifted venues from the Camrose to the Winklebury Sports Complex, featuring one of the division’s nine artificial 3G pitches. The division also includes Hampshire clubs Gosport Borough and Havant & Waterlooville, familiar from previous National League South encounters.
Newly promoted Evesham United and Malvern Town – the latter guided by former Bath City forward Ryan Brunt as Player Director of Football – add fresh flavor to the geographic spread. Malvern Town’s Langland Stadium is around 150 miles from Twerton, representing an average away trip for Bath City. Overall, Bath City will travel approximately 1,593 miles for league away games—a significant reduction compared to last season’s 2,744 miles—helping to ease travel strain on players and fans alike.
At the far end of the spectrum, Plymouth Parkway’s Bolitho Park is the most distant away venue, approximately 131 miles from Twerton. Bath City’s only prior visit there resulted in a 1-1 draw against Truro in September 2023, setting a precedent for competitive play at this new site.
On the local front, derbies against Chippenham, Frome, and Yate Town will be close to home, all within a 15-mile radius. Notably, Yate remains one of just three clubs from Bath City’s last stint in the Southern League, alongside Chippenham and Gloucester. The Romans famously clinched the league title at Yate in 2007 with a 2-1 victory.
The Southern Premier South now features teams spanning a broad geographic area, from local rivals to clubs as far afield as Devon. Bath City’s opponents this season also include teams relegated from higher divisions like Tiverton Town, Weymouth, Dorchester Town, and Hungerford Town—names synonymous with Bath City’s past campaigns.
Newcomers to the league include Berkhamsted, who narrowly missed play-offs last season, and Chichester City, recently transferred laterally from the Isthmian Premier League after finishing 12th. Hanwell Town finished mid-table in Southern Premier South last term, while Uxbridge impressed with a 9th place finish in their first year at Step 3. Hanworth Villa, winners of the Isthmian Central play-offs this month, will be competing at this level for the first time.
The season is set to kick off on Saturday, August 8, 2026, and wrap up by Saturday, April 17, 2027. The play-off format has evolved since 2004, expanding this season to include teams finishing up to 7th place, with two eliminator matches before the final—tentatively scheduled for Monday, May 3.
While last year’s fixtures were only announced weeks before the season started, Bath City supporters can expect official confirmation in due course.
The full list of Southern Premier South 2026/27 teams includes:
Basingstoke Town, Bath City, Berkhamsted, Bracknell Town, Chertsey Town, Chichester City, Chippenham Town, Evesham United, Frome Town, Gloucester City, Gosport Borough, Hanwell Town, Hanworth Villa, Havant & Waterlooville, Malvern Town, Plymouth Parkway, Poole Town, Sholing, Taunton Town, Uxbridge, Wimborne Town, and Yate Town.