- Southern Football League
-
Southern Football League 
Countries England Confederation The Football Association Founded 1894 Number of teams 65 Level on pyramid Level 7 and Level 8 Promotion to Conference South, Conference North Relegation to Combined Counties League
Hellenic League
Midland Alliance
Spartan South Midlands League
United Counties League
Wessex League,
Western LeagueDomestic cup(s) Southern League Cup Current champions Truro City (Premier Division)
AFC Totton (D1 South & West)
Arlesey Town (D1 Midlands)
(2010–11)Website Official website 
2011–12 Southern Football LeagueThe Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system.
The structure of the Southern League has changed several times since its formation in 1894, and currently there are 65 clubs which are divided into three divisions. The Premier Division is at step 3 of the National League System (NLS), and is a feeder division, mainly to the Conference South but also to the Conference North. Feeding the Premier Division are two regional divisions, Division One South & West and Division One Central, which are at step 4 of the NLS. These divisions are in turn fed by various regional leagues.
From 1 July 2011 the Southern League will be known as The Evo-Stik League Southern, following a sponsorship deal with Evo-Stik. In addition, the League Cup competition will be known as the Red Insure Cup, following a sponsorship deal with Red Insure.
Contents
History
Football in the south of England
Professional football (and professional sport in general) developed more slowly in Southern England than in Northern England. Professionalism was sanctioned by the The Football Association as early as 1885, but when The Football League was founded in 1888 it was based entirely in the north and midlands with the County Football Associations in the South being firmly opposed to professionalism.
Woolwich Arsenal (nowadays simply Arsenal) were the first club in London to turn professional in 1891 and were one of the prime motivators behind an attempt to set up a Southern League to mirror the existing Northern and Midlands based Football League. However, this venture failed in the face of opposition from the London Football Association and Woolwich Arsenal instead joined the Football League as its only representative south of Birmingham in 1893. Additionally, an amateur league, the Southern Alliance was founded in 1892, with seven teams from the region, but that folded after one incomplete season.
Formation of the Southern League
Nonetheless, another attempt was made to form the Southern League, and this time it was successful. A competition for both professional and amateur clubs was founded in 1894 under the initiative of Millwall Athletic (now simply Millwall). Initially only one division was envisaged, but such was the enthusiasm, that eventually two divisions were formed. The sixteen founder members were:[1]
Division One Chatham Clapton Ilford Luton Town Millwall Athletic Reading Royal Ordnance Factories 2nd Scots Guards Swindon Town Division Two Bromley Chesham Maidenhead New Brompton Old St Stephen's Sheppey United Uxbridge 2nd Scots Guards withdrew before the first season started and were replaced by Southampton St Mary's. Woolwich Arsenal attempted to add their reserve side to the second division but this application was refused.
Success of the Southern League
The Southern League soon became the dominant competition below The Football League in Southern and Central England. By the turn of the century a few of the Southern League sides began to rival the Football League in the FA Cup but overall it was still regarded as the equivalent to the third level of English.[2]
Two Southern League clubs, Southampton (in 1900 and 1902) and Tottenham Hotspur (in 1901) reached the final of the FA Cup around the turn of the century. Tottenham Hotspur were the only club from below the 2nd level of English football to have won FA Cup but this needs to be put into reasonable context
Several of the best players in England moved from the Football League to the Southern League around this time, due to the restrictions on their freedom of movement and wages implemented by the Football League between 1893 and 1901, and the failed efforts of the Association Footballers' Union (the AFU) to relax the restrictions.
The champions of the two leagues during this period met in the annual Charity Shield. Out of the six meetings the respective league champions had in the Shield, however, only one was won by the Southern League champions – Brighton & Hove Albion, in 1910, and this remains their only top level national honour to date.
In 1907, it accepted Bradford Park Avenue, a northern club, as a member, reflecting its senior position at the time.
In 1920, virtually the entire top division of the Southern League was absorbed by the Football League to become that league's new Third Division. A year later the Third Division was expanded and regionalised. The Third Division clubs from the previous season became the Third Division South, with the addition of the Third Division North.
Of all the original founder members, five – Gillingham (as New Brompton were renamed), Millwall, Reading, Southampton and Swindon Town – are now Football League clubs.
A feeder league
For the next six decades, the Football League and Southern League would exchange a limited number of clubs as a result of the older league's re-election process. From 1920 onward, the Southern League's status as a semi-professional league was firmly established.
With its clubs seeking a more regular means of advancing to the Football League, in 1979 the Southern League became a feeder to the new Football Conference along with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League, and the top Southern clubs of the day joined the new league. In turn, the Conference would eventually succeed in becoming a feeder to the Football League. The league lost more of its top clubs in 2004 when the Conference added two regional divisions below the existing Conference National, the Conference South and Conference North.
Sponsorship
The first sponsor of the Southern League was Beazer Homes who sponsored the league from 1987–96. The sponsors after Beazer Homes to the present day are: Dr Martens (1996–2004), British Gas (2006–2009), Zamaretto (2009–2011) and Evo-Stik (2011-).[3]
Southern League clubs
Listed below are the clubs currently competing in the three divisions of the Southern League, for the 2011–12 season.
Division One Central AFC Hayes Ashford Town Aylesbury Barton Rovers Beaconsfield SYCOB Bedfont Town Bedworth United Biggleswade Town Burnham Chalfont St. Peter Chertsey Town Daventry Town Fleet Town Leighton Town Marlow North Greenford United Northwood Rugby Town Slough Town St. Neots Town Uxbridge Woodford United Note that Andover were members of Division One South & West, but were dissolved in July.
Past Southern League winners
This section lists the past winners of the Southern League.[4]
Season Division One Division Two 1894–95 Millwall Athletic New Brompton 1895–96 Millwall Athletic Wolverton L & NWR 1896–97 Southampton St Mary's Dartford 1897–98 Southampton Royal Artillery Portsmouth For the 1898–99 season, Division Two was divided into London and South-West sections, with a playoff contested between the winners of each section.
Season Division One Division Two (London) Division Two (SW) Division Two Playoff 1898–99 Southampton Thames Ironworks Cowes Thames won 3–1 For the 1899–00 season, the league reverted to the old format.
Season Division One Division Two 1899-00 Tottenham Hotspur Watford 1900–01 Southampton Brentford 1901–02 Portsmouth Fulham 1902–03 Southampton Fulham 1903–04 Southampton Watford 1904–05 Bristol Rovers Fulham Reserves 1905–06 Fulham Crystal Palace 1906–07 Fulham Southend United 1907–08 Queens Park Rangers Southend United 1908–09 Northampton Town Croydon Common For the 1909–10 season, Division Two was split into an 'A' section and a 'B' section, with the winners of each section contesting a play-off for the Division Two championship.
Season Division One Division Two (A) Division Two (B) Division Two Playoff 1909–10 Brighton & Hove Albion Stoke Hastings & St Leonards Stoke won 6–0 For the 1910–11 season, the league again reverted back to the previous format.
Season Division One Division Two 1910–11 Swindon Town Reading 1911–12 Queens Park Rangers Merthyr Town 1912–13 Plymouth Argyle Cardiff City 1913–14 Swindon Town Croydon Common 1914–15 Watford Stoke 1919–20 Portsmouth Mid Rhondda At the end of the 1919–20 season, the majority of the teams in the First Division moved into the new Third Division of the Football League. The Southern League was therefore split into two sections for England and Wales, with the winners of each section contesting a playoff for the Southern League championship.
Season English Section Welsh Section Championship Playoff 1920–21 Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves Barry Brighton won 2–1 1921–22 Plymouth Argyle Reserves Ebbw Vale Plymouth won 3–0 1922–23 Bristol City Reserves Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale won 2–1 For the 1923–24 season, the league was split into two regional sections, with the winners of each section contesting a playoff for the Southern League championship.
Season Eastern Section Western Section Championship Playoff 1923–24 Peterborough & Fletton United Yeovil & Petters United Yeovil won 3–1 1924–25 Southampton Reserves Swansea Town Reserves Southampton won 2–1 1925–26 Millwall Reserves Plymouth Argyle Reserves Plymouth won 1–0 1926–27 Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves Torquay United Brighton won 4–0 1927–28 Kettering Town Bristol City Reserves Kettering won 5–0 1928–29 Kettering Town Plymouth Argyle Reserves Plymouth won 4–2 1929–30 Aldershot Town Bath City Aldershot won 3–2 1930–31 Dartford Exeter City Reserves Dartford won 7–2 1931–32 Dartford Yeovil & Petters United Dartford won 2–1 1932–33 Norwich City Reserves Bath City Norwich won 2–1 For the 1933–34 season an extra section, the Central Section was introduced to provide additional fixtures. The Central included teams from the other two sections and did not contribute to the overall championship.
Season Eastern Section Western Section Central Section Championship Playoff 1933–34 Norwich City Reserves Plymouth Argyle Reserves Plymouth Argyle Reserves Plymouth won 3–0 1934–35 Norwich City Reserves Yeovil & Petters United Folkestone Norwich won 7–2 1935–36 Margate Plymouth Argyle Reserves Margate Margate won 3–1 For the 1936–37 season, the Eastern and Western sections were merged into a single division. Additional fixtures were obtained through the Midweek Section which did not contribute to the overall championship.
Season Southern League Midweek Section 1936–37 Ipswich Town Margate 1937–38 Guildford City Millwall Reserves 1938–39 Colchester United Tunbridge Wells Rangers For the 1945–46 season, the Midweek Section was not played due to power restrictions after the Second World War.
Season Southern League 1945–46 Chelmsford City 1946–47 Gillingham 1947–48 Merthyr Tydfil 1948–49 Gillingham 1949–50 Merthyr Tydfil 1950–51 Merthyr Tydfil 1951–52 Merthyr Tydfil 1952–53 Headington United 1953–54 Merthyr Tydfil 1954–55 Yeovil Town 1955–56 Guildford City 1956–57 Kettering Town 1957–58 Gravesend & Northfleet For the 1958–59 season the Southern League was again divided into two sections: North-Western and South-Eastern. The winners of each section contested a playoff for the Southern League championship
Season North-Western Section South-Eastern Section Championship Playoff 1958–59 Hereford United Bedford Town Bedford won 3–0 The following season saw the two sections merged to form a Premier Division, and a new Division One introduced.
Season Premier Division Division One 1959–60 Bath City Clacton Town 1960–61 Oxford United Kettering Town 1961–62 Oxford United Wisbech Town 1962–63 Cambridge City Margate 1963–64 Yeovil Town Folkestone Town 1964–65 Weymouth Hereford United 1965–66 Weymouth Barnet 1966–67 Romford Dover 1967–68 Chelmsford City Worcester City 1968–69 Cambridge United Brentwood Town 1969–70 Cambridge United Bedford Town 1970–71 Yeovil Town Guildford City For the 1971–72 season Division One was regionalised.
Season Premier Division Division One North Division One South 1971–72 Chelmsford City Kettering Town Waterlooville 1972–73 Kettering Town Grantham Maidstone United 1973–74 Dartford Stourbridge Wealdstone 1974–75 Wimbledon Bedford Town Gravesend & Northfleet 1975–76 Wimbledon Redditch United Minehead 1976–77 Wimbledon Worcester City Barnet 1977–78 Bath City Witney Town Margate 1978–79 Worcester City Grantham Dover For the 1979–80 season, thirteen Premier Division clubs joined the newly-formed Alliance Premier League. The Premier Division and Division One were subsequently merged, and two regional divisions formed.
Season Midland Division Southern Division 1979–80 Bridgend Town Dorchester Town 1980–81 Alvechurch Dartford 1981–82 Nuneaton Borough Wealdstone For the 1982–83 season, the Premier Division was re-introduced, above the regional divisions.
For the 2000–01 season, the regional divisions were renamed the Western and Eastern divisions.
Season Premier Division Western Division Eastern Division 2000–01 Margate Hinckley United Newport IOW 2001–02 Kettering Town Halesowen Town Hastings Town 2002–03 Tamworth Merthyr Tydfil Dorchester Town 2003–04 Crawley Town Redditch United King's Lynn 2004–05 Histon Mangotsfield United Fisher Athletic 2005–06 Salisbury City Clevedon Town Boreham Wood For the 2006–07 season, the two regional divisions were renamed Division One Midlands and Division One South & West.
Season Premier Division Division One Midlands Division One South & West 2006–07 Bath City Brackley Town Bashley 2007–08 King's Lynn Evesham United Farnborough 2008–09 Corby Town Leamington Truro City 2009–10 Farnborough Bury Town Windsor & Eton 2010–11 Truro City Arlesey Town AFC Totton League Cup winners
League structure
The league structure has changed several times over the years, and currently consists of a Premier Division at step 3 of the pyramid, with Division One South & West and Division One Midlands at step 4. The winners of the Premier Division, together with the winners of a playoff, are promoted to the Conference North or Conference South, depending on their location.
Clubs relegated from the Southern League can be placed in any of fourteen lower level leagues, but in practice it is likely to be one of the following (based on geography):
- Combined Counties League
- Hellenic League
- Midland Football Alliance
- Spartan South Midlands League
- United Counties League
- Wessex League
- Western League
From time to time, clubs outside the promotion and relegation positions based at the geographical edges of the Southern League will be compelled to leave the League by the NLS Committee, should it be necessary for them to compete in the Northern Premier or Isthmian Leagues so as to correct any imbalances brought on by the geographical distribution of the teams promoted and relegated to this level. Teams in the Northern Premier or Isthmian Leagues have also been entered into the Southern League for the same reason.
References
- ^ "The History of the Southern Football League". Southern Football League official website. http://www.southern-football-league.co.uk/history/default.asp?section=league-history. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
- ^ Football League Football Club History Database
- ^ League tables available English Non-League Archive 1965-98
- ^ Southern League History RSSSF
- ^ Edwards, Leigh (*1993). The Official Centenary History of the Southern League. Halesowen: Paper Plane Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 1-871872-08-1.
External links
Southern League Premier Division Arlesey Town · AFC Totton · Banbury United · Barwell · Bashley · Bedford Town · Brackley Town · Cambridge City · Chesham United · Chippenham Town · Cirencester Town · Evesham United · Frome Town · Hemel Hempstead Town · Hitchin Town · Leamington · Oxford City · Redditch United · St. Albans City · Stourbridge · Swindon Supermarine · WeymouthDivision One
CentralAshford Town · AFC Hayes · Aylesbury · Barton Rovers · Beaconsfield SYCOB · Bedfont Town · Bedworth United · Biggleswade Town · Burnham · Chalfont St. Peter · Chertsey Town · Daventry Town · Fleet Town · Leighton Town · Marlow · North Greenford United · Northwood · Rugby Town · Slough Town · St Neots Town · Uxbridge · Woodford UnitedDivision One
South & WestAbingdon United · Bideford · Bishop's Cleeve · Bridgwater Town · Cinderford Town · Clevedon Town · Didcot Town · Gosport Borough · Halesowen Town · Hungerford Town · Mangotsfield United · North Leigh · Paulton Rovers · Poole Town · Sholing · Stourport Swifts · Taunton Town · Thatcham Town · Tiverton Town · Wimborne Town · Yate TownSeasons 1894–95 · 1895–96 · 1896–97 · 1897–98 · 1898–99 · 1899–1900 · 1900–01 · 1901–02 · 1902–03 · 1903–04 · 1904–05 · 1905–06 · 1906–07 · 1907–08 · 1908–09 · 1909–10 · 1910–11 · 1911–12 · 1912–13 · 1913–14 · 1914–15 · 1915–16 · 1916–17 · 1917–18 · 1918–19 · 1919–20 · 1920–21 · 1921–22 · 1922–23 · 1923–24 · 1924–25 · 1925–26 · 1926–27 · 1927–28 · 1928–29 · 1929–30 · 1930–31 · 1931–32 · 1932–33 · 1933–34 · 1934–35 · 1935–36 · 1936–37 · 1937–38 · 1938–39 · 1939–40 · 1940–41 · 1941–42 · 1942–43 · 1943–44 · 1944–45 · 1945–46 · 1946–47 · 1947–48 · 1948–49 · 1949–50 · 1950–51 · 1951–52 · 1952–53 · 1953–54 · 1954–55 · 1955–56 · 1956–57 · 1957–58 · 1958–59 · 1959–60 · 1960–61 · 1961–62 · 1962–63 · 1963–64 · 1964–65 · 1965–66 · 1966–67 · 1967–68 · 1968–69 · 1969–70 · 1970–71 · 1971–72 · 1972–73 · 1973–74 · 1974–75 · 1975–76 · 1976–77 · 1977–78 · 1978–79 · 1979–80 · 1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90 · 1990–91 · 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–2000 · 2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010–11 · 2011–12Football in England National teams National Football Centre League system Premier League · The Football League (Championship • League One • League Two) · Football Conference (National • North • South) · Northern Premier · Southern League · Isthmian League · Levels 9–23Domestic cups FA Cup · Football League Cup · FA Community Shield · Football League Trophy · FA Trophy · Conference League Cup · FA Vase · FA Inter-League CupOthers Masters FootballLists Categories:- Southern Football League
- 1894 establishments in England
- Football leagues in England
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.