North West Counties Football League

North West Counties Football League

Countries	England
Confederation	FA
Founded	1982
Divisions	Premier Division Division One
Number of teams	40 22 (Premier Division) 18 (Division One)
Levels on pyramid	9–10
Feeder to	Northern Premier League Division One North and Division One South
Domestic cup(s)	League Cup First Division Trophy
Current champions	New Mills (Premier Division) AFC Blackpool (Division One) (2010–11)
Website	Official website
2011–12 season

The North West Counties Football League is a football league in North west of England. As of 2011, the league covers Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Southern Cumbria, Northern Staffordshire, the High Peak area of Derbyshire, and the far west of West Yorkshire. In the past, the league has also hosted clubs from North Wales. The league currently has two divisions: the Premier Division, at level nine in the English football league system, and the Division One at level ten. The league is a member of the Joint Liaison Council which administers the Northern arm of the National Football System in England.^[1]

History

The league was formed in 1982 by the merger of the Cheshire County League and the Lancashire Combination. It originally consisted of three divisions, but this was reduced to two in 1987, partly because of the creation of an extra division in the Northern Premier League (NPL). At the same time, promotion and relegation between the two leagues was introduced, with either the first or second placed club in the North West Counties Football League (NWCFL) being entitled to a place in the NPL, subject to their ground meeting that league's requirements.^[1]

The NWCFL has six feeder leagues of its own with eligibility for promotion to the First Division being accorded to champions of the Cheshire Association Football League, Liverpool County Premier League, West Cheshire Amateur Football League, Staffordshire County Senior League, West Lancashire Football League, and Manchester Football League, subject to their grounds meeting the NWCFL's requirements.^[1]

The first sponsorship of the NWCFL came in with Bass who remained the league sponsors until 1995. In 1998, the regional train operating company, First North Western became the new sponsor in a two year deal.^[1]

The area covered by the NWCFL is coloured in light blue.

In the 2008–09 season the league was again restructured. Division One was renamed the Premier Division and Division Two became the First Division.

The only club to have played in the top division every season since its inception is St Helens Town. Two clubs have won a league and cup double, Ashton United in 1991–92 and Kidsgrove Athletic in 1997–98, while Atherton Laburnum Rovers are the only club to have won consecutive championships in 1992–93 and 1993–94. For three consecutive seasons in the 1980s Clitheroe won each of the NWCFL divisions. In 1983–84 they were Division Three champions, the following season they won the Division Two championship and then in 1985–86 they were crowned Division One champions.^[1]

The league is currently home to two former Football League clubs; Glossop North End and Nelson. The Bootle club is not the same one as the former Football League club. Former league members Accrington Stanley have risen to play in the Football League.

For sixteen years the record attendance for a NWCFL match was 1,353 for a First Division championship decider between Radcliffe Borough and Caernarfon Town in the 1982–83 season. In the 1998–99 season a crowd of 2,281 saw Workington's championship deciding match with Mossley at Borough Park. In the 2005–06 season a new record was set, with 6,023 at Gigg Lane for a Division Two match between FC United of Manchester and Great Harwood Town on 23 April 2006. The following season, due mainly to the relatively large support for FC united of Manchester, saw attendances rise and included a record 4,058 for an evening match, with Salford City's Division One home game against FC United of Manchester.^[1]

The NWCFL has two cup competitions – the League Cup which is open to all clubs and the First Division Trophy. The league also runs a reserve league which consists of a single division of sixteen clubs, which also has a dedicated League Cup. From 1990–91 to 1999–2000 the league also ran a Floodlit Trophy competition.^[1]

Previous divisional champions

1982–87

The league was formed with three divisions.

Season	Division One	Division Two	Division Three
1982–83	Burscough	Radcliffe Borough	Colne Dynamoes
1983–84	Stalybridge Celtic	Fleetwood Town	Clitheroe
1984–85	Radcliffe Borough	Clitheroe	Kirkby Town
1985–86	Clitheroe	Kirkby Town	Blackpool Mechanics
1986–87	Stalybridge Celtic	Droylsden	Atherton Collieries

1987–2008

Due to the expansion of the Northern Premier League, and the withdrawal of clubs who could no longer meet the ground requirements, the third division was disbanded and a two division format instigated, a format that still remains in place.

Season	Division One	Division Two
1987–88	Colne Dynamoes	Ashton United
1988–89	Rossendale United	Vauxhall G M
1989–90	Warrington Town	Maine Road
1990–91	Knowsley United	Great Harwood Town
1991–92	Ashton United	Bamber Bridge
1992–93	Atherton Laburnum Rovers	Maghull
1993–94	Atherton Laburnum Rovers	Haslingden
1994–95	Bradford Park Avenue	Flixton
1995–96	Flixton	Vauxhall G M
1996–97	Trafford	Ramsbottom United
1997–98	Kidsgrove Athletic	Oldham Town
1998–99	Workington	Fleetwood Freeport
1999–00	Vauxhall Motors	Woodley Sports
2000–01	Rossendale United	Warrington Town
2001–02	Kidsgrove Athletic	Stand Athletic
2002–03	Prescot Cables	Bacup Borough
2003–04	Clitheroe	Colne
2004–05	Fleetwood Town[2]	Cammell Laird
2005–06	Cammell Laird	FC United of Manchester
2006–07	FC United of Manchester	Winsford United
2007–08	Trafford	New Mills

2008–present

In the 2008–09 season, the league renamed their divisions to the Premier Division and First Division.

Season	Premier Division	Division One
2008–09	AFC Fylde	Bootle
2009–10	Newcastle Town	Stone Dominoes
2010–11	New Mills	AFC Blackpool

League Cup winners

The NWCFL League Cup is for all members of the Premier and First divisions.

1982–83 - Darwen 1983–84 - Ellesmere Port & Neston 1984–85 - Leek Town 1985–86 - Warrington Town 1986–87 - Colne Dynamoes 1987–88 - Warrington Town 1988–89 - Colwyn Bay 1989–90 - Knowsley United 1990–91 - Vauxhall GM 1991–92 - Ashton United 1992–93 - Burscough 1993–94 - Rossendale United 1994–95 - Nantwich Town 1995–96 - Burscough

1996–97 - Newcastle Town 1997–98 - Kidsgrove Athletic 1998–99 - Vauxhall GM 1999–2000 - Skelmersdale United 2000–01 - Formby 2001–02 - Prescot Cables 2002–03 - Mossley 2003–04 - Bacup Borough 2004–05 - Cammell Laird 2005–06 - Salford City 2006–07 - F.C. United of Manchester 2007–08 - Maine Road 2008–09 - New Mills 2009–10 - Abbey Hey 2010–11 - Winsford United

First Division Trophy winners

The First Division Trophy is for all members of the First Division. It was known as the Second Division Trophy from 1989 to 2008.

1989–90 - Great Harwood Town 1990–91 - Glossop 1991–92 - Newcastle Town 1992–93 - Stantondale 1993–94 - North Trafford 1994–95 - Formby 1995–96 - Ramsbottom United 1996–97 - Nelson 1997–98 - Tetley Walker 1998–99 - Fleetwood Freeport 1999–2000 - Warrington Town

2000–01 - Squires Gate 2001–02 - No competition 2002–03 - Stone Dominoes 2003–04 - Colne 2004–05 - Cammell Laird 2005–06 - Flixton 2006–07 - New Mills 2007–08 - Kirkham & Wesham 2008–09 - AFC Liverpool 2009–10 - AFC Liverpool 2010–11 - Atherton Collieries

Floodlit Trophy winners

The NWCFL Floodlit Trophy was for all members of the Premier and First divisions.

1990–91 - Colwyn Bay 1991–92 - Great Harwood Town 1992–93 - Newcastle Town 1993–94 - Bootle 1994–95 - Penrith 1995–96 - Newcastle Town 1996–97 - Colwyn Bay 1997–98 - Burscough 1998–99 - Clitheroe 1999–2000 - Vauxhall Motors

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "LEAGUE HISTORY - A Brief History of the North West Counties Football League". North West Counties Football League. http://www.vodkatleague.com/index.php?page=league-history. Retrieved 2009-02-15. 
2. ^ Note that the Fleetwood Town club that won the Division Two title in 1983–84 is not the same club as the one of the same name who won the Division One Championship in 2004-05. The earlier club folded in 1993, and the new club was not formed until 1997 as Fleetwood Wanderers, then Fleetwood Freeport before taking the Fleetwood Town name in 2002.

External links

• Official website
• Current league tables