SOUTHERN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Southern Football League
'Founded'
1894
'Nation'
'Feeder To'
Conference South Conference North
'Divisions'
Premier Division Division One South & West Division One Midlands
'Number of Teams'
65
'Level on Pyramid'
Level 7 and Level 8
'Cups'
Southern League Cup
'Current Champions (2006-07)'
Bath City (''Premier Division'') Bashley (''D1 South & West'') Brackley Town (''D1 Midlands'')
'Website'
Official

:''For other uses, see Southern Football League (disambiguation).''
The 'Southern League' is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England. For historical reasons the Welsh club Merthyr Tydfil also currently play in the Southern League.
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 Level 3 of the National League System, and is a feeder division to Conference South. Feeding the Premier Division are two regional divisions, known as Division One Midlands and Division One South & West, which are at Level 4 of the system. These divisions are in turn fed by various regional leagues.
For sponsorship reasons the Southern League is currently known as the 'British Gas Business Football League'

Contents

History

Southern League clubs

Past Southern League winners

League structure

See also

References

External links

History

Professional football (and professional sport in general) developed more slowly in southern England than in the north. 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 establishment and county FAs in the south being firmly opposed to professionalism.
Woolwich Arsenal (nowadays simply Arsenal) were the first London club 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 FA and Woolwich Arsenal instead joined the Football League as its only representative south of Birmingham in 1893. Additionally, an amateur league called the Southern Alliance was founded in 1892, involving seven teams from the region, but folded after one incomplete season.
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 16 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 United 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.
The Southern League soon became the dominant competition outside The Football League in southern and central England. Indeed, in 1907, it accepted Bradford Park Avenue, a top northern club as a member, reflecting its senior position at the time. Of the 16 original founder members, six – Gillingham (as New Brompton were renamed), Luton Town, Millwall, Reading, Southampton and Swindon Town – are now League clubs.
Whilst still a Southern League club, Tottenham Hotspur became the first and so far only team to win the FA Cup after the establishment of the league as a ''non-League'' club; this happened in 1901, although Southampton reached the final in 1900 and 1902 showing the strength of the Southern League. The relative strengths of the two leagues was during this period elucidated through the annual Charity Shield.
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 this became the Third Division South, the delay in the incorporation of the Third Division North being due to the lack of an overall coherent structure in the North outside of the Football 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 on, 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 become 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.

Southern League clubs

Listed below are the clubs currently competing in the three divisions of the Southern League, for the 2007–08 season.

Premier Division Banbury United Bashley Bedford Town Brackley Town Bromsgrove Rovers Cheshunt Chippenham Town Cirencester Town Clevedon Town Corby Town Gloucester City Halesowen Town Hemel Hempstead Town Hitchin Town King's Lynn Mangotsfield United Merthyr Tydfil Rugby Town Swindon Supermarine Team Bath Tiverton Town Yate Town

Division One Midlands Aylesbury United Barton Rovers Bedworth United Berkhamsted Town Bishop's Cleeve Chasetown Chesham United Cinderford Town Dunstable Town Evesham United Leamington Leighton Town Malvern Town Romulus Rothwell Town Rushall Olympic Stourbridge Stourport Swifts Sutton Coldfield Willenhall Town Woodford United

Division One South & West A.F.C. Hayes Abingdon United Andover Bracknell Town Bridgwater Town Burnham Didcot Town Farnborough Fleet Town Godalming Town Gosport Borough Hillingdon Borough Marlow Newport IoW Oxford City Paulton Rovers Slough Town Taunton Town Thatcham Town Uxbridge Winchester City Windsor & Eton

Past Southern League winners

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 (South) of the Football League. The Southern League was therefore split into two national 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
1933-34	Norwich City Reserves	Plymouth Argyle Reserves	Plymouth won 3-0
1934-35	Norwich City Reserves	Yeovil & Petters United	Norwich won 7-2
1935-36	Margate	Plymouth Argyle Reserves	Margate won 3-1

''For the 1936-37 season, the Eastern and Western sections were merged into a single division.''

Season	Southern League
1936-37	Ipswich Town
1937-38	Guildford City
1938-39	Colchester United
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.''

Season	Premier Division	Midland Division	Southern Division
1982-83	Leamington	Cheltenham Town	Fisher Athletic
1983-84	Dartford	Willenhall Town	Road-Sea Southampton
1984-85	Cheltenham Town	Dudley Town	Basingstoke Town
1985-86	Welling United	Bromsgrove Rovers	Cambridge City
1986-87	Fisher Athletic	VS Rugby	Dorchester Town
1987-88	Aylesbury United	Merthyr Tydfil	Dover Athletic
1988-89	Merthyr Tydfil	Gloucester City	Chelmsford City
1989-90	Dover Athletic	Halesowen Town	Bashley
1990-91	Farnborough Town	Stourbridge	Buckingham Town
1991-92	Bromsgrove Rovers	Solihull Borough	Hastings Town
1992-93	Dover Athletic	Nuneaton Borough	Sittingbourne
1993-94	Farnborough Town	Rushden & Diamonds	Gravesend & Northfleet
1994-95	Hednesford Town	Newport County	Salisbury City
1995-96	Rushden & Diamonds	Nuneaton Borough	Sittingbourne
1996-97	Gresley Rovers	Tamworth	Forest Green Rovers
1997-98	Forest Green Rovers	Grantham Town	Weymouth
1998-99	Nuneaton Borough	Clevedon Town	Havant & Waterlooville
1999-00	Boston United	Stafford Rangers	Fisher Athletic

''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

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, and Division One South & West and Division One Midlands at step 4. The winners of the Premier Division, together with the winners of a playoff, will be promoted to the Conference North or Conference South divisions, depending on their location.
Clubs relegated from the Southern League can be placed in any of the fourteen leagues below, but in practice it is likely to be one of the following (based on geography):

★ Combined Counties League

★ Eastern Counties League

★ Essex Senior League

★ Hellenic League

★ Midland Football Alliance

★ Spartan South Midlands League

★ United Counties League

★ Wessex League

★ Western League

See also

★ Southern Football League Premier Division 2006-07

★ Southern Football League Division One Midlands 2006-07

★ Southern Football League Division One South & West 2006-07

★ Southern League Cup 2006-07

References

1. The History of the Southern Football League

External links

★ Official site

★ Unofficial Forum