Southern Football League

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The Southern League is an English football league for semi-professional and amateur teams.

Originally founded in 1900, the Southern League became the dominant competition outside The Football League in southern and central England. Along with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League, it is a feeder to the Football Conference.

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 West and Division One East at step 4. The winners of the Premier Division, together with the winners of a playoff, will be promoted to the new Conference North or Conference South divisions, depending on their location.

Clubs relegated from the Southern League can be placed in any of the fifteen leagues below, but in practice it is likely to be one of the following (based on geography):

• Division One West:
  • Midland Football Alliance
  • Hellenic League
  • Western League
  • Wessex League
• Division One East:
  • United Counties League
  • Eastern Counties League
  • Essex Senior League
  • Spartan South Midlands League

Premier Division teams (2004-05)

• Aylesbury United
• Banbury United
• Bath City
• Bedford Town
• Chesham United
• Chippenham Town
• Cirencester Town
• Dunstable Town
• Gloucester City
• Grantham Town
• Halesowen Town
• Hednesford Town
• Hemel Hempstead Town
• Histon
• Hitchin Town
• King's Lynn
• Merthyr Tydfil
• Rugby United
• Solihull Borough
• Stamford
• Team Bath
• Tiverton Town