# 2021–22 Northern Counties East Football League

The 2021–22 Northern Counties East Football League season was the 40th in the history of Northern Counties East Football League, a football competition in England.
The allocations for the league this season were announced by The Football Association (The FA) on 18 May 2021.
After the abandonment of the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, numerous promotions were decided on a points per game basis over the previous two seasons.

## Premier Division

The Premier Division featured 17 clubs which competed in the previous season, along with three new clubs:
* Emley, promoted from Division One
* Sherwood Colliery, promoted from the East Midlands Counties League
* Winterton Rangers, promoted from Division One

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Grimsby Borough | 38 | 27 | 7 | 4 | 102 | 43 | +59 | 88 | Promoted to the Northern Premier League |
| 2 | Eccleshill United | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 90 | 48 | +42 | 79 | Qualified for the inter-step play-off |
| 3 | Garforth Town | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 81 | 39 | +42 | 77 | |
| 4 | Winterton Rangers | 38 | 24 | 4 | 10 | 90 | 43 | +47 | 76 | |
| 5 | Sherwood Colliery | 38 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 76 | 49 | +27 | 73 | Transferred to the United Counties League |
| 6 | Penistone Church | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 67 | 47 | +20 | 66 | |
| 7 | Barton Town | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 70 | 57 | +13 | 61 | |
| 8 | Handsworth | 38 | 19 | 3 | 16 | 71 | 67 | +4 | 60 | |
| 9 | Emley | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 65 | 57 | +8 | 51 | |
| 10 | Staveley Miners Welfare | 38 | 16 | 2 | 20 | 68 | 58 | +10 | 50 | Voluntary relegation to Division One |
| 11 | Maltby Main | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 57 | 60 | −3 | 49 | |
| 12 | Goole | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 58 | 68 | −10 | 49 | |
| 13 | Silsden | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 69 | 74 | −5 | 46 | |
| 14 | Bottesford Town | 38 | 14 | 4 | 20 | 44 | 74 | −30 | 46 | |
| 15 | Thackley | 38 | 13 | 5 | 20 | 59 | 85 | −26 | 44 | |
| 16 | AFC Mansfield | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 44 | 60 | −16 | 41 | Transferred to the United Counties League |
| 17 | Knaresborough Town | 38 | 12 | 4 | 22 | 62 | 87 | −25 | 40 | |
| 18 | Hemsworth Miners Welfare | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 70 | 97 | −27 | 33 | |
| 19 | Albion Sports | 38 | 10 | 3 | 25 | 47 | 79 | −32 | 33 | |
| 20 | Athersley Recreation | 38 | 2 | 4 | 32 | 24 | 122 | −98 | 10 | Relegated to Division One |
* ↑ Contested an inter-step play-off match as one of the bottom six runners-up from Step 5 with the most points per game (PPG) against a third-from-bottom club out of six from Step 4 with the fewest PPG. The winner stayed at Step 4 for the 2022–23 season, while the loser remained at Step 5. If a runner-up did not meet the minimum participation criteria, a club in the next eligible position between second and seventh would have played instead.
* ↑ Staveley Miners Welfare applied for a placement in Division One for financial reasons. They assumed the bottom position for relegation purposes.
* ↑ Relegated as one of four clubs with the fewest PPG out of 16 that were second-from-bottom in Step 5.

#### Inter-step play-off
### Stadia and locations

| Club | Stadium | Capacity |
| Albion Sports | Throstle Nest | 3,500 |
| Athersley Recreation | Sheerien Park | 2,000 |
| Barton Town | Euronics Ground | 3,000 |
| Bottesford Town | Birch Park | 1,000 |
| Eccleshill United | Kings Way | 2,225 |
| Emley | Welfare Ground | 2,000 |
| Garforth Town | Wheatley Park | 3,000 |
| Goole | Victoria Pleasure Grounds | 3,000 |
| Grimsby Borough | Bradley Football Centre | 1,000 |
| Handsworth | Sandy Lane | 2,500 |
| Hemsworth Miners Welfare | Fitzwilliam Stadium | 2,000 |
| Knaresborough Town | Manse Lane | 1,000 |
| Maltby Main | Muglet Lane | 2,000 |
| AFC Mansfield | Forest Town Stadium | |
| Penistone Church | Church View Road | 1,000 |
| Sherwood Colliery | Debdale Park | |
| Silsden | Keighley Road Stadium | 1,500 |
| Staveley Miners Welfare | Inkersall Road | 5,000 |
| Thackley | Dennyfield | 3,000 |
| Winterton Rangers | West Street | 3,000 |
| ↑ home of Farsley Celtic (groundshare) |||

## Division One

Division One featured 16 clubs which competed in the previous season, along with five new clubs, transferred from the East Midlands Counties League:
* Clipstone
* Ollerton Town
* Rainworth Miners Welfare
* Shirebrook Town
* Teversal
Also, East Hull were renamed as FC Humber United.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hallam | 40 | 33 | 3 | 4 | 146 | 43 | +103 | 102 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | North Ferriby | 40 | 30 | 6 | 4 | 100 | 27 | +73 | 96 | Qualified for the play-offs, then promoted to the Premier Division |
| 3 | Brigg Town | 40 | 28 | 2 | 10 | 131 | 60 | +71 | 86 | Qualified for the play-offs |
| 4 | Harrogate Railway Athletic | 40 | 26 | 5 | 9 | 89 | 48 | +41 | 83 | Qualified for the play-offs |
| 5 | Rossington Main | 40 | 25 | 6 | 9 | 94 | 49 | +45 | 81 | Qualified for the play-offs |
| 6 | Selby Town | 40 | 22 | 9 | 9 | 107 | 69 | +38 | 75 | |
| 7 | Retford | 40 | 21 | 5 | 14 | 81 | 68 | +13 | 68 | |
| 8 | Parkgate | 40 | 20 | 6 | 14 | 86 | 71 | +15 | 66 | |
| 9 | Worsbrough Bridge Athletic | 40 | 17 | 4 | 19 | 65 | 84 | −19 | 55 | |
| 10 | Hall Road Rangers | 40 | 17 | 3 | 20 | 74 | 79 | −5 | 54 | Demoted to the Humber Premier League |
| 11 | Dronfield Town | 40 | 16 | 6 | 18 | 68 | 78 | −10 | 54 | |
| 12 | Ollerton Town | 40 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 75 | 75 | 0 | 53 | |
| 13 | Armthorpe Welfare | 40 | 15 | 7 | 18 | 79 | 73 | +6 | 52 | |
| 14 | Nostell Miners Welfare | 40 | 14 | 8 | 18 | 63 | 86 | −23 | 50 | |
| 15 | Shirebrook Town | 40 | 13 | 8 | 19 | 58 | 82 | −24 | 47 | |
| 16 | Rainworth Miners Welfare | 40 | 12 | 7 | 21 | 54 | 83 | −29 | 43 | Transferred to the United Counties League |
| 17 | Glasshoughton Welfare | 40 | 11 | 8 | 21 | 59 | 74 | −15 | 41 | |
| 18 | Swallownest | 40 | 7 | 10 | 23 | 48 | 80 | −32 | 31 | |
| 19 | FC Humber United | 40 | 7 | 6 | 27 | 79 | 143 | −64 | 27 | Club folded |
| 20 | Clipstone | 40 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 49 | 124 | −75 | 22 | Reprieved from relegation, then transferred to the United Counties League |
| 21 | Teversal | 40 | 2 | 4 | 34 | 37 | 146 | −109 | 10 | Relegated to the Central Midlands League |
* ↑ All third-from-bottom clubs at Step 6 were reprieved from relegation. The two second-from-bottom sides with the fewest PPG were relegated. FC Humber United eventually withdrew before the next season.

### Play-offs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| 2 | North Ferriby | 2 | | | |
| 5 | Rossington Main | 0 | | | |
| 5 | Rossington Main | 0 | 2 | North Ferriby | 3 |
| | | | 4 | Harrogate Railway Athletic | 2 |
| 3 | Brigg Town | 1 | 4 | Harrogate Railway Athletic | 2 |
| 4 | Harrogate Railway Athletic | 2 | | | |

### Stadia and locations

| Club | Stadium | Capacity |
| Armthorpe Welfare | Welfare Ground | 2,500 |
| Brigg Town | The Hawthorns | 2,500 |
| Clipstone | Lido Ground | 500 |
| Dronfield Town | Stonelow Ground | 500 |
| Glasshoughton Welfare | Glasshoughton Centre | 2,000 |
| Hallam | Sandygate Road | 1,000 |
| Hall Road Rangers | Haworth Park | 1,200 |
| Harrogate Railway Athletic | Station View | 3,500 |
| FC Humber United | Dene Park | 2,000 |
| North Ferriby | The Dransfield Stadium | 3,000 |
| Nostell Miners Welfare | The Welfare Ground | 1,500 |
| Ollerton Town | Walesby Lane Sports Ground | |
| Parkgate | Roundwood Sports Complex | 1,000 |
| Rainworth Miners Welfare | Welfare Ground | 2,201 |
| Retford | The Rail | 1,000 |
| Rossington Main | Welfare Ground | 2,000 |
| Selby Town | Richard Street | 5,000 |
| Shirebrook Town | Langwith Road | 2,000 |
| Swallownest | Miners Welfare Ground | |
| Teversal | Teversal Grange Sports and Social Centre | 2,000 |
| Worsbrough Bridge Athletic | Park Road | 2,000 |

## League Cup

The 2021–22 Northern Counties East Football League League Cup was the 40th season of the league cup competition of the Northern Counties East Football League.