# 1971–72 Kent Football League

The 1971–72 Kent Football League season was the sixth in the history of the Kent Football League, a football competition based in and around the county of Kent in England.
The league comprised one division and there was also a league cup competition, the Challenge Cup.

## League

The league featured teams from 20 clubs, including ten reserves teams. Seventeen of the clubs had competed in the league the previous season and they were joined by three additional clubs:
* Dartford Reserves
* Dover Reserves
* Deal Town joined from the Greater London League and replaced their reserves team
The league was won by Chatham Town, who completed a League and Cup double.
At the end of the season Dartford Reserves resigned Both bottom two clubs, Sheppey United Reserves and Ramsgate Athletic Reserves, were re-elected back into the league. with the former being replaced by their first team.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Season End Notes |
| 1 | Chatham Town | 38 | 25 | 11 | 2 | 113 | 35 | 3.229 | 61 | |
| 2 | Brett Sports | 38 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 90 | 37 | 2.432 | 58 | |
| 3 | Tonbridge Reserves | 38 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 93 | 59 | 1.576 | 55 | |
| 4 | Sittingbourne | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 72 | 51 | 1.412 | 47 | |
| 5 | Kent Police | 38 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 90 | 56 | 1.607 | 46 | |
| 6 | Deal Town | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 92 | 60 | 1.533 | 43 | |
| 7 | Dartford Amateurs | 37 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 57 | 48 | 1.188 | 43 | |
| 8 | Slade Green Athletic | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 50 | 37 | 1.351 | 41 | |
| 9 | Ashford Town Reserves | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 70 | 79 | 0.886 | 39 | |
| 10 | Dover Reserves | 37 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 51 | 41 | 1.244 | 38 | |
| 11 | Dartford Reserves | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 62 | 67 | 0.925 | 37 | Resigned from the league |
| 12 | Crockenhill | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 56 | 71 | 0.789 | 32 | |
| 13 | Bexley United Reserves | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 58 | 77 | 0.753 | 31 | |
| 14 | Folkestone Reserves | 37 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 59 | 80 | 0.738 | 31 | |
| 15 | Hastings United Reserves | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 51 | 86 | 0.593 | 30 | |
| 16 | Margate Reserves | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 60 | 95 | 0.632 | 29 | |
| 17 | Tunbridge Wells | 38 | 6 | 15 | 17 | 51 | 73 | 0.699 | 27 | |
| 18 | Whitstable Town | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 55 | 88 | 0.625 | 26 | |
| 19 | Sheppey United Reserves | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 45 | 87 | 0.517 | 23 | Re-elected (replaced by first team) |
| 20 | Ramsgate Athletic Reserves | 37 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 49 | 97 | 0.505 | 19 | Re-elected |
* 1 2 Missing Ramsgate Athletic Reserves versus Dartford Amateurs
* 1 2 Missing Dover Reserves versus Folkestone Reserves

## Challenge Cup

The 1971–72 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won by Chatham Town, who completed a League and Cup double.
The competition, contested by all twenty clubs in the league, comprised five single match tie rounds culminating in the final which was played on a neutral ground (at Sittingbourne F.C. this season).

### Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| Tonbridge Reserves | Tonbridge Reserves | 0 | | | | | | |
| Slade Green Athletic | Slade Green Athletic | 1 | | | | | | |
| Slade Green Athletic | Slade Green Athletic | 1 | Slade Green Athletic | Slade Green Athletic | 0 | | | |
| | | | Chatham Town | Chatham Town | 4 | | | |
| Chatham Town | Chatham Town | 1 | Chatham Town | Chatham Town | 4 | | | |
| Sittingbourne | Sittingbourne | 0 | | | | | | |
| Sittingbourne | Sittingbourne | 0 | | | | Chatham Town | Chatham Town | 3 |
| | | | | | | Ashford Town Reserves | Ashford Town Reserves | 0 |
| Hastings United Reserves | Hastings United Reserves | 0 | | | | | | | Ashford Town Reserves | Ashford Town Reserves | 0 |
| Ashford Town Reserves | Ashford Town Reserves | 3 | | | | | | |
| Ashford Town Reserves | Ashford Town Reserves | 3 | Ashford Town Reserves | Ashford Town Reserves | 3 | | | |
| | | | Bexley United Reserves | Bexley United Reserves | 2 | | | |
| Bexley United Reserves | Bexley United Reserves | 3 | Bexley United Reserves | Bexley United Reserves | 2 | | | |
| Brett Sports | Brett Sports | 1 | | | | | | |

### Second Round

* Tonbridge Reserves 3 – 2 Sheppey United Reserves
* Slade Green Athletic 1 – 0 Margate Reserves
* Dover Reserves 0 – 0 Chatham Town
* REPLAY 1: Chatham Town 1 – 1 (aet) Dover Reserves
* REPLAY 2: Dover Reserves 1 – 2 (aet) Chatham Town (score at 90 minutes 1–1)
* Sittingbourne 2 – 0 Deal Town
* Crockenhill 1 – 3 Hastings United Reserves
* Dartford Amateurs 2 – 2 Ashford Town Reserves
* REPLAY: Ashford Town Reserves 2 – 1 Dartford Amateurs
* Bexley United Reserves 2 – 1 Kent Police
* Brett Sports 6 – 2 Dartford Reserves

### First Round

* Whitstable Town 0 – 4 Dover Reserves
* Tunbridge Wells 0 – 1 Dartford Amateurs
* Folkestone Reserves 1 – 2 Bexley United Reserves
* Dartford Reserves 4 – 0 Ramsgate Athletic Reserves
* Byes for the other twelve clubs
Sources
* Final: "County Details: Results: Saturday: Kent League, League Cup Final". Kentish Express. 19 May 1972. p. 12. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
* Semi-finals: "County Details: Results: Good Friday: Kent League, League Cup, Semi-final". Kent Messenger. 7 April 1972. p. 12. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "County Details: Results: Saturday: Kent League, League Cup, Semi-final". Kent Messenger. 7 April 1972. p. 12. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
* Quarter-finals: "County Details: Results: Saturday: Kent League Cup 3rd round". Kent Messenger. 10 March 1972. p. 14. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.;"County Details: Results: Saturday: Kent League, League Cup, 3rd round". Kent Messenger. 24 March 1972. p. 16. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
* Second Round: "Kent League: Results: League Cup 2nd Round". Sheerness Times Guardian. 10 December 1971. p. 9. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Results: Kent League Cup (first round) (sic)". Thanet Times. 14 December 1971. p. 10. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Super Gorham". Kentish Express. 17 December 1971. p. 22. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "Results: Kent League Cup". Thanet Times. 4 January 1972. p. 16. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; Phillips, Terry (31 January 1972). "Driver goal clinches it". Evening Post. p. 17. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.; "County Details: Results: Saturday: Kent League Cup 2nd round". Kent Messenger. 10 March 1972. p. 14. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
* First Round: "County Details: Results: Saturday: League Cup 1st round". Kent Messenger. 19 November 1971. p. 17. Retrieved 30 April 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.