Southern Football League

The Southern League, currently known as the Calor League under the terms of a sponsorship agreement, is an English men's football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, 'South Central' and Midlands of England and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system.
The structure of the Southern League has changed several times since its formation in 1894, and currently there are 67 clubs which are divided into three divisions. The Premier Division is at step 3 of the National League System (NLS), and is a feeder division, mainly to the Conference South but also to the Conference North. Feeding the Premier Division are two regional divisions, Division One South & West and Division One Central, which are at step 4 of the NLS. These divisions are in turn fed by various regional leagues.
==History==
===Football in the south of England===
Professional football (and professional sport in general) developed more slowly in Southern England than in Northern England. Professionalism was sanctioned by 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 County Football Associations in the South being firmly opposed to professionalism.
Woolwich Arsenal (nowadays simply Arsenal) were the first club in London 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 Football Association and Woolwich Arsenal instead joined the Football League as its only representative south of Birmingham in 1893. Additionally, an amateur league, the Southern Alliance was founded in 1892, with seven teams from the region, but that folded after one incomplete season.
===Formation of the Southern League===
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 sixteen founder members were:
{| class="wikitable" 	Division One
Chatham 	
Clapton 	
Ilford 	
Luton Town 	
Millwall Athletic 	
Reading 	
Royal Ordnance Factories	
2nd Scots Guards 	
Swindon Town 	
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.
==Southern League clubs==
Listed below are the clubs currently competing in the three divisions of the Southern League, for the 2013–14 season. Hinckley United started the season in the Premier Division but their record was expunged after ten games after the club was wound up in the high court.
{| class="wikitable"	Premier Division
AFC Totton 	
Arlesey Town 	
Banbury United 	
Bashley 	
Bedford Town 	
Bideford 	
Biggleswade Town 	
Burnham 	
Cambridge City 	
Chesham United 	
Chippenham Town 	
Corby Town 	
Frome Town 	
Hemel Hempstead Town	
Hitchin Town 	
Hungerford Town 	
Poole Town 	
Redditch United 	
St Albans City 	
St Neots Town 	
Stourbridge 	
Truro City 	
Weymouth 	
==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, with Division One South & West and Division One Central at step 4. The winners of the Premier Division, together with the winners of a playoff, are promoted to the Conference North or Conference South, depending on their location.
Clubs relegated from the Southern League can be placed in any of fourteen lower level leagues, but in practice it is likely to be one of the following (based on geography):
*Combined Counties League
*Hellenic League
*Midland Football Alliance
*Spartan South Midlands League
*United Counties League
*Wessex League
*Western League
From time to time, clubs outside the promotion and relegation positions based at the geographical edges of the Southern League will be compelled to leave the League by the NLS Committee, should it be necessary for them to compete in the Northern Premier or Isthmian Leagues so as to correct any imbalances brought on by the geographical distribution of the teams promoted and relegated to this level. Teams in the Northern Premier or Isthmian Leagues have also been entered into the Southern League for the same reason.
==External links==
*Official website
*
Category:English leagues
Category:English competitions