Essex Alliance Football League
The Essex Alliance Football League is an English football league for clubs based in Essex and north-eastern Greater London. The league has six divisions (Senior, Premier, Divisions One, Two, Three and Four), of which the Senior Division sits at 11th level in the English football league system, formerly Step 7 in the National League System, following the Football Association's approval to become a Regional NLS Feeder League (Step 7) from season 2021–22 onwards. Teams that finish in the top five of the league can apply for promotion to the Division One South of the  Eastern Counties Football League (Step 6), subject to their facilities meeting criteria and other conditions. History. The league was founded in 2014 through the merging of the Ilford and District and the Essex Business House football leagues, which both shared a common aim to support and promote local grassroots football in Essex and East London while bridging the gap with other neighbouring leagues in the region. The league permits member clubs to play on grounds in the boroughs of Havering, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge, Newham, Waltham Forest, Harlow and Epping Forest. The league currently has a membership of 76 teams, many  of whom were existing members of the aforementioned leagues and were joined by many new clubs as the league seek to buck the trend of the local Saturday football scene which had been diminishing in numbers over the past few years.