Essex Alliance Football League

Last updated

Essex Alliance League
Founded2014
CountryEngland
Number of teams75
Level on pyramid11 to 16
Feeder to Eastern Counties Football League
Promotion to Eastern Counties Football League Division One South
Domestic cup(s)County level:
Essex Premier Cup
Essex Junior Cup
Essex Junior Trophy
London Senior Trophy
London Junior Cup
Amateur FA Intermediate Cup
Anagrams Records Trophy
League cup(s)Fenton Cup
Fenton Trophy
Senior Division Cup
Premier Division Cup
Division 1 Cup
Division 2 Cup
Division 3 Cup
Current champions FC Baresi
(2023-24)

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. [1] 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.

Contents

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 seeks to buck the trend of the local Saturday football scene which had been diminishing in numbers over the past few years. [2]

In 2022, history was made in the league as the first direct promotion to senior football was confirmed with DT FC, champions of the Senior Division, successfully promoted to Step 6 within the Eastern Counties Football League Division One South. This was followed by Brimsdown in 2023 and by FC Baresi in 2024.

During the 2022/23 season, it was announced by the Football Association that four leagues in England would pilot the first ever referee body worn camera trial, the Essex Alliance League one of those chosen to take part for a period of 18-24 months, alongside leagues in Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Worcestershire. [3]

Member clubs 2024–25

Champions

SeasonSenior DivisionPremier DivisionDivision OneDivision TwoDivision ThreeDivision Four
2014–15–Chingford AthleticBlue MarlinGrove United
2015–16–Chingford AthleticGrove United London ASPA
2016–17–Jolof SportsColebrook RoyalsRyan ReservesWapping
2017–18–Colebrook RoyalsDocklands AlbionChingford Athletic Reserves FC Baresi Haver Town Reserves
2018–19Jolof Sports– FC Baresi Chingford Athletic DevelopmentHaver Town ReservesSungate Reserves
2019–20Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021–22 DTFC Frenford 'A'BelfryFairlop RoversFC Baresi U23Sporting Pillars
2022–23 Brimsdown Chingford Athletic (East)
CSM London (West)		Newham WanderersSnaresbrookNewbury East Romford U19
2023–24 FC Baresi Fairlop Rovers (East)
Philip United (West)		Saint CityRainham & Barking Phoenix Woodford Town U23

Note: From season 2022/23, the Premier Division was split geographically with East and West divisions

Related Research Articles

The National League is a professional Association football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South. The National League is one of the major professional sports leagues in the England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isthmian League</span> Association football league in England

The Isthmian League is a regional football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs.

The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National League System (football)</span> English association football leagues

The National League System comprises the six levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the English Football League. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association. The National League System has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels. For details of leagues above and below the National League System, see the English football league system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Football League</span> Seventh tier of English league football

The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English football league system</span> Series of interconnected leagues

The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isle of Man also competing. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the theoretical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system, the Premier League. Below that are levels 2–4 organised by the English Football League, then the National League System from levels 5–10 administered by the FA, and thereafter Regional feeder leagues run by relevant county FAs on an ad hoc basis. It also often happens that the Premier Division of a Regional Feeder League has its constitution given to it by the FA. They have to accept it or appeal but cannot reject it at an annual general meeting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midland Football Alliance</span> Football league

The Midland Football Alliance was an English association football league for semi-professional teams. It covered Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and also southern parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The league consisted of a single division which sat at Step 5 of the National League System, or the ninth level of the overall English football league system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essex Senior Football League</span> Ninth tier of English league football

The Essex Senior Football League is an English men's football league. It contains clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. It is a feeder league to Division One North of the Isthmian League and has a single division which sits at Step 5 of the National League System.

Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to describe all football played at levels below those of the Premier League and the three divisions of the English Football League. Currently, a non-League team would be any club playing in the National League or below that level. Typically, non-League clubs are either semi-professional or amateur in status, although the majority of clubs in the National League division are fully professional, some of which are former EFL clubs who have suffered relegation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Midlands Alliance League</span> Association football league in England

The Central Midlands Alliance is an English football league covering the northeast-central part of England. Formed in 1971 as the South Derbyshire League, changing name initially to the Derbyshire League before changing to the Central Midlands League in 1983, it covers parts of Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and Staffordshire, although Sheffield-based teams play in the Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior Football League. The league's current sponsor is Abacus Lighting. Upon merging with the Midland Regional Alliance in 2023, the current name was adopted. The number of divisions has varied over time as follows

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walthamstow F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Walthamstow Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Walthamstow, who play in the Isthmian League North Division. They have played under a number of names and were known as Leyton Pennant up until the end of the 2002–03 season, and Waltham Forest until the end of the 2017–18 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brightlingsea Regent F.C.</span> English association football club

Brightlingsea Regent Football Club is an English football club based in Brightlingsea, Essex. Formed by a merger of Brightlingsea United and Regent Park Rangers in 2005, they are currently members of the Isthmian League North Division and play at North Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Midlands (Regional) League</span> Association football league in England

The West Midlands (Regional) League is an English association football competition for semi-professional and amateur teams based in the West Midlands county, Shropshire, Worcestershire, southern Staffordshire and northern Herefordshire. It has two divisions, the highest of which is the Premier Division, a regional feeder for the National League System (NLS) at the eleventh level of the overall English football league system.

For more information on the current structure of the NLS, see the main article.

The Yorkshire Amateur Association Football League is an amateur competitive football league based in West Yorkshire, England. The league has a total of eight divisions, the highest of which is the Yorkshire Amateur League Supreme Division, which sits at level 11 of the English football league system. It is a feeder to the Northern Counties East Football League.

The 2018–19 season was the 76th season in the history of Eastern Counties Football League, a football competition in England. The season saw Division One divided into two sections.

The 2021–22 season was the 79th season in the history of the Eastern Counties Football League, a football competition in England. Teams are divided into three divisions, the Premier Division at Step 5, and the geographically separated Division One North and Division One South, both at Step 6 of the English football league system.

The 2021–22 season was the 51st in the history of the Essex Senior Football League, a football competition in England.

The 2021–22 season was the 25th in the history of the Spartan South Midlands Football League, a football competition in England. The league operates three divisions, two of which are in covered in this article: the Premier Division at Step 5, and Division One at Step 6 of the English football league system.

The 2022–23 season was the 80th season in the history of the Eastern Counties Football League, a football competition in England. Teams are divided into three divisions, the Premier Division at Step 5, and the geographically separated Division One North and Division One South, both at Step 6 of the English football league system.

References

  1. ↑ "Regional NLS Feeder League status granted from 2021/22 season". The Essex Alliance Football League. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "About the league". The Essex Alliance Football League. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "FA to trial referee bodycams in Essex Alliance League". The Essex Alliance Football League. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.