 |
Current season, competition or edition: 2022-23 | |
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| No. of teams | 200(19 divisions) (5 senior divisions) |
| Country |  England |
| Most recent champion(s) | (Premier) Dorkinians 2022-23 |
The Amateur Football Combination (AFC) is a football league based in and around London and the Home Counties, and is believed to be the biggest adult football league in Europe. [1]
The Amateur Football Combination is one of the biggest adult football leagues in Europe, [2] with around 75 clubs and 200 teams playing Saturday afternoons in and around London and the Home Counties from September through to May, and comprises more than 1% of adult male 11-a-side football teams in England.[ citation needed ]
The AFC is an adult male league affiliated to the Amateur Football Alliance (AFA), with clubs that also compete from London FA, Middlesex FA and Surrey FA, and was formed in 2002 by the merger of the Old Boys' Football League (1907) and Southern Olympian League (1911) and subsequently merging with the London Financial Football Association (itself comprising the London Banks Football Association, 1900 and the London Insurance Football Association, 1908) in 2006.
Clubs and club members include "Old Boys" sides, local authorities and businesses, as well as socials.
The league is divided into four sections using a pyramid system, but plays outside of the "football pyramid" - the top teams do not progress into semi-professional leagues:
| AFC League System | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Premier | |||
| Senior 1 North | Senior 1 South | ||
| Senior 2 North | Senior 2 South | ||
| Inter. North | Inter. South | ||
| 1 North | 1 South | ||
| 2 North | 2 South | ||
| 3 North | 3 South | ||
| 4 North | 4 South | ||
| 5 North | 5 South | ||
| 5 North | 5 South | ||
| 6 North | 6 South | ||
As well as league competitions, AFC clubs take part in cup competitions. Most clubs enter the Amateur Football Alliance County Cups, but depending on their location clubs also enter Surrey FA, London FA and Middlesex FA Cups. Almost all clubs also enter the London Old Boys Cups. In the event of a dry winter, if the league programme finishes early in the spring, the AFC will run its own "Spring Cups".
| Season | Premier Division | Senior Division 1 | Senior Division 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | Old Meadonians | Old Salvatorians | Old Tenisonians |
| 2003-04 | Old Meadonians | Parkfield | Glyn Old Boys |
| 2004-05 | Old Meadonians | Bealonians | Wood Green Old Boys |
| 2005-06 | Old Meadonians | Southgate County | Sinjuns Grammarians |
| 2006-07 | Old Meadonians | Enfield Old Grammarians | Old Meadonians Reserves |
| 2007-08 | Old Aloysians | Parkfield | Old Minchendenians |
| 2008-09 | Bealonians | Old Minchendenians | Centymca |
| 2009-10 | Albanian | Old Suttonians | Old Uffingtonians |
| 2010-11 | Old Meadonians | UCL Academicals | Enfield Old Grammarians |
| 2011-12 | Old Minchendenians | Old Suttonians | Honourable Artillery Company Reserves |
| 2012-13 | Old Minchendenians | Enfield Old Grammarians | Shene Old Grammarians |
| 2013-14 | Old Hamptonians | Old Ignatian | Old Pauline |
| 2014-15 | Old Hamptonians | Old Thorntonians | |
| 2015-16 | Old Hamptonians | Old Wokingians | |
| 2016-17 | Old Meadonians | Park View | |
| 2017-18 | Old Hamptonians | Southgate Olympic | |
| 2018-19 | Old Hamptonians | Fulham Compton Old Boys | |
| 2019-20 | N/A | N/A | |
| 2020-21 | Old Hamptonians | ||
| 2021-22 | Old Hamptonians | Old Ignatian/Economicals |
In 2006 the AFC launched its "Spirit of Football" campaign, emphasising and promoting fair play and respect for all within the game, a concept later embraced nationally within the Football Association's "Respect" campaign.
The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Jersey, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the western half of Greater London, featuring a number of semi-professional clubs. It is sponsored by Cherry Red Records and is officially known as the Cherry Red Records Combined Counties Football League.
Kingstonian Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London which currently plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
The Amateur Football Alliance is a county football association in England. It is unusual among county FAs in not serving a particular geographical area. It was founded in 1906 as the Amateur Football Defence Council, was briefly known as the Amateur Football Defence Federation, and was reformed as the Amateur Football Association in 1907, when The FA required all county associations to admit professional clubs. Its aim was, as the decline of amateurism at the highest levels of football set in, to protect and preserve the original amateur spirit. It prides itself on the skill and competitiveness of its leagues, and on its traditions of fair play and respect for opponents and match officials. Many leagues still maintain rules that require clubs to provide food and drink to their opponents and match officials after the match in a clubhouse or public house.
Metropolitan Police Football Club is a football club based in East Molesey, Surrey, England. Originally made up of players from the Metropolitan Police, the rule requiring players to be employees of the service was removed when the Commissioner refused to sanction time off for playing. However, the club is still part-funded by a police staff lottery. They are currently members of the Isthmian League South Central Division and play at Imber Court, the base of the Met Police Sports and Social Club.
Sutton Common Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football club currently competing in the Isthmian League South Central Division. Originally based in Carshalton, the club moved southwest to Leatherhead, Surrey, in 2007 upon joining the Combined Counties League. At the start of the 2009–10 season the club moved into a groundshare with Cobham at the Reg Madgwick Stadium, and further away from Carshalton. At the end of the 2014–15 season the club announced that it would be groundsharing with Sutton United for the 2015–16 season. For the 2022–23 season, the club announced a move to Church Road now privately owned by a company called IRama. The club are now equal tenants with newly reformed AFC Whyteleafe.[9]
Staines & Lammas (Middlesex) Football Club is a football club based in the town of Staines-upon-Thames. The club is affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. They play in the Surrey Premier County Football League of Surrey FA.
North Shields Football Club is a football club based in North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England. They have reached the 2nd round of the FA Cup twice in their history: in 1933–34 and 1982–83. Following their promotion from Northern League Division Two, they achieved promotion to Northern League Division One from which they were promoted from in 2022 as Champions to the Northern Premier League Division One East. They also won the FA Amateur Cup at Wembley in 1969, beating Sutton United. During the 2014–15 season, North Shields repeated their 1969 success by defeating Glossop North End 2-1 AET at Wembley in the final of the FA Vase.
Old Carthusians Football Club is an association football club whose players are former pupils of Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey, England. The club was established in 1876 and won the FA Cup in 1881, as well as the FA Amateur Cup in 1894 and 1897. The club currently plays in the Arthurian League and have won the 'double' of league and Arthur Dunn Cup in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019.
Crystal Palace Football Club Women, formerly known as Crystal Palace Ladies Football Club, is a women's association football club based in south-east London which competes in the FA Women's Championship. The club, known as the "Eagles", is affiliated to Crystal Palace F.C., the men's equivalent. The women's section encompasses the under-9 age group through to senior level, including an academy at The Priory School in Orpington. The club have played their home matches at Gander Green Lane, Sutton, since the start of the 2023–24 season. They previously played at Hayes Lane, the home ground of Bromley F.C., between 2014 and 2023.
The Southern Amateur League (SAL) is an association football league in England affiliated to the Amateur Football Alliance (AFA). It is based in and around Greater London and caters for 11–a–side men's adult teams. A feature of the league is 'multi-team football', common in AFA leagues, with clubs fielding an average of 3.5 teams each. For season 2023–24 the league has over 40 open aged member clubs and a several veterans-only clubs running around 190 teams in 17 divisions. All clubs are strictly amateur.
Sport London e Benfica are a football club, based in London. Affiliated with Sport Lisboa e Benfica, they are currently members of the Middlesex County League Division One South & West.
The London Football Association (LFA) is the regional Football Association for inner areas of London. The London FA was established in 1882 and is affiliated to The Football Association. The London FA administers all levels of men's, women's and junior football within its area, a circle 12 miles in radius with Charing Cross at the centre.
Birmingham County Football Association, also simply known as Birmingham County FA or BCFA, is an association football governing body covering the historic county of Warwickshire and the Black Country region, England. The county FA arrange 14 county cup competitions at different levels for teams in the West Midland region including the Birmingham Senior Cup which is one of the oldest cup competitions in the world.
The city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, has several Football Clubs within its boundaries. Due to the popularity of rugby league almost all association football clubs in the city have the suffix "A.F.C." instead of the more prevalent "F.C." used in most of England, such as Leeds Woodville A.F.C. who were one of the earliest Victorian teams.
The Northamptonshire Football Association, also simply known as the Northamptonshire FA, is the governing body of football in the English county of Northamptonshire.
Spelthorne Sports F.C. is a football club based in the borough of Spelthorne. They play in the Combined Counties League Premier Division South.
Middlesex Wanderers A.F.C. is an English touring amateur football team.
Abbey Rangers Football Club is a football club based in Addlestone, England. The club are currently members of the Combined Counties League Premier Division South and play at Addlestone Moor.
Park View Football Club is a football club based in Tottenham, England. They are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Division One South and play at the New River Sports Stadium (formerly New River Community Sports Centre.
AFC Whyteleafe is an English football club based in Whyteleafe, Surrey. The club was established in 2021 and plays at the Whyteleafe Stadium in Church Road, Whyteleafe following the demise of Whyteleafe FC and is currently a member of the Southern Counties East League Division One.