Association football league in England
Football league
The
Northern League
is a British men's
football
league in
north east England
. Having been founded in 1889, it is the second-oldest football league in the world still in existence after the
English Football League
.
It contains two divisions; Division One and Division Two. Division One sits on the ninth tier of the
English football league system
, five divisions below the Football League. These leagues cover the historic counties of
Durham
,
Northumberland
,
Cumberland
,
Westmorland
and Yorkshire's
North Riding
. The champion club of Division One is promoted to the lower division of the
Northern Premier League
.
History
[
edit
]
The Northern league was one of many leagues formed the year after the Football League. In its first season, it consisted of ten clubs that were a mixture of professional and amateur organisations. During its early years, the competition included clubs such as
Newcastle United
,
Middlesbrough
and
Darlington
that would go on to play in the Football League. In 1905, the league split into two divisions, one professional and one amateur. The next year, however, the Northern League made the decision to abolish the professional division and restrict itself to amateur clubs, or at least clubs that claimed to be amateur.
Between the World Wars and in the early years following World War II, the Northern League's amateur status meant that they and their equivalent in the London area, the
Isthmian League
, dominated the old
FA Amateur Cup
. The two Leagues continued to be separate from the professional game which was dominated by the Football League,
Southern League
and, from 1968, the Northern Premier League.
The Northern League and Isthmian League (with its feeder leagues) continued to claim amateur status right up until, following pressure, amateur status was abandoned by
the Football Association
in 1974. This left amateur leagues like the Northern to find a place in the overall structure of
non-League football
. Unlike its southern equivalent, the Isthmian League, who became a feeder to the
Alliance Premier League
in 1982, the Northern League rejected repeated invitations. Ultimately, the Northern League remained out of the
football pyramid
until 1991. The league declined throughout the 1980s as its leading clubs defected to other leagues within the football pyramid, such as the
Northern Counties East Football League
. When the Northern League finally joined the pyramid, it was as a feeder league to the lower division of the Northern Premier League (Level 9).
Since 1995, Northern League clubs have competed for the
FA Vase
, with some success, having won 11 finals, losing 4 finals. There were two all Northern League finals in 2012 (Dunston UTS beat West Auckland Town) and 2020 (Hebburn Town beat Consett).
The League had an unusual sponsorship deal put in place by
Brooks Mileson
, owner of the Albany Group, who were its sponsors in 2003. In that year, Mileson announced that he had created a trust which would continue to sponsor the league throughout his lifetime and that of his sons. In 2008, however, the league announced that this sponsorship had come to an end, and it held a raffle to determine its next sponsor. Interested parties were invited to buy a stake in the raffle for £250. The winning stake was held by a local training company and the league was known as the
skilltrainingltd Northern League
from the
2008?09
season until the
2011?12
season.
[1]
The league is currently sponsored by dehumidifier manufacturer
Ebac
.
[2]
Level 11 clubs from the
North Riding Football League
,
Northern Football Alliance
and
Wearside Football League
may apply for promotion into the Northern League's Second Division (level 10).
Current members
[
edit
]
Sunderland Ryhope Community Association
Boldon Community Association
Newcastle University and Prudhoe Youth Club
Location of the Northumberland, County Durham and Tyne & Wear clubs in the Northern League by division
? First Division
? Second Division
Location of the North Yorkshire clubs in the Northern League
Location of the Cumbria clubs in the Northern League
Division One
[
edit
]
Division Two
[
edit
]
+ indicates ground share
Champions
[
edit
]
Originally the league comprised a single division. The champions were as follows:
[3]
In 1897, the league briefly split into two divisions.
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
In 1900, the league reverted to a single division.
[3]
In 1905 the league split into two sections, one for professionals and one for amateurs. This lasted for a single season.
[3]
In 1906 the league reverted to a single division, a format retained until 1982.
[3]
In 1982 the league added a second division.
[3]
number of titles (1890-2024)
[
edit
]
rank-club-(titles-last won)
- 1-
Bishop Auckland
(20?2024)
- 2-Blyth Spartans (10?1988)
- 3-Spennymoor Town (10?2014)(a)
- 4-
Shildon
(6?2016)
- 5-Stockton (5?1933)
- 6-
Crook Town
(5?1963)
- 7-
Bedlington Terriers
(5?2002)
- 8-
Billingham Synthonia
(4?1996)
- 9-Middlesbrough Ironopolis (3?1893)
- 10-Middlesbrough (3?1897)
- 11-Newcastle (3?1905)
- 12-South Bank (3?1922)
- 13-Willington (3?1930)
- 14-Ferryhill Athletic (3?1958)
- 15-Stanley United (3?1964)
- 16-Evenwood Town (3?1971)
- 17-
Tow Law Town
(3?1995)
- 18-
Whitley Bay
(3?2007)
- 19-Darlington (3?2013)
- 20-Eston United (2?1923)
- 21-
West Auckland Town
(2?1961)
- 22-Gretna (2?1992)
- 23-Whitby Town (2?1997)
- 24-Dunston Federation Brewery (2?2005)
- 25-Durham City (2?2008)
- 26-Marske United (2?2018)
- 27-
North Shield
(2?2022)
- 28-Darlington St.Augustine's (1?1890)
- 29-Sunderland (1?1905)
- 30-
Esh Winning Rangers
(1?1913)
- 31-Chilton Colliery Recreation (1?1928)
- 32-
Brandon United
(1?2003)
- 33-
Newcastle Blue Star
(1?2006)
- 34-Newcastle Benfield (1?2009)
- 35-South Shield (1?2017)
- 36-Dunston UTS (1?2019)
- 37-Newton Aycliffe (1?2023)
in
bold
, competiting for the 2023?24 season in division one or two
- (a) with Spennymoor United, ancestor club
League Cup
[
edit
]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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2023?24
clubs
| Division One
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Division Two
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Seasons
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National teams
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League competitions
| Level 1
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Levels 2?4
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Levels 5?6
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Levels 7?8
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Levels 9?10
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Cup competitions
| FA cups
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League cups
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County cups
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Others
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Lists
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