Western Football League

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Western Football League
File:TSL Logo1.PNG
Country England
Other club(s) from Wales
Founded 1892; 132 years ago (1892)
Divisions Premier Division
Division One
Number of teams 42
21 (Premier Division)
21 (Division One)
Level on pyramid Levels 9–10
Feeder to Southern League
Relegation to Dorset Premier League
Gloucestershire County League
Somerset County League
Wiltshire League
South West Peninsula League

Only relegated from &
 promoted to Premier division
Domestic cup(s) Les Phillips Cup
Current champions Melksham Town (Premier Division)
Barnstaple Town (Division One)
Website Official
2015–16 season

The Western Football League is a football league in South West England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The league's current main sponsor is Toolstation, so it is also known as the Toolstation League.

Recent restructuring of the English football league system has placed the two divisions, known as the Premier Division and Division One (each a maximum of twenty-two clubs) at the ninth and tenth tiers overall, known as Step 5 and Step 6 of the National League System.

The champion club may apply for promotion to a Step 4 league, which in practice will almost certainly be the Southern League Division One South and West. Below the Western League are four local leagues covering smaller areas, the Gloucestershire County League, the Somerset County League, the Dorset Premier League and the Wiltshire League.[1] The South West Peninsula League Premier Division is also a feeder to the Western League but due to having Step 6 status (the same level as the Western League Division One), it feeds directly into the Western League Premier Division.

List of current clubs

Western Football League is located in Southern England
Bishop Sutton
Bishop Sutton
Bitton
Bitton
Bradford Town
Bradford Town
Bridport
Bridport
Brislington
Brislington
Bristol Manor Farm
Bristol Manor Farm
Buckland Athletic
Buckland Athletic
Cadbury Heath
Cadbury Heath
Gillingham Town
Gillingham Town
Hallen
Hallen
Longwell Green Sports
Longwell Green Sports
Melksham Town
Melksham Town
Odd Down (Bath)
Odd Down (Bath)
Shepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet
Sherborne Town
Sherborne Town
Slimbridge
Slimbridge
Street
Street
Willand Rovers
Willand Rovers
Winterbourne Utd
Winterbourne Utd
Map showing the location of teams in Western Football League, Premier Division in 2014–15

Premier Division:

Division One:

History

The league was formed in 1892 as the Bristol & District League, and became the Western League in 1895. (There is also a Bristol & District League today, but this is a feeder league to the Gloucestershire County League). In the years before World War II, many teams played in both the Southern and Western Leagues; the Western League was considered as secondary to the Southern League.

On four occasions, member clubs have lifted the FA Vase, Tiverton Town twice, Taunton Town once and most recently Truro City, who beat A.F.C. Totton in 2007 at the first final to be held at the new Wembley Stadium before a competition record crowd of 27,754. Truro City were the only one of the three to win the FA Vase while in Division One, while none are current members of the Western League, as all three have since progressed to the Southern League.

Founder members

Bedminster (later merged with Bristol South End to form Bristol City) | Clevedon (later Clevedon Town) | Clifton Association | Eastville Rovers (later Bristol Rovers) | Mangotsfield | St. George (later merged with Roman Glass F.C. to form Roman Glass St George) | Trowbridge Town | Warmley | Wells

List of champions

Teams promoted to Southern League (since 1946)

File:Levels 9–10 Football League areas in England.svg
The area covered by the Western League is coloured in green.
Year Team Position
1949 Weymouth 3rd
1957 Poole Town 1st
1958 Trowbridge Town 5th
1968 Salisbury 2nd
1971 Andover 2nd
1972 Bideford 1st
1972 Minehead 2nd
1972 Dorchester Town 7th
1977 Taunton Town 9th
1982 Bridgwater Town 3rd
1992 Weston-super-Mare 1st
1993 Clevedon Town 1st
1999 Tiverton Town 2nd
2000 Mangotsfield United 2nd
2001 Chippenham Town 2nd
2002 Taunton Town 2nd
2003 Team Bath 1st
2004 Paulton Rovers 2nd
2007 Bridgwater Town 2nd
2008 Truro City 1st
2009 Frome Town 2nd
2010 Bideford 1st
2012 Merthyr Town 1st
2014 Larkhall Athletic 1st
2015 Slimbridge 3rd

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

  1. REDIRECT Template:Men's football in England