Southern Counties East Football League

Association football league in England

Football league
Southern Counties East Football League (SCEFL)
Founded1966; 58 years ago (1966)
CountryEngland
Divisions2
Number of teams37
Level on pyramid9–10
Feeder toIsthmian League Division One North or South
Relegation toKent County League
Domestic cup(s)Southern Counties East League Cup, Southern Counties East Challenge Cup
Current championsErith & Belvedere
(2022–23)
Websitescefl.com
Current: 2023–24 season

The Southern Counties East Football League is an English football league established in 1966, which has teams based in Kent and Southeast London. Its two divisions are allocated at Step 5 and Step 6 of the National League System (which equates to Levels 9–10 of the overall English football league system). At its inception it was known for two seasons as the Kent Premier League and then, until 2013, as the Kent League.

There is no direct connection between this league and a previous Kent League that existed from 1894 to 1959, despite many clubs having spells of membership in both leagues.

History

The current league was formed in 1966, from teams in and around the county of Kent, when the Thames & Medway Combination (which had its origins in 1896) was expanded and renamed the Kent Premier League.[1] The league began with fourteen teams - five of the six members of the final Thames & Medway Combination season (Deal Town Reserves, Orpington Athletic, Sittingbourne Reserves, Snowdown CW and Tonbridge Reserves) plus nine additional members (Ashford Town Reserves, Bexley United Reserves, Canterbury City Reserves, Faversham Town, Folkestone Town Reserves, Margate Reserves, Ramsgate Athletic Reserves, Sheppey United Reserves,Tunbridge Wells Rangers Reserves). Two years later in 1968 it was renamed the Kent Football League[2] and the league knock-out competition, the Challenge Cup, was introduced. Over its first ten years many of its members were reserve sides of Southern League teams, however, following the 1978–79 season the existing single league was named as Division One with the reserve sides remaining in the competition shifted into a newly formed Division Two (which additionally included some first teams); a Division Two knock-out cup competition was also initiated. Subsequently all divisions below the league's top division were known as the 'Reserves Section' and there was no automatic promotion/relegation from the Reserves Section into/from the top division.

The league continued with this format until the 1998–99 season when the divisions were renamed as the Premier Division and Division One (from Division One and Division Two respectively). For the two seasons 2000–01 and 2001–02 the Reserves Section Division One was split into two equal ranked regional (North and South) Divisions with a play-off match between the two winners to decide the Division One champion. Thereafter, for the next nine seasons, Division One reverted to a single league, initially comprising the higher ranked teams from the two regional Division One leagues, with a new Division Two taking the remaining teams, with promotion/relegation between Division One and Division Two. For the 2012–2013 season, the last of which the league was known as the Kent League, the competition reverted to a two division format, comprising the Premier Division and Reserves Section Division One.

Prior to the 2011–12 season, clubs could be relegated to the Kent County League, although in practice this rarely happened. The formation of the new Kent Invicta Football League for the 2011–12 season meant there was a lower ranked (Step 6) league allowing for more frequent promotion/relegation between the leagues.

In 2013 the league changed its name to the Southern Counties East League, to reflect that many of its member clubs no longer played within the county of Kent.[3] and reverted to a single division for three seasons. At the end of the 2015–16 season, the league merged with the Kent Invicta League: the former single Southern Counties East League was designated as the Premier Division and the former Kent Invicta league became Division One.[4][5]

Sponsorship

For 15 seasons between 1985 and 1999 the league was sponsored by cable making company Winstonlead, and was styled as the Winstonlead Kent League, they were succeeded by brewing company Bass as sponsors for three seasons during which the league was titled the Bass Brewers Kent League.[6] In 2002 Kent based travel agency business Go Travel were the sponsor with the competition known as the Go Travel Kent League. The sponsor changed in 2005 to the Kent on Sunday newspaper and for a single season, 2005–06, the league was known as the Kentish Observer League.[7] There followed two years without a title sponsor until 2008 when it was sponsored for two seasons by Bulmers and named the Bulmers Cider Kent League.[8] For the 2010–11 season, training and consultancy business Safety Net Associates were the sponsors with the league known as the Safety Net Associates Kent League.[9] Thereafter for two seasons commencing with the 2011–12 season the league was sponsored by Hürlimann Sternbräu lager (brewed by Kentish brewers Shepherd Neame) and billed as the Kent Hurlimann Football League.[10] After six seasons without a title sponsor, in November 2019 shipping company Sea Pioneer was named as sponsor with the competition known as the Sea Pioneer Southern Counties East Football League[11] – this arrangement ceased with the interruption of football in March 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The League's knock-out cup competitions have intermittently attracted separate sponsorship: from 2011 to 2018 the Challenge Cup was sponsored by sportswear brand Macron; the Reserves Section cup was known for the 2008–09 season as the HAUC (Highways Agency Utilities Committee) Reserves Cup and for the following two seasons to 2010–11 was sponsored by (infrastructure provider) Blu3.

Current structure and teams

Since 2016–17 the Premier Division is designated at Step 5 with Division One at Step 6 of the National League System (which equates to Levels 9–10 of the overall English football league system). Clubs are able to move upwards to the Step 4 divisions of the Isthmian League; teams are relegated into the Kent County League which is the feeder league into Division One.

As of the 2023–24 season the two divisions comprise the following clubs

League and Cup winners

Kent Premier League
Season Kent Premier League
1966–67 Margate Reserves
1967–68 Margate Reserves
Kent Football League
Season Kent Football League Challenge Cup
1968–69 Brett Sports Margate Reserves
1969–70 Faversham Town Kent Police
1970–71 Faversham Town Faversham Town
1971–72 Chatham Town Chatham Town
1972–73 Sheppey United Folkestone Reserves
1973–74 Chatham Town Sittingbourne
1974–75 Sheppey United Tunbridge Wells
1975–76 Sittingbourne Sheppey United
1976–77 Medway Medway
1977–78 Faversham Town Tunbridge Wells
Season Division One Challenge Cup Reserves Section ('R'=Reserves team)
Division Two Reserves Cup
1978–79 Sheppey United Sheppey United Medway R Dover R.
1979–80 Chatham Town Whitstable Town Chatham Town R Chatham Town R
1980–81 Cray Wanderers Sittingbourne Welling United R Sittingbourne R
1981–82 Erith & Belvedere Deal Town Maidstone United R Maidstone United R
1982–83 Crockenhill Slade Green Maidstone United R Erith & Belvedere R
1983–84 Sittingbourne Cray Wanderers Fisher Athletic R Erith & Belvedere R
1984–85 Tunbridge Wells Greenwich Borough Sheppey United R Sheppey United R
1985–86 Alma Swanley Tunbridge Wells Fisher Athletic R Faversham Town R
1986–87 Greenwich Borough Greenwich Borough Fisher Athletic R Sittingbourne R
1987–88 Greenwich Borough Tunbridge Wells Fisher Athletic R Sittingbourne R
1988–89 Hythe Town Alma Swanley Hythe Town R Hythe Town R
1989–90 Faversham Town Tonbridge AFC Margate R Canterbury City R
1990–91 Sittingbourne Faversham Town Canterbury City R Fisher Athletic R
1991–92 Herne Bay Tonbridge AFC Folkestone Invicta R Folkestone Invicta R
1992–93 Tonbridge AFC Ramsgate Dover Athletic R. Tonbridge AFC R
1993–94 Herne Bay Ramsgate Dover Athletic R. Dover Athletic R.
1994–95 Sheppey United Ramsgate Thamesmead Town R Thamesmead Town R
1995–96 Furness Furness Hastings Town R Folkestone Invicta R
1996–97 Herne Bay Herne Bay Tonbridge AFC R Hastings Town R
1997–98 Herne Bay Greenwich Borough Sittingbourne R Thamesmead Town R
Season Premier Division Challenge Cup Reserves Section ('R'=Reserves team)
Division One Reserves Cup
1998–99 Ramsgate Deal Town Deal Town R Dover Athletic R.
1999–2000 Deal Town VCD Athletic Thamesmead Town R Thamesmead Town R
2000–01 Chatham Town Ramsgate Thamesmead Town R Margate R
2001–02 Maidstone United Maidstone United Dover Athletic R[a] Dover Athletic R
2002–03 Cray Wanderers Cray Wanderers Deal Town R[b] Cray Wanderers R
  1. ^ 2001–02 Division 1: North v South play-off: Dartford R 1 – 3 Dover Athletic R[12]
  2. ^ 2002–03 Division 1: North v South play-off: Cray Wanderers R 2 – 3 Deal Town R[13]
Season Premier Division Challenge Cup Reserves Section ('R'=Reserves team)
Division One / Two Reserves Cup
2003–04 Cray Wanderers Thamesmead Town D1: Corinthian Cray Wanderers R
D2: Maidstone United R
2004–05 Ramsgate Ramsgate D1: Erith & Belvedere R Beckenham Town R
D2: Whitstable Town R
2005–06 Maidstone United Maidstone United D1: Thamesmead Town R Dartford R
D2: Folkestone Invicta R
2006–07 Whitstable Town Thamesmead Town D1: Thamesmead Town R Thamesmead Town R
D2: Chatham Town R
2007–08 Thamesmead Town Erith Town D1: Thamesmead Town R Ashford Town (Kent) R
D2: Dover Athletic R
2008–09 VCD Athletic Croydon D1: Thamesmead Town R Thamesmead Town R
D2: Holmesdale R
2009–10 Faversham Town Herne Bay D1: Herne Bay R Dartford R
D2: Erith Town R
2010–11 Hythe Town Herne Bay D1: Cray Wanderers R Cray Wanderers R
D2: Faversham Town R
2011–12 Herne Bay VCD Athletic D1: Herne Bay R Herne Bay R
D2: Phoenix Sports R
Season Premier Division Challenge Cup Reserves Section ('R'=Reserves team)
Division One Reserves Cup
2012–13 Erith & Belvedere Erith & Belvedere Whitstable Town R Phoenix Sports R
Southern Counties East Football League
Season SCEFL Challenge Cup
2013–14 Whyteleafe Beckenham Town
2014–15 Phoenix Sports Greenwich Borough
2015–16 Greenwich Borough Hollands & Blair
Season Premier Division Challenge Cup First Division
2016–17 Ashford United Ashford United Glebe
2017–18 Sevenoaks Town Whitstable Town Punjab United
2018–19 Cray Valley Paper Mills Chatham Town Welling Town
2019–20 Season abandoned
2020–21 Season curtailed
2021–22 Sheppey United Sheppey United Stansfeld
2022–23 Erith & Belvedere Hollands & Blair Snodland Town
Season Premier Division Challenge Cup First Division First Division Cup
2023–24
Sources: FCHD, Southern Counties East League;[14] The FA, Southern Counties East Football League;[15] SCEFL, League Cup Winners;[16] Kent League, Division Two Winners[17]Kent League, Reserves League Cup 1979–2012[18]

References

  1. ^ "A New Kent League – THIS Year". Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald. Whitstable. 6 August 1966. p. 4.
  2. ^ "Newcomers to Kent League". Kentish Express. Ashford. 5 July 1968. p. 21.
  3. ^ "Kent Football League change name to Southern Counties East Football League for 2013/14 season". Kent Online. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Clubs from the Kent Invicta League and Southern Counties East League give go-ahead to merger". Kent Online. 3 December 2015.
  5. ^ "Rusthall light up Jockey Farm". kentishfootball.co.uk. 6 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Brewers are £40k league sponsors". Thanet Times. Margate. 22 June 1999. p. 42.
  7. ^ "KOS NEW KL SPONSOR". kentleague.com. June 2005. Archived from the original on 23 June 2005. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Heineken buy-out forces Bulmers Cider to pull out of Kent League sponsorship". kentishfootball.co.uk. 9 June 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Kent League get new sponsor". kentishfootball.co.uk. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Hurlimann lager agree deal to sponsor the Kent Football League". Kent Online. 3 August 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  11. ^ "The Sea Pioneer Southern Counties East Football League". scefl.com. Southern Counties East Football League. November 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Dover Athletic Reserves". fchd.info. Football Club History Database. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Deal Town Reserves". fchd.info. Football Club History Database. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Southern Counties East League (note: Division 2 winners incorrect)". fchd.info. Football Club History Database. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Southern Counties East Football League". fulltime.thefa.com. The Football Association. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  16. ^ "League Cup Winners since 1923". scefl.com. Southern Counties East Football League. February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Division Two Winners". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Reserves League Cup Winners". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2024.

External links

  • Official website
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Southern Counties East Football League
2023–24
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Kent Invicta League
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