|
The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the north west of England. Football is a ball game played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. ...
Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (2001) - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Ethnicity...
The league was formed in 1982 by the merger of the Cheshire County League and the Lancashire Combination, and now covers the whole North West England region, and part of the West Midlands region, from Stoke-on-Trent up to the Lake District. It is one of the three feeder leagues to the Northern Premier League, alongside the Northern League and the Northern Counties East League. It has no fewer than six feeder leagues of its own, eligibility for promotion to the Second Division being accorded to champions of the Liverpool County Combination, Mid-Cheshire League, West Cheshire Amateur Football League, Midland League, West Lancashire League, and Manchester League. The record attendance for a North West Counties League match is 2590 for a match between Leek CSOB and FC United of Manchester on 13 August 2005. 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
North West England is one of the regions of England. ...
The West Midlands refers to western area of The Midlands (central England). ...
This page is about Stoke-on-Trent in England. ...
Crinkle Crags as seen from the adjoining fell of Cold Pike. ...
The Northern Premier League, known in recent years as the UniBond League under a title sponsorship contract, is one of the three regional English football leagues whose champions are promoted to the Football Conference, currently called the Nationwide Conference. ...
The Northern League (currently sponsored by the Albany Uninsured Loss Recovery Service and known as the Albany Northern League) is a football league in North East England for semi-professional and amateur teams. ...
The Northern Counties East League is an English association football league that was founded in 1982 by the merger of the former Yorkshire League and Midland Counties League. ...
The West Cheshire Amateur Football League is an English association football league in the county of Cheshire. ...
Leek County School Old Boys Football Club (usually shortened to Leek CSOB) is an English football club based in Leek, Staffordshire. ...
Football Club United of Manchester (FC United of Manchester, FC United or FCUM for short) is an English football club, created by Manchester United supporters opposed to the purchase of their club by Malcolm Glazer. ...
August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ...
2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ...
The only club to have played in the First Division of the North West Counties League every season since its inception is St Helens Town.
History
The North West Counties Football League was formed in 1982 with the amalgamation of the Cheshire County League and the Lancashire Combination. Initially there were three divisions, but at the end of 1986-87 season, this was reduced to two as a result of ongoing ground grading and the formation of a First Division of the Northern Premier League, now the UniBond League.
This year also saw the implementation of an automatic promotion and relegation arrangement between the two competitions with the Champion or second placed club being entitled to promotion, subject to receiving a satisfactory ground-grading.
The North West Counties Football League's sister leagues, the Northern Counties (East) League and the Northern League, both now enjoy similar arrangements, and all four competitions are members of the Joint Liaison Council which administers the Northern arm of the National Football System in England.
The North West Counties League covers a geographical area stretching from Cumbria in the North, through Lancashire, Cheshire, Liverpool, Manchester and parts of Derbyshire, down to Staffordshire in the South, but the League has also welcomed clubs from North Wales and the West Riding in the past. Altogether, almost 100 clubs have enjoyed membership of the NWCFL, with 16 of the current constitution being founder members.
The League operates First and Second Division competitions, plus a Reserve League and Cup, and also stages a Challenge Cup, the Final of which is staged at Gigg Lane, home of Bury FC, a Floodlit Trophy and a Second Division Trophy.
The North West Counties Football League also has formal promotion/relegation arrangements with the Liverpool County Combination, the Manchester League, the Mid-Cheshire League, the Midland League, the West Cheshire League and the West Lancashire League. The formation of the North West Joint Liaison Council in 1999, the first of its kind in the country at this level of the National League System, drawing together all the feeder leagues, will hopefully play a major role in promoting amateur football in the region and stimulate interest in non-league football across the North West.
The League gained it's first commercial sponsor in 1986 when major brewing concern Bass came on board, supporting the League until 1995, the longest running sponsorship in non-league football at that time. In 1998, the regional rail operator First North Western Trains became the competition's new sponsor in a two year deal.
The League is administered by a Committee of unpaid Officers and Members, drawing on a wealth of experience and skills. Canon Reg Smith (famous after dinner speaker and Vice-Chairman at Bury FC) was the President until April 1997 when he sadly passed away. The next President was Eric Hinchcliffe TD, the founder Chairman and a model servant to the League, until April 1999 when he died, to be replaced by Bill King.
In the short history of the League, many clubs have excelled in The North West Counties Football League's own, and national, competitions, particularly the FA Vase where The North West Counties Football League has provided a host of finalists and two winners, St Helens Town and Colne Dynamoes claiming the prestigious silverware. Fleetwood Town were the League's first finalist in 1985, losing to Halesowen Town, before the all-North West Counties Final between St Helens Town and Warrington Town in 1987. Next were Colne Dynamoes who beat Emley in 1988, and the League's latest representative at the twin towers were Clitheroe, who were beaten by Brigg Town in 1996. In the FA Cup, the League is regularly represented in the latter qualifying rounds, and Newcastle Town became the latest of the League's clubs to reach the First Round Proper in 1997, bowing out to Notts County at the Victoria Ground, but ex-member clubs Horwich RMI, Penrith, Colwyn Bay and Stalybridge Celtic have also reached this stage.
In domestic action, the fiercely competitive nature of the League is reflected in the fact that only two clubs have ever completed a League and Challenge Cup double, Ashton United in 1992, and Kidsgrove Athletic in 1998. Atherton LR are the only club to claim consecutive Championships, in 1992 and 1993, whilst Workington became the first club to regain NPL status at the first attempt in 1999. The outstanding achievement of Clitheroe in the 1980's, collecting each divisional Championship in successive seasons between 1984 and 1986 is one that will probably remain without peer. Only St Helens Town have competed in the First Division in every season since the League's formation. In county cup competition, Glossop North End's recent Manchester Premier Cup successes stand out, and the League's clubs figure prominently across the whole region, regularly accounting for clubs from higher leagues. Outside the top flight, the League's Second Division continues to prove a very healthy competition, producing a steady stream of ambitious clubs looking to progress onwards and upwards, and a clutch of the League's reserve teams have made the headlines through the years, claiming county cup silverware.
The record attendance for a North West Counties League fixture stood at 1,353 for sixteen years, Radcliffe Borough's First Division Championship decider with Caernarfon Town attracting this gate in 1982-83 season. Workington's phenomenal pulling power saw them exceed this in their 1998-99 Championship season, the deciding fixture with Mossley seeing a NWCFL record 2,281 spectators through the Borough Park turnstiles. This record was broken on 13 August 2005 in the match between Leek CSOB and FC United of Manchester which attracted 2590 people. August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ...
2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ...
Leek County School Old Boys Football Club (usually shortened to Leek CSOB) is an English football club based in Leek, Staffordshire. ...
Football Club United of Manchester (FC United of Manchester, FC United or FCUM for short) is an English football club, created by Manchester United supporters opposed to the purchase of their club by Malcolm Glazer. ...
Member Clubs (2005-06) The 2005-2006 season will be the 126th season of competitive football (soccer) in England. ...
First Division - Abbey Hey
- Alsager Town
- Atherton Collieries
- Atherton Laburnum Rovers
- Bacup Borough
- Cammell Laird
- Colne
- Congleton Town
- Curzon Ashton
- Formby
- Glossop North End
- Maine Road
- Nantwich Town
- Newcastle Town
- Ramsbottom United
- Salford City
- Silsden
- Skelmersdale United
- Squires Gate
- St Helens Town
- Stone Dominoes
- Trafford
Alsager Town is a football club based in Alsager, Cheshire, England. ...
Second Division Chadderton F.C. is a amateur football club in the North West Counties Football League, Division Two. ...
Darwen F.C. is a football club from Darwen in the North West of England. ...
Football Club United of Manchester (FC United of Manchester, FC United or FCUM for short) is an English football club, created by Manchester United supporters opposed to the purchase of their club by Malcolm Glazer. ...
Holker Old Boys are a football team, based in Barrow-in-Furness. ...
Leek County School Old Boys Football Club (usually shortened to Leek CSOB) is an English football club based in Leek, Staffordshire. ...
Nelson F.C. are an English football club, based in Nelson, Lancashire. ...
External links Official website |
Feeds |
Contact