- Hampshire League
The Hampshire League is a name used for two distinct football competitions based in
Hampshire ,England .History
Original Hampshire League
The original Hampshire League was formed in 1896, and ran until 2004 when it was incorporated into an expanded
Wessex League .With transport limited, the early years of the competition were split into regional divisions. The Twenties saw the formation of a main County Division which soon became known as Division 1 with a second and third tier soon following.
For many years the competition had four divisions with teams from the top flight able to join the
Southern League . It is from here that established clubs such as Andover, Waterlooville, Basingstoke Town, Fareham Town and Gosport Borough all won promotion. During it's hey-day large crowds were common place and before the days of football academies, the competition also consisted of the Youth sides from Southampton, Portsmouth, AFC Bournemouth, Aldershot and Reading along with the reserve sides of top non-league clubs such as Poole Town, Salisbury and Guildford City. In more recent times the likes of Newport IOW, Eastleigh, Havant Town, Bashley, Winchester City, Alton Town, Fleet Town, New Milton and AFC Totton were all long serving members. Also during this time many well known professionals played in the competition before moving on to greater things.In 1986 the more ambitious clubs with the required facilities (mostly from Division 1) departed for the newly formed
Wessex League . This saw the Hampshire League reduced to two main divisions with a new look Division 1 feeding into the Wessex League, whilst all the Reserve teams were consequently placed in a newly formed Combination Division. The third division was re-introduced in 1991 along with a League Cup. In 1999 Division 1 was renamed as the Premier Division, only for clubs with floodlights.After much debate, the league was absorbed into the expanded Wessex League in 2004, forming it's second and third divisions.
Hampshire League 2004
Not all the clubs from the disbanded original Hampshire League were able to meet Wessex League ground criteria, and, being without a league, formed a new competition, called the Hampshire League 2004. Other clubs from local leagues, plus the reserve/"A" teams of some Wessex League clubs, brought the founding complement up to 16 teams, although one failed to see through the inaugural season. The league continues to have one division technically not connected to the
English football league system , but has in 2006 taken a club relegated from the bottom division of the Wessex League.The Hampshire League was originally fed by the
Aldershot & District League ,Isle of Wight League ,North Hants League ,Portsmouth League ,Bournemouth League and theSouthampton League . However, with the expansion of the Wessex League, the structure of the pyramid in Hampshire is less straight-forward - Wellow F.C. of the Southampton League moved straight into the Wessex League in 2006. In the same year, Four Marks moved from the Aldershot League to the Hampshire League.The 2007–08 season saw the formation of the
Hampshire Premier League , which accommodated the clubs from the Wessex League Division Three after the Wessex League decided to run with only two divisions from 2007. The Hampshire Football Association placed the Hampshire Premier League at a higher level than the Hampshire League 2004 in its precedence list, thus making Hampshire League 2004 a feeder to the Hampshire Premier League.Fact|date=April 2008 In May 2008 it was announced that the league was in talks with the HPL about merging the two leagues into a new competition which it was hoped would officially gain Step 7 status in theNational League System . [cite news|title=Moss signs off at Newbury in style|publisher=Non-League Today|date=2008-05-04|accessdate=2008-05-07] This merger ultimately did not occur, although the HPL was nonetheless awarded Step 7 status bythe Football Association . The Hampshire League then appealed to the FA, claiming it should gain similar status, but the appeal was rejected. [cite news|title=FA Veto for Clacton's Step 6 Bid|publisher=Non-League Today|date=2008-07-27|accessdate=2008-08-02]Historical position within English football league system
The following table shows the position of the various Hampshire leagues within the
English football league system :Member clubs 2008–09
*Andover Reserves
*Botley Village
*Broughton
*Crusaders FC
*Denmead and Purbrook
*Durley
*East Lodge
*Fair Oak
*Four Marks
*Hedge End Rangers
*Ludgershall Sports
*Michelmersh and Timsbury
*Mottisfont
*Netley Central Sports
*TwyfordHampshire League 2004 champions
References
External links
* [http://webstarter.netbenefit.com/users/www.thehampshireleague2004.com/index.php?f=data_home&a=0 Hampshire League 2004 website]
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