Central League (football)
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| Central League (football) | |
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| Country |  England |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1911 |
| Divisions | 3 |
| Number of teams | 36 |
| Promotion to | Premier Reserve League |
| Levels on pyramid | Level 2 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Pontin's Holidays League Cup |
| Current champions | Nottingham Forest (2006–07) |
The Central League (more commonly known as the Pontin's Holidays League after its main sponsor) is a football league in England for reserve teams of Football League clubs in the Midlands and North of England.
The league was formed in 1911 and in its early years consisted of a mix of first teams and reserve teams. However, when the Football League Third Division North was created in 1921, all the first teams in the Central League became founder members.
Since then, the league has been for reserve teams only, and eventually expanded to include virtually every professional team in the Midlands and North of England (teams in the South play in the Football Combination). In recent years, the FA Premier Reserve League was created for reserve sides of FA Premier League teams, and so the Central League's membership was reduced.
From the 2006/07 season the FA Premier Reserve League was restricted to the reserve sides of FA Premier League clubs. This meant that the reserve sides of Championship clubs rejoined the Central League.
Teams are not promoted to the Premier Reserve League based on their final league position, but on the league position of their respective clubs' senior teams. If the senior team is promoted to the Premier League, then the reserve team is promoted to the Premier Reserve League and replaced by the Reserve teams of the relegated teams.
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[edit] Participating teams
The League is split into three parallel divisions, the Central, West, and East Divisions. Winners of each division and the best runners-up will qualify for the play-off. The participating teams for 2007-08 are:
[edit] Division One Central
- Bradford City
- Coventry City
- Huddersfield Town
- Leicester City
- Nottingham Forest
- Oldham Athletic
- Port Vale
- Shrewsbury Town
- Stoke City
- Walsall
- West Bromwich Albion
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
[edit] Division One West
- Accrington Stanley
- Blackpool
- Burnley
- Bury
- Carlisle United
- Chester City
- Manchester City
- Morecambe
- Preston North End
- Rochdale
- Tranmere Rovers
- Wrexham
[edit] Division One East
- Barnsley
- Darlington
- Grimsby Town
- Hartlepool United
- Hull City
- Leeds United
- Lincoln City
- Rotherham United
- Scunthorpe United
- Sheffield United
- Sheffield Wednesday
- York City
[edit] Current Winners
| Season | Division One Central | Division One East | Division One West | Play-off Final | League Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007/08[1] | Nottingham Forest | Hartlepool United | Morecambe | Nottingham Forest or Manchester City | Morecambe |
[edit] Recent promoted teams
| 2006/07 | Sunderland | Birmingham City | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007/08 | West Bromwich Albion | Stoke City | Hull City |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Reserve and Youth football in England
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