| Countries | England Wales |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1915 |
| Divisions | 3 |
| Number of teams | 30 |
| Levels on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Premier Reserve League |
| Current champions | Reading (Central) Watford (East) Exeter City (Wales & West) (2009-10) |
The Football Combination (officially known as The Totesport.com Combination for sponsorship reasons), is a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England and Wales. Clubs from the Midlands and the North play in the Central League.
It is not to be confused with The Combination, a league for teams from North West England which existed at the turn of the 20th century.
The Combination was founded in 1915 as the London Combination, originally as a regional league for London clubs after first-class competition had been suspended due to World War I. After hostilities ended, the Combination became a competition for reserve sides only, becoming the Football Combination for the 1939/40 season, which was abandoned due to the start of World War II, as teams from outside London started to join.
The Combination originally contained all the reserve teams of League clubs within the region, but in 1999 the FA Premier Reserve League was founded. The reserve teams of the FA Premier League clubs and some First Division clubs joined that competition, reducing the size of the Combination (however, in 2006, Premier League clubs voted that only the 20 top-tier teams would be able to play in this league, which meant several well-established reserve sides moving to the Combination). Today several reserve sides from Football Conference clubs also play in the Combination.
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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The Combination is split into three parallel divisions, the East, Central, and Wales & West Divisions. The participating teams for 2009-10 are:
East DivisionSee East Division for 2009-10 league table. |
Central DivisionSee Central Division for 2009-10 league table. |
Wales & West DivisionSee Wales & West Division for 2009-10 league table. |
| Season | Central Division | East Division | Wales & West Division |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006/07 | Brighton | Ipswich Town | TBC |
| 2007/08[1] | Southampton | Ipswich Town | Bristol City |
| 2008/09 | Reading | Luton Town | Plymouth Argyle |
| 2009/10 | Reading | Watford | Exeter City |
The Combination also operates a cup competition - The Combination Challenge Cup (officially known as The Totesportcasino.com Combination Cup for sponsorship reasons).
The competition is split into 2 groups and winners of each group will advance to the final. The participating teams for 2008–09 are:
|
Group A |
Group B |
| Season | Winners |
|---|---|
| 2008/09 | Crystal Palace / Reading |
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