| Countries | England |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1889 |
| Divisions | Division One Division Two |
| Number of teams | 44 |
| Levels on pyramid | Levels 9 and 10 |
| Feeder to | Northern Premier League Division One North |
| Domestic cup(s) | Northern League Cup Ernest Armstrong Memorial Cup J.R. Cleator Cup |
| Current champions | Spennymoor Town (Division One) Newton Aycliffe (Division Two) (2010–11) |
The Northern League is a football league in North East England for semi-professional and amateur teams. Having been founded in 1889, it is the oldest surviving football league in the world after the Football League.
It contains two divisions; Division One and Division Two. Division One sits on the ninth tier of the English football league system, five divisions below the Football League. These leagues cover County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, northern Cumbria and the northern half of North Yorkshire.
The champions and the runners-up of Division One are eligible for promotion to Division One North of the Northern Premier League, subject to certain criteria.
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The Northern League ran as one of two major amateur competitions (with the Isthmian League) in tandem with the professional Football League, Southern League and, since 1968, the Northern Premier League.
In 1974, amateur status was abandoned by the Football Association and amateur leagues like the Northern had to find a place in the overall structure of non-League football. Unlike its southern equivalent the Isthmian League who became a feeder in 1982, the Northern League rejected repeated invitations to become a feeder league to the Alliance Premier League, later the Conference, when that league was created in 1979.
Ultimately, the Northern League remained out of the football pyramid until 1991, a decision that proved very costly to its status. The league declined throughout the 1980s as its leading clubs defected to other leagues within the football pyramid, such as the Northern Counties East Football League.
When the Northern League was finally forced into the pyramid, the opportunity to become a feeder league to the Conference had long passed and the Northern League was forced to become a feeder league to the lower division of the Northern Premier League, two tiers below the Conference.
The League suffered a further blow to its prestige in 1995 when the Football Association limited the entry to the FA Trophy to the first three steps of the pyramid thereby disqualifying the Northern League's clubs and those in equivalent competitions from competing for the FA Trophy. Northern League clubs now compete for the FA Vase.
The League had an unusual sponsorship deal put in place by Brooks Mileson, owner of the Albany Group, who were its sponsors in 2003. In that year, Mileson announced that he had created a trust which would continue to sponsor the league throughout his lifetime and that of his sons. In 2008, however, the league announced that this sponsorship had come to an end, and it held a raffle to determine its next sponsor. Interested parties were invited to buy a stake in the raffle for £250. The winning stake was held by a local training company and the league has been known as the skilltrainingltd Northern League since the 2008–09 season.[1]
| Club |
Finishing position 2009–10 | Finishing position 2010–11 |
|---|---|---|
| Ashington | 6th | 8th |
| Bedlington Terriers | 7th | 9th |
| Billingham Synthonia | 12th | 12th |
| Billingham Town | 19th | 15th |
| Bishop Auckland | 13th | 14th |
| Consett | 10th | 2nd |
| Dunston UTS | 4th | 7th |
| Esh Winning | 18th | 21st RELEGATED to Division Two |
| Jarrow Roofing | 3rd PROMOTED from Division Two | 19th |
| Newcastle Benfield | 5th | 4th |
| Norton & Stockton Ancients | 8th | 10th |
| Penrith | 14th | 17th |
| Ryton | 17th | 22nd RELEGATED to Division Two |
| Shildon | 2nd | 5th |
| South Shields | 11th | 11th |
| Spennymoor Town | 1st CHAMPIONS | 1st CHAMPIONS |
| Stokesley | 1st PROMOTED from Division Two | 16th |
| Sunderland RCA | 2nd PROMOTED from Division Two | 13th |
| Tow Law Town | 9th | 18th |
| West Allotment Celtic | 15th | 20th RELEGATED to Division Two |
| West Auckland Town | 16th | 6th |
| Whitley Bay | 3rd | 3rd |
| Club |
Finishing position 2009–10 | Finishing position 2010–11 |
|---|---|---|
| Birtley Town | 20th | 13th |
| Brandon United | 15th | 19th |
| Chester-le-Street Town | 20th RELEGATED from Division One | 8th |
| Crook Town | 13th | 12th |
| Darlington Railway Athletic | 19th | 15th |
| Gillford Park | 11th | 11th |
| Guisborough Town | 5th | 2nd PROMOTED to Division One |
| Hebburn Town | 16th | 10th |
| Horden Colliery Welfare | 22nd RELEGATED from Division One | 18th |
| Marske United | 4th | 3rd PROMOTED to Division One |
| Morpeth Town | 21st RELEGATED from Division One | 20th |
| Newton Aycliffe | 9th | 1st PROMOTED to Division One |
| North Shields | 6th | 4th |
| Northallerton Town | 8th | 9th |
| Seaham Red Star | 12th | 17th |
| Team Northumbria | 14th | 5th |
| Thornaby | 17th | 14th |
| Washington | 18th | 16th |
| Whickham | 10th | 6th |
| Whitehaven | 7th | 7th |
Originally the league comprised a single division. The champions were as follows:[2]
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1889–90 | Darlington St. Augustine's |
| 1890–91 | Middlesbrough Ironopolis |
| 1891–92 | Middlesbrough Ironopolis |
| 1892–93 | Middlesbrough Ironopolis |
| 1893–94 | Middlesbrough |
| 1894–95 | Middlesbrough |
| 1895–96 | Darlington |
| 1896–97 | Middlesbrough |
| 1897–98 | Stockton |
| 1898–99 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1899–1900 | Darlington |
| 1900–01 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1901–02 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1902–03 | Newcastle United A |
| 1903–04 | Newcastle United A |
| 1904–05 | Newcastle United A |
In 1905 the league split into two sections, one for professionals and one for amateurs. This lasted for a single season.[2]
| Season | Professional | Amateur |
|---|---|---|
| 1905–06 | Sunderland A | Bishop Auckland |
In 1906 the league reverted to a single division, a format retained until 1982.[2]
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1906–07 | Stockton |
| 1907–08 | South Bank |
| 1908–09 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1909–10 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1910–11 | Eston United |
| 1911–12 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1912–13 | Esh Winning |
| 1913–14 | Willington |
| 1914–15 | Crook Town |
| 1915–19 | Not contested due to World War I |
| 1919–20 | South Bank |
| 1920–21 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1921–22 | South Bank |
| 1922–23 | Eston United |
| 1923–24 | Tow Law |
| 1924–25 | Tow Law |
| 1925–26 | Willington |
| 1926–27 | Crook Town |
| 1927–28 | Chilton Colliery |
| 1928–29 | Stockton |
| 1929–30 | Willington |
| 1930–31 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1931–32 | Stockton |
| 1932–33 | Stockton |
| 1933–34 | Shildon |
| 1934–35 | Shildon |
| 1935–36 | Shildon |
| 1936–37 | Shildon |
| 1937–38 | Ferryhill Athletic |
| 1938–39 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1939–40 | Shildon |
| 1940–45 | Not contested due to World War II |
| 1945–46 | Stanley United |
| 1946–47 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1947–48 | Ferryhill Athletic |
| 1948–49 | Evenwood Town |
| 1949–50 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1950–51 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1951–52 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1952–53 | Crook Town |
| 1953–54 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1954–55 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1955–56 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1956–57 | Billingham Synthonia |
| 1957–58 | Ferryhill Athletic |
| 1958–59 | Crook Town |
| 1959–60 | West Auckland |
| 1960–61 | West Auckland |
| 1961–62 | Stanley United |
| 1962–63 | Crook Town |
| 1963–64 | Stanley United |
| 1964–65 | Whitley Bay |
| 1965–66 | Whitley Bay |
| 1966–67 | Bishop Auckland |
| 1967–68 | Spennymoor United |
| 1968–69 | North Shields |
| 1969–70 | Evenwood Town |
| 1970–71 | Evenwood Town |
| 1971–72 | Spennymoor |
| 1972–73 | Blyth Spartans |
| 1973–74 | Spennymoor United |
| 1974–75 | Blyth Spartans |
| 1975–76 | Blyth Spartans |
| 1976–77 | Spennymoor United |
| 1977–78 | Spennymoor United |
| 1978–79 | Spennymoor United |
| 1979–80 | Blyth Spartans |
| 1980–81 | Blyth Spartans |
| 1981–82 | Blyth Spartans |
In 1982 the league added a second division.[2]
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