| Countries | England |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1950 |
| Divisions | Premier Division Division One |
| Number of teams | 30 (2011-12) |
| Levels on pyramid | 13 and 14 |
| Feeder to | West Midlands (Regional) League |
| Promotion to | West Midlands (Regional) League Division Two |
| Domestic cup(s) | Premier Division Cup Division One Cup Ron Jones Memorial Cup SFA: Challenge Cup Junior Cup Commander Ethelston Charity Cup |
| Current champions | Haughmond (2010-11) |
The Shropshire County Premier Football League (currently sponsored by Sportsjamkits.com) is an English association football league based in the county of Shropshire. The league, usually known as the Shropshire County League, was founded in 1950 and currently has two divisions which sit at levels 13 and 14 of the English football league system.
Clubs who win this league can be promoted to the West Midlands (Regional) League[1] (all champions 2008-2011 were), although on occasion teams (such as Shifnal Town in 1993) have instead moved into the Midland Football Combination (due to a re-organisation of the boundaries of the two leagues this is unlikely to happen again; indeed Shifnal Town are now in the West Midlands Regional). The 2010–11 league champions were Haughmond.
Teams from the Telford Combination may be promoted into the league, as Impact United did in 2008 and Ketley Bank United in 2009.[2] Teams from the Shropshire Alliance were also able to be promoted into the league, as Rock Rovers did in 2011, however the Alliance has now folded with its last season being 2010-11.[3]
The grounds of several teams in the league, most notably Brown Clee, were featured in David Bauckham's book Dugouts, which noted the high frequency of dugouts with lockable doors which are also used for storage, a feature seemingly unique to clubs in Shropshire.[4]
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A total of 14 teams are due to take part in the Premier Division this season, an increase of two from the previous season. 2010-11 champions Haughmond were promoted to the West Midlands (Regional) League, no team was relegated from the Premier Division, while 3 teams came up from Division One: Wellington Amateurs Reserves, Church Stretton Town and Whitchurch Alport Reserves.
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With the demise of the Shropshire Alliance football league, a total of six teams were transferred from the Alliance to the County League: Hopesgate United, Ludlow Town Reserves (they played previously as Ludlow Town Colts), Oswestry Lions, Prees United, Rock Rovers (2010-11 Alliance champions)[3] and Weston Rhyn. Further, a reserve team of Shawbury United were formed and joined the County League in this division, and Wrockwardine Wood Juniors were promoted from the Shropshire Minor League (they played previously as Oakengates Rangers U18) skipping the Telford Combination. Atlas changed their name to Allscott.
The number of teams in Division One has therefore increased from 11 in the previous season to 16. With the large number of teams in the division, it is proposed that the Division One Cup and the Ron Jones Memorial Cup competitions will not take place this season.
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Each team played each other at home and away, resulting in 22 matches per team. Haughmond are the Shropshire County Premier Football League Champions 2010-11 (the side came 2nd in the previous season), and the side also won the Ron Jones Memorial Cup.[5] By chance the final match of the season took place between the teams at first and second place (Haughmond and Ellesmere Rangers Reserves) and decided the League Champion. Ludlow Town came third in the league, while Dawley Villa finished bottom with just 9 points. FC Hodnet won the Premier Division Cup, beating Haughmond in the final.[6]
Ludlow Town joined the County League this season, having voluntarily dropped three levels from the West Midlands (Regional) League's Premier Division, because of financial difficulties.
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Each team played each other at home and away, resulting in 20 matches per team. Wellington Amateurs Reserves are the Division One 2010-11 season champions, while Church Stretton Town came second, and Clee Hill United finished bottom with just 7 points. Wellington also won the Division One Cup, beating Bishop's Castle in the final.[7]
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The Shropshire Alliance was a football league for Shropshire based teams that ran from the mid-1970s to 2011. It was formed by the merger of the Shrewsbury and West Shropshire Leagues, which were formed in the late 1940s. At its height it comprised three divisions, but the number of teams fell and by the end of the 2010-11 season only 8 teams remained. It was decided in 2011 to fold the league, and 6 of the member teams came over to the Shropshire County League (one of which, Rock Rovers, were the final season's champions and would have been promoted to the County League in any case). The 2010-11 season was therefore the final season.[3] Being a feeder to the County League, the Shropshire Alliance was effectively at level 15 of the English football pyramid.
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