| Countries | England |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1911 |
| Divisions | 3 |
| Number of teams | 25 |
| Levels on pyramid | 1 |
| Current champions | Preston N E (2010–11) |
The Central League (currently known as The Totesport.com League for sponsorship reasons), is a football league in England for reserve teams primarily 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 has been 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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The League is split into three regional divisions, the Central, West, and East Divisions. The participating teams for 2011–12 are:
Central Division |
East Division |
West Division |
In 2005, the league re-organised into three geographic divisions, with the overall champions being decided after a series of play-offs.
| Play-off Winner | Division One Central | Division One East | Division One West | |
| 2005–06 | Doncaster Rovers | Sheffield Wednesday | Doncaster Rovers | Carlisle United |
| 2006–07 | Nottingham Forest | West Bromwich Albion | Rotherham United | Oldham Athletic |
| 2007–08[1] | Manchester City[2] | Nottingham Forest | Hartlepool United | Morecambe |
From 2008 the league set up remained the same as the three years before it, but instead of a series of end of season play-offs, the overall winners trophy was given to the side with the best points per game record over the course of the season
| Overall Winner | Central Division | East Division | West Division | |
| 2008–09 | Shrewsbury Town | Shrewsbury Town | Leeds United | Burnley |
| 2009–10 | Wrexham | Derby County | Leeds United | Wrexham |
| 2010–11 | Preston North End | Derby County | Middlesbrough | Preston North End |
| P | Club | Number of Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 16 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 9 |
| 3 | West Bromwich Albion | 7 |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 6 |
| 5 | Derby County | 4 |
| Everton | 4 | |
| Huddersfield Town | 4 | |
| Manchester City | 4 | |
| Nottingham Forest | 4 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 4 | |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 3 |
| Burnley | 3 | |
| Sheffield United | 3 | |
| 14 | Blackburn Rovers | 2 |
| Blackpool | 2 | |
| Bolton Wanderers | 2 | |
| Leeds United | 2 | |
| Preston North End | 2 | |
| Stoke City | 2 | |
| 20 | Doncaster Rovers | 1 |
| Hull City | 1 | |
| Lincoln City | 1 | |
| Newcastle United | 1 | |
| Shrewsbury Town | 1 | |
| Sunderland | 1 | |
| Tranmere Rovers | 1 | |
| Wrexham | 1 |
Since 1996 the league has also operated a cup competition – The Central League Cup (officially known as The Totesport.com League Cup for sponsorship reasons).
The participating teams for 2011–12 are:
|
Group A |
Group B |
Group C |
| Season | Winners |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | Stoke City |
| 1997–98 | Sheffield United |
| 1998–99 | Tranmere Rovers |
| 1999–00 | |
| 2000–01 | Sheffield United |
| 2001–02 | Doncaster Rovers |
| 2002–03 | Hull City |
| 2003–04 | Sheffield Wednesday |
| 2004–05 | Manchester United |
| 2005–06 | Shrewsbury Town |
| 2006–07 | Lincoln City |
| 2007–08 | Morecambe |
| 2008–09 | Sunderland[3] |
| 2009–10 | Leicester City[4] |
| 2010-11 | Sunderland |
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