1983–84 Kent Football League

The 1983–84 Kent Football League season was the eighteenth in the history of the Kent Football League, a football competition featuring teams based in and around the county of Kent in England.

The League structure comprised two divisions: Division One and Division Two with the latter known as the Reserves Section (reserves teams were not permitted in Division One). Additionally there were two league cup competitions: the Challenge Cup for the Division One clubs and another for the teams in Division Two.

From this season the league began awarding three points (increased from two) for winning a match.[1]

Division One

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Kent Football League Division One
Season1983–84
ChampionsSittingbourne
PromotedSheppey United
Matches played240
Goals scored774 (3.23 per match)

The league featured sixteen clubs which all competed in the previous season.

The league was won by Sittingbourne, who had previously won the title in 1975–76.[2]

At the end of the season second-placed Sheppey United were promoted to the Southern Football League.[3]


League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Season End Notes
1 Sittingbourne 30 24 3 3 87 26 +61 75
2 Sheppey United 30 21 3 6 61 28 +33 66 Promoted to the Southern League Southern Division
3 Hythe Town 30 17 5 8 63 39 +24 56
4 Cray Wanderers 30 14 7 9 66 40 +26 49
5 Tunbridge Wells 30 12 7 11 61 44 +17 43
6 Crockenhill 30 11 10 9 37 34 +3 43
7 Herne Bay 30 13 4 13 42 43 −1 43
8 Beckenham Town 30 12 6 12 56 54 +2 42
9 Deal Town 30 13 3 14 54 54 0 42
10 Faversham Town 30 12 6 12 40 41 −1 42
11 Slade Green Athletic 30 11 4 15 38 52 −14 37
12 Darenth Heathside 30 9 8 13 44 50 −6 35
13 Alma Swanley 30 8 10 12 39 50 −11 34
14 Kent Police 30 8 6 16 27 63 −36 30
15 Whitstable Town 30 4 9 17 37 62 −25 21
16 Ramsgate 30 4 3 23 22 94 −72 15
Source: "Kent League 1966–92: 1983–84". Non League Matters. Retrieved 21 May 2024. "England – Kent League: Final Table Kent League (Division 1) '83–'84". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Challenge Cup

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The 1983–84 Kent Football League Challenge Cup was won by Cray Wanderers, their first Challenge Cup triumph.[4] The competition, contested by all sixteen clubs in the league, comprised four single match tie rounds culminating in the final.

Quarter-finals, Semi-finals and Final

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
Cray Wanderers 4
Tunbridge Wells 0
Cray Wanderers 3[b]
Darenth Heathside 2[b]
Darenth Heathside 2 3[a]
Slade Green Athletic 2 1[a]
Cray Wanderers 4
Sheppey United 3
Sittingbourne 2
Herne Bay 0
Sittingbourne 2[c]
Sheppey United 6[c]
Sheppey United 5
Deal Town 1
  1. ^ a b Replay
  2. ^ a b After extra time
  3. ^ a b After extra time

First Round

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Sources:

Reserves Section

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The letter "R" following team names indicates a club's reserves team.

Division Two featured mostly reserves teams (which were not permitted in Division One) from clubs from Kent and the adjacent area whose first team played in Division One and other higher ranked leagues. There was a League Cup competition for the teams in the section.

Division Two

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Kent Football League Division Two
Season1983–84
ChampionsFisher Athletic R
Matches played210
Goals scored700 (3.33 per match)

The league featured fifteen clubs (including one non-reserve team, Snowdown Colliery Welfare), fourteen of which had competed in the division the previous season together with Fisher Athletic R.

The division was won by Fisher Athletic R[5] in their first season in the division.

At the end of the season Beckenham Town R and Dover R left the league.

League Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Season End Notes
1 Fisher Athletic R 28 19 5 4 82 23 +59 62
2 Sittingbourne R 28 19 2 7 66 38 +28 59
3 Chatham Town R 28 13 8 7 49 31 +18 47
4 Hythe Town R 28 14 4 10 67 44 +23 46
5 Beckenham Town R 28 13 5 10 43 30 +13 44 Resigned
6 Hastings United R 28 13 5 10 48 46 +2 44
7 Erith & Belvedere R 28 13 4 11 48 34 +14 43
8 Ashford Town R 28 13 4 11 40 35 +5 43
9 Darenth Heathside R 28 10 8 10 36 39 −3 38
10 Faversham Town R 28 10 6 12 52 57 −5 36
11 Snowdown Colliery Welfare 28 9 7 12 35 44 −9 34
12 Dover R 28 9 5 14 37 46 −9 32 Resigned
13 Folkestone R 28 9 3 16 41 56 −15 30
14 Herne Bay R 28 6 4 18 29 77 −48 22
15 Whitstable Town R 28 3 4 21 27 100 −73 13
Source: "Non League Tables for 1983–1984: Kent League Division 1(sic)". Non League Matters. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Division Two Cup

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The 1983–84 Kent Football League Division Two Cup was won for a second successive season by Erith & Belvedere R[6] who defeated Darenth Heatside in the final.

References

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  1. ^ "Kent League 1966–92: 1983–84". Non League Matters. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  2. ^ "First Division past winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Sheppey United". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Archives: League Cup Winners". SCEFL: Southern Counties East Football League. February 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Reserves First Division winners / runners-up". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Reserves Division(s) League Cup". kentleague.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2024.