The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the GCE Hire Fleet Ltd. United Counties League) is an English football league covering an area including the English counties of northern Bedfordshire, northern Buckinghamshire, most of Cambridgeshire, southern Derbyshire, southern Leicestershire, most of Lincolnshire, western Norfolk, Northamptonshire, southern Nottinghamshire, northern Oxfordshire, Rutland, eastern Staffordshire, eastern Warwickshire and eastern West Midlands. It has a total of five divisions, three for first teams and two for reserve teams, but the reserves' divisions were merged into a single division for the 2013–14 season and remains so at present.
| Founded | 1895 |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Divisions | Premier Division North Premier Division South Division One |
| Number of teams | 59 |
| Level on pyramid | Levels 9–10 |
| Feeder to | Southern League Division One Central Northern Premier League Division One East and Midlands |
| Domestic cup(s) | United Counties League Cup FA Vase FA Cup |
| Current champions | Anstey Nomads (Premier Division North) Coventry Sphinx (Premier Division South) Aylestone Park (Division One) (2022–23) |
| Current: 2024–25 season | |
Clubs in the Premier Divisions are eligible to enter the FA Cup in the preliminary round stages. The clubs in the league are eligible for the FA Vase, and there are knockout cups for the Premier/Division One clubs and for the Reserve Divisions clubs.
History
editThe United Counties League was formed in 1895 as the Northamptonshire Junior League, dropping the 'Junior' one year later. It took its current name in 1934 as teams from other counties had long since been a part of the league. Over the years the UCL has 'united' teams from Northamptonshire, Rutland and Bedfordshire with those from parts of Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and even Norfolk. Northampton Town joined the league in 1897 and became champions in their second season before moving up to the Southern League. They would become the league's first former member to reach the Football League in 1920. In 1900 Bedford Queens became the first club from outside the county to join the league.
The Football Association announced on 12 April 2021 that United Counties League would administer a new Step 5 division since the 2021–22 season after the scheduled National League System restructure had a one-season postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England.[1]
Current members
edit
– Premier Division North 
– Premier Division South 
– Division OneStep 5
editThe league has two divisions at level 9 (step 5) of the National League System (NLS). Member clubs take part in cup competitions organised by the county FA to which they are affiliated and other cup competitions. The north division currently has 18 clubs, feeding into the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands and East. The south division currently has 20 clubs, feeding into the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands and Southern Football League Division One Central.
|
|
Step 6 (Division One)
editDivision One is at level 10 (step 6) in the football pyramid above five smaller local leagues below the recognised NLS: Central Midlands League, Leicestershire Senior League, Lincolnshire League, Northamptonshire Combination League and Nottinghamshire Senior League. There are currently 20 clubs in this division.
| Club | Home ground | Ground capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Blackstones | Lincoln Road | 1,200 |
| Bourne Town | Abbey Lawn | 5,000 |
| Coalville Town | Mander Cruickshank Solicitors Stadium | 2,000 |
| Clifton All Whites | Norman Archer Memorial Ground | 1,000 |
| Clipstone | Lido Ground | |
| Dunkirk | Ron Steel Sports Ground | 1,500 |
| Gedling Miners Welfare | Mapperley Plains Sports Club | 2,000 |
| Harrowby United | Dickens Road | 1,500 |
| Holwell Sports | Melton Road | 1,000 |
| Lutterworth Athletic | Hall Park | |
| Kirby Muxloe | Ratby Lane | 1,000 |
| Newark Town | YMCA Sports Village | |
| Radford | Selhurst Street | 1,000 |
| Rainworth Miners Welfare | Welfare Ground | |
| Sandiacre Town | St Giles Park | |
| Selston | The Parish Hall Ground | 1,000 |
| Southwell City | Centenary Ground, Brinkley | |
| St. Andrews | Canal Street | 1,000 |
| West Bridgford | Regatta Way Sports Ground | 1,000 |
Reserve Division
editThe membership of the Reserve Division is made up largely of the reserve teams of clubs in the Premier Division and Division One of the United Counties League. It has run as a single division since season 2013–14, and currently contains sixteen teams.
Recent champions
edit| Season | Premier Division | Division One | Reserves Division | League Cup | Reserve Divisions Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Spalding United | Oadby Town | Cogenhoe United | Huntingdon Town | Peterborough Northern Star |
| 2014–15 | AFC Rushden & Diamonds | Northampton Spencer | Bugbrooke St Michaels | AFC Rushden & Diamonds | Bugbrooke St Michaels |
| 2015–16 | AFC Kempston Rovers | Peterborough Sports | Rushden & Higham United Reserves | Peterborough Sports | Rothwell Corinthians Reserves |
| 2016–17 | Peterborough Sports | Daventry Town | Lutterworth Athletic Reserves | Yaxley | Raunds Town Reserves |
| 2017–18 | Yaxley | Pinchbeck United | Bugbrooke St Michaels Reserves | Leicester Nirvana | Yaxley Reserves |
| 2018–19 | Daventry Town | Lutterworth Town | Desborough Town Reserves | Daventry Town | Cogenhoe Reserves |
| 2019–20 | Season abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England | Not played | |||
| 2020–21 | |||||
| Season | Premier Division North | Premier Division South | Division One | Reserves Division | League Cup | Reserve Divisions Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | Long Eaton United | Harborough Town | Kimberley Miners Welfare | Bugbrooke St Michaels Reserves | Not played | |
| 2022–23 | Anstey Nomads | Coventry Sphinx | Aylestone Park | Harborough Town Reserves | Anstey Nomads | Newport Pagnell Town Reserves |
| 2023–24 | Sherwood Colliery | Wellingborough Town | Bourne Town | Buckingham Development | ||
References
edit- ^ "EXPLAINED: The 2021-22 Non-League restructure". The Non-League Paper. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.