Hampshire League
The Hampshire League was a long running amateur football league in Hampshire, England.
The competition ran for 108 years, from 1896 until 2004, when it was absorbed the expanding Wessex League. It has since been succeeded by the Hampshire Premier League with a recognised place on the FA Pyramid system.
History
The Hampshire Football League was formed in 1896 to provide an organised fixture schedule for clubs within the county.The inaugural campaign saw eight teams taking part with the first ever fixture being played on Saturday 5 September 1896 between Eastleigh Athletic and Freemantle, who won a thrilling match 5–4 with a player called Inglefield scoring the first ever goal! The first-ever league champions were Cowes.
Originally administered by the Hampshire Football Association, the fledgling competition was initially split into regional sections with an end of season play off to decide the champions, but numbers grew and eventually the league formed three larger divisions with straight forward promotion/relegation.
The post-war era saw the Hampshire League at its prime, consisting of many strong clubs destined to later progress further up the pyramid whilst the Reserve and ‘A’ sides of Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Reading and Aldershot also took part for many years. The strength of the league was well indicated by the performances of its clubs in national cup competitions.
By 1986, most of the top clubs had become semi-professional and left to join the newly formed Wessex League. Along with their Dorset and Wiltshire counterparts, the Hampshire League became a feeder in a revised pyramid system.
To keep pace with the modern ground grading criteria, in 1999 the top-flight was renamed as the Premier Division, for which only clubs with the required facilities were allowed entry. In 2004 it was agreed to dissolve the competition and become part of the expanding Wessex League. Vosper Thornycroft were the last champions.
Successor Competitions
The Hampshire League 2004 was subsequently formed by those opposed to the merger. Then, in 2007 clubs unable to meet the Wessex League criteria formed the Hampshire Premier League, which with slightly stricter ground requirements, was granted "Step 7" status on the modern FA pyramid system. The two leagues remained separate until finally amalgamating in 2013 to form the present day two tier competition.Clubs
- See Hampshire League clubs.
Achievements by clubs in national cup competitions
During its 108-year existence, the Hampshire League was done proud when represented by its member clubs in the national cup competitions, especially in its heyday as listed below, when clubs frequently progressed past the early qualifying rounds:FA Cup
- 1919/20 Thornycrofts reached 1st Round, v Burnley
- 1932/33 Ryde Sports reached 1st Round, v Margate
- 1936/37 Ryde Sports reached 1st Round, v Gillingham
- 1945/46 Newport reached 2nd Round, v Aldershot
- 1952/53 Newport reached 1st Round, v Swindon Town
- 1953/54 Newport reached 1st Round, v Swindon Town
- 1954/55 Newport reached 1st Round, v Hinckley Athletic
- 1956/57 Newport reached 1st Round, v Watford
- 1957/58 Newport reached 1st Round, v Hereford United
- 1958/59 Newport reached 1st Round, v Shrewsbury Town
- 1968/69 Waterlooville reached 1st Round, v Kettering Town
- 1972/73 Alton Town reached 1st Round, v Newport County
- 1969/70 Thornycroft Athletic reached 1st Round, v Weymouth
- 1976/77 Gosport Borough reached Quarter Finals, v Barton Rovers
- 1981/82 Sholing Sports reached 4th Round, v Shortwood United
- 1985/86 Havant Town reached Quarter Finals, v Wisbech Town
- 2002/03 Winchester City reached Quarter Finals, v Oadby Town
- 1910/11 RMLI Gosport won the competition, 2-1 v South Bank in Final
- 1929/30 Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic reached the Final, lost 1-5 v Ilford
- 1932/33 Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic reached the Semi-Finals, lost 1-2 v Stockton
Historical position within English football league system
The following table shows the position of the various Hampshire leagues within the English football league system:| Season | Level 4 | Level 5 | Level 6 | Level 7 | Level 8 | Level 9 | Level 10 | Level 11 |
| 1949–79 | Football League | Southern League Premier | Southern League South | Hampshire League | - | |||
| 1979–86 | Football League | Alliance Premier League | Southern League Premier | Southern League South | Hampshire League | - | ||
| 1986–2004 | Football League | Football Conference | Southern League Premier Div | Southern League South Div | Wessex League | Hampshire League | ||
| 2004- | Football League | National League | National League South | Southern League Premier | Southern League South & West | Wessex League Premier Div | Wessex League Division 1 | Hampshire Premier League |
- A History of the Hampshire Football League 1896-1996 - by Norman Gannaway
- Hampshire League Tabulated History - by Stephen Farmery