Southern Combination League
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Southern Combination League |
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The Southern Combination League is a three-division league at Steps 5, 6 and 7 in the National League system, feeding the Isthmian League and the Southern League.
The league was formed as the Sussex County League in 1920 and has continued to provide football for clubs in East and West Sussex for 90 years. The league was originally formed with a single division, which apart from the first post-World War II season in 1945-46 served as the format until 1952 when Division Two was formed. Division Three was added to the format in 1983 for clubs of intermediate status, and this has continued as the format to this day. Additional divisions are organised for reserve teams.
Current members with Isthmian League experience include Southwick and Steyning Town, while in recent years, Horsham YMCA (2006), Eastbourne Town (2007), Crowborough Athletic (2008), Whitehawk (2010) and Crawley Down (2011) have moved up from the Southern Combination to the either the Southern or Isthmian Leagues.
No Southern Combination team has yet made the F.A. Vase final - both Littlehampton Town in 1990-91 and Whitehawk in 2009-10 made the two-legged semi-finals before bowing out, and Burgess Hill Town, Peacehaven & Telscombe and Steyning Town had all made quarter final appearances while members of the league.
The league has a website, full of current league information at http://www.scfl.org.uk, and there used to be a separate archive site with extensive tables and result grids, but this appears to be no longer active (as of April 2015)
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1920-21 | Worthing |
| 1921-22 | Worthing |
| 1922-23 | Vernon Athletic |
| 1923-24 | Corps of Signals |
| 1924-25 | Corps of Signals |
| 1925-26 | Southwick |
| 1926-27 | Worthing |
| 1927-28 | Southwick |
| 1928-29 | Worthing |
| 1929-30 | Southwick |
| 1930-31 | Worthing |
| 1931-32 | Horsham |
| 1932-33 | Horsham |
| 1933-34 | Worthing |
| 1934-35 | Horsham |
| 1935-36 | Horsham |
| 1936-37 | Horsham |
| 1937-38 | Horsham |
| 1938-39 | Worthing |
The league closed down on the outbreak of World War II in 1939, and resumed in 1945. With the acceptance of 17 teams, including a number of service sides, two divisions were formed, Eastern and Western.
| Season | Eastern Division | Western Division |
|---|---|---|
| 1945-46 | Haywards Heath | Worthing |
The league contracted to a single section of 14 teams in 1946.
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1946-47 | Horsham |
| 1947-48 | Southwick |
| 1948-49 | Bognor Regis |
| 1949-50 | Haywards Heath |
| 1950-51 | Haywards Heath |
| 1951-52 | Shoreham |
Division Two was formed in 1952. The 1962-63 season was abandoned due to extreme weather conditions throughout the winter, and a series of emergency competitions was played instead.
| Season | Division One | Division Two |
|---|---|---|
| 1952-53 | Shoreham | Wigmore Athletic |
| 1953-54 | Newhaven | Hove White Rovers |
| 1954-55 | Eastbourne United | Three Bridges United |
| 1955-56 | Eastbourne United | Rye United |
| 1956-57 | Bexhill Town Athletic | A P V Athletic |
| 1957-58 | Arundel | Lancing |
| 1958-59 | Arundel | Sidley United |
| 1959-60 | Chichester City | Old Varndeanians |
| 1960-61 | Chichester City | Hastings Rangers |
| 1961-62 | Whitehawk | Shoreham |
| 1962-63 | Normal league system abandoned | |
| 1963-64 | Whitehawk | Selsey |
| 1964-65 | Lewes | Sidley United |
| 1965-66 | Bexhill Town Athletic | Horsham Y M C A |
| 1966-67 | Bexhill Town Athletic | Wadhurst |
| 1967-68 | Chichester City | Whitehawk |
| 1968-69 | Southwick | Ringmer |
| 1969-70 | Haywards Heath | Lancing |
| 1970-71 | Ringmer | Bognor Regis Town |
| 1971-72 | Bognor Regis Town | Newhaven |
| 1972-73 | Chichester City | Portfield |
| 1973-74 | Newhaven | Wigmore Athletic |
| 1974-75 | Southwick | Burgess Hill Town |
| 1975-76 | Burgess Hill Town | Selsey |
| 1976-77 | Eastbourne Town | Shoreham |
| 1977-78 | Shoreham | Steyning |
| 1978-79 | Peacehaven & Telscombe | Pagham |
| 1979-80 | Chichester City | Hastings Town |
| 1980-81 | Pagham | Whitehawk |
| 1981-82 | Peacehaven & Telscombe | Wick |
| 1982-83 | Peacehaven & Telscombe | Horsham Y M C A |
The league further expanded by introducing a Division Three was formed in 1983.
| Season | Division One | Division Two | Division Three |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-84 | Whitehawk | Portfield | East Preston |
| 1984-85 | Steyning Town | Shoreham | Oakwood |
| 1985-86 | Steyning Town | Wick | Seaford Town |
| 1986-87 | Arundel | Pagham | Langney Sports |
| 1987-88 | Pagham | Langney Sports | Midway |
| 1988-89 | Pagham | Seaford Town | Saltdean United |
| 1989-90 | Wick | Bexhill Town | Worthing United |
| 1990-91 | Littlehampton Town | Newhaven | Ifield |
| 1991-92 | Peacehaven & Telscombe | Portfield | Hassocks |
| 1992-93 | Peacehaven & Telscombe | Crowborough Athletic | Withdean |
| 1993-94 | Wick | Shoreham | Bosham |
| 1994-95 | Peacehaven & Telscombe | Mile Oak | Midhurst & Easebourne |
| 1995-96 | Peacehaven & Telscombe | Saltdean United | Ifield |
| 1996-97 | Burgess Hill Town | Littlehampton Town | Sidlesham |
| 1997-98 | Burgess Hill Town | East Preston | Lingfield |
| 1998-99 | Burgess Hill Town | Sidley United | Oving Social Club |
| 1999-00 | Langney Sports | Sidlesham | Bosham |
| 2000-01 | Sidley United | Southwick | Rye United |
| 2001-02 | Burgess Hill Town | Rye & Iden United | Pease Pottage Village |
| 2002-03 | Burgess Hill Town | Rye & Iden United | Midhurst & Easebourne |
| 2003-04 | Chichester City United | Littlehampton Town | Crowborough Athletic |
| 2004-05 | Horsham Y M C A | Crowborough Athletic | Storrington |
| 2005-06 | Horsham Y M C A | Oakwood | Peacehaven & Telscombe |
| 2006-07 | Eastbourne Town | Pagham | Rustington |
| 2007-08 | Crowborough Athletic | East Grinstead Town | Loxwood |
| 2008-09 | Eastbourne United Association | Peacehaven & Telscombe | Clymping |
| 2009-10 | Whitehawk | Rye United | Bosham |
| 2010-11 | Crawley Down | A F C Uckfield | Dorking Wanderers |
| 2011-12 | Three Bridges | East Preston | Newhaven |
| 2012-13 | Peacehaven & Telscombe | Littlehampton Town | Sidlesham |
| 2013-14 | East Preston | Eastbourne United Association | Langney Wanderers |
| 2014-15 | Littlehampton Town | Worthing United | Southwick |
The league changed name to the Southern Combination League, and renamed the divisions, in 2015.
| Season | Premier Division | Division One | Division Two |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | Horsham | Haywards Heath Town | AFC Varndeanians |
| 2016-17 | Shoreham | Saltdean United | Bosham |
| 2017-18 | Haywards Heath Town | Little Common | Rustington |
| 2018-19 | Chichester City | Alfold | Rustington |
| 2019-20 | Season declared null and void | ||
The F.C.H.D. has the complete final table information for this league. Tables for 1920-1985 were originally taken from the archive site of the league website. Tables from 1978 to 1985 were then checked against tables published in the BNLF and Non-League Directories. Tables since 1985 were originally compiled from contemporary sources. A number of the tables held within the FCHD still contain errors, mainly among the goals for/against totals not balancing.
We're not aware of the full set of tables being published in book form.
Please acknowledge the F.C.H.D. when using this information elsewhere