Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division

Originally established in 1894 as the Leicestershire and Northants League, this changed its name in 1896 to the Leicestershire Senior League.

However, the club did face early instability, with a two year hiatus between 1901 and 1903, before folding completely in 1930, prior to reforming again in 1934.

While most regional leagues, the Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division continued to function between 1939 and 1945, throughout the Second World War, with numerous teams composed of armed forces personnel and local works teams.

Operating as an NLS Feeder League at Level 11 of the English football league pyramid, despite this county league primarily being based in Leicestershire, there have also been clubs from both Derbyshire and Northamptonshire competing over the decades as well.

The Champions of the Premier Division of the Leicestershire Senior League are usually (if they meet the required standards), eligible to then compete in the United Counties League Division One or the Midland Football League Division One, which provides a direct route to senior non-league football.

In the league’s early decades, it was common for the LSL to feature reserve teams or ‘A teams’ of professional clubs, such as Leicester Fosse (now Leicester City) and Nuneaton Borough, which gave the league a higher profile. As such, Leicester Fosse reserves were the league’s first ever champions in 1894/95.

After the Second World War, the league expanded, briefly splitting into two sections for the centre and west, before settling on the current Division One and Division Two structure.

In 2008 though, a major change was implemented. It saw the formation of the East Midlands Counties League (EMCL), which saw eight of the LSL’s top clubs leave to join the new step six league, which, on a temporary basis saw the LSL drop down the pyramid. The LSL then became a feeder to the EMCL before the latter dissolved in 2021.

Senior League Topics Of Interest

The club with the record for being the longest serving member of the league, is Holywell Sports, who spent 76 seasons in the league (60 in the Premier), before leaving in 2008.

In addition, the league also has a long-standing partnership with Everards Brewery, which is a major sponsor and outlines the strong commercial ties that the league has.

There are also multiple cup competitions, including the Leicestershire and Rutland County FA Senior Cup (known as the Westerby Cup, due to sponsorship ties), with this providing a platform on which to play higher level clubs from around the county. The LSL has around 40 clubs across the Premier Division, League One and League Two.

A number of notable alumni of the LSL, that went on to play at a higher level include Loughborough Dynamo, Quorn, Coalville Town, Shepshed Dynamo, Anstey Nomads and Oadby Town (the latter being one of the league’s consistent winners, especially during the 1990s).