Suffolk & Ipswich League Senior Division
The Suffolk & Ipswich Football League Senior Division is level 11 of the overall English football pyramid and part of the feeder leagues of the National League System.
The Senior Division is just one of the eight divisions in the Suffolk & Ipswich Football League. However, the Senior Division is one of four divisions alongside 1-3, which are senior leagues, with three reserve leagues, A, B and C, plus Division 4, where both senior and reserves can play.
The league is associated with the Suffolk County Football Association.
The history of the league
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The league as a whole was founded way back in 1896 as the Ipswich and District League, courtesy of an initiative by Frederick Gibbons, the secretary of St Lawrence Works.
He placed an advertisement in the East Anglian Daily Times stating that he was looking to launch a new league for Ipswich and the surrounding areas. The inaugural meeting about the league took place on 10th September 1896.
The meeting was attended by representatives of 18 different clubs, including Ipswich Town. The league began in October of that year, initially with two divisions of eight teams. Ironically, Ipswich decided not to opt into the league.
In 1910, a number of the small clubs from the league began a rival league called the FA Ipswich & District League. A year later, more clubs left the league, leaving it with just 11 clubs in two divisions.
However, things changed at the annual general meeting in August 1912, as 21 teams attended. Ten teams were designated to Division One, while 11 were put in Division Two.
However, seven of the clubs elected to Division One decided to opt out. In season 1912/13, ten clubs competed in the amateur version of the league, while 14 played in the FA version of the competition. It was the same scenario in the next campaign.
The FA and AFA had put their difference aside in 1914, and the two leagues merged into a three-division competition. However, in September 1914, the league was abandoned due to the outbreak of World War 1.
When the league returned after the end of the war, it had grown to five divisions. The top tier was renamed the Premier Division in 1950. The second tier became Division One, with two sectional Second Divisions below.
In 1971, the league had grown to ten divisions. By 1978, the league became the Suffolk & Ipswich League, and the Premier Division was renamed the Senior Division.
Recent winners of the Senior Division Title
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 2014/15 | Crane Sports |
| 2015/16 | Crane Sports |
| 2016/17 | Henley Athletic |
| 2017/18 | Achilles |
| 2018/19 | Crane Sports |
| 2019/20 | League abandoned due to COVID-19. |
| 2020/21 | League abandoned due to COVID-19. |
| 2021/22 | Henley Athletic |
| 2022/23 | Henley Athletic |
| 2023/24 | Henley Athletic |
How does relegation work?
The Suffolk & Ipswich Football League Senior Division is a feeder league to the Eastern Counties League. One team that wins the league earns an automatic promotion, but only if it meets the higher league’s requirements. If not, then the team that finishes in the highest position and is eligible is promoted to fifth place.
At the other end of the table, relegation is decided by individual Leagues and County FA’s, with the bottom two teams suffering relegation.
Which teams have been successful in the Senior Division?
Many teams have enjoyed periods of domination in the Senior Division. One team that has been hugely successful in the league is Grundisburgh, who from 1990 until 2007 won the title on nine occasions.
In the last decade or so, two clubs, Crane Sport and Henley Athletic, have proven highly successful, winning three and four titles respectively since 2015. The latter has been particularly dominant of late, winning three straight titles in 2022, 2023 and 2024.