West Cheshire League

The West Cheshire Association Football League, more commonly known as the West Cheshire League, is a football league for teams not only in Cheshire but also Merseyside.

The top tier of the West Cheshire League, Division One, is a feeder league in the National League System, and level 11 of English football overall.

The league has four divisions, three senior divisions and one youth division. Division One is the top tier, with Division Two and Division Three making up the senior divisions, while the Youth Division is for young teams.

How does the league work?

The West Cheshire League, established in 1892, is a feeder league for the North West Counties League.

The winners of Division One win promotion to the higher league. However, they only do so if they have the required facilities. If they don’t, then teams as low as fifth place are eligible for promotion if they meet the requirements.

At times, meeting the requirements of the higher league has proven an issue, as only Cammel Laird in 2004 and Runcorn Town earned promotion to the North West Counties League from 2004 until 2010.

Teams that are relegated from Division One go down to Division Two, and so on. Teams relegated from Division Three’s destiny is decided by the local FA’s as they drop into the various feeder leagues below the National League System.

Teams have been successful in the league

Many clubs have had successful periods in Division One. There is one club that once had a massive reputation in the league, Cammell Laird. The club was founded by the shipping building company of the same name, and has won Division One on 19 occasions.

Incredibly, from 1975 until 1984, Cammell Laird claimed the Division One title in nine of the ten seasons. The Wirral-based outfit is now in the North Counties League.

Poulton Victoria had a period of dominance from 1999 until 2000, winning the title four times in five campaigns.

West Kirkby also enjoyed a period of success from 2007 until 2011, when they claimed three titles in four seasons.

In the last decade, South Liverpool has been the most successful team, winning the title on three occasions. Newton has also been relatively successful in recent history, winning the top-tier title in seasons 2016/17 and 2018/19.

Recent winners of the Division One title