Southern Football League Premier Central
The Southern Football League Premier Central is part of the Southern Football League competition, which features semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and the Midlands of England.
The Premier Central, along with the Premier South, forms Step 3 of the National League system, and the seventh tier of English football overall. The division generally features 22 teams each season.
Information about the Southern Football League Premier Central
The Southern Football League as a whole was first established in 1894. This was the second attempt at starting a league, as the previous version, the Southern Alliance, folded after failing to even complete a whole campaign in 1892. Its predecessor did significantly better.
The maiden league, which featured both professional and amateur clubs, originally contained just 16 clubs. However, such was the demand for places in the league that a second division was created.
After various structure changes, the current league structure of four two-regional Premier divisions, the Central and the South, came to pass ahead of the 2018/19 season. As had happened in the past, the leagues were fed by regional Division Ones, Division One Central and Division One South.
When it comes to promotion, teams from the league are generally promoted to the National League South, but can also be allocated a place in the National League North.
The club that finishes as champions wins promotion to Step 2 of the NAS, provided it meets the higher league requirements. A second promotion is also available via the play-offs, which features teams that finish from second to fifth place in the table. The winners of the play-offs are then promoted.
At the other end of the table, the bottom four teams are relegated to Step 4. Teams relegated from the Southern Football League Premier Central go down primarily to the Southern League Division One Central, which is judged by geographical location.
Some may be allocated a spot in the Southern League Division South if there is a disparity between the two leagues, depending on location.
Successful Teams
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 2018/19 | Kettering Town |
| 2019/20 | Tamworth* |
| 2020/21 | Coalville Town* |
| 2021/22 | Banbury United |
| 2022/23 | Tamworth |
| 2023/24 | Needham Market |
| 2024/25 | Bedford Town |
Due to the division not being that old, there haven’t been too many dominant forces emerging from it. The most successful club in the league is Tamworth, who have finished top of the table on two occasions.
However, the first time they finished top was in season 2019/20, when the league was terminated in late March due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Officially, they were not considered champions. The second time Tamworth won promotion was in season 2022/23, when they were promoted to the National League South. The Midlands outfit currently plies its trade in the National League.
The following campaign, the season ended in late February once again due to the Coronavirus, with Coalville Town sitting top of the table.