Southern Football League Division One South

The Southern Football League Division One South is an English regional football league that is part of the Southern Football League. It sits at Step 4 of the National League System and is the eighth tier of English football overall.

Division South is a semi-professional division which generally consists of 22 teams from the south and west of England, from counties such as Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, and parts of the Midlands.

About the league

The Southern Football League was established in 1894, marking its second attempt to create a football league. The first attempt, known as the Southern Alliance, failed to complete a single season in 1892. In contrast, the Southern Football League has had significantly more success.

The inaugural league, featuring both professional and amateur clubs, originally consisted of just 16 teams. However, due to high demand for spots in the league, a second division was established.

The Southern Football League Division One West was established for the 1958–59 season when the league was divided into two sections: North-Western and South-Eastern. The North-Western section served as a forerunner to what would later become the current Division One South.

The distinct naming and structure of Division One West, as a specific regional division at Step 4 of the National League System, were solidified during later reorganisations. This was particularly evident in the 2006–07 season when the Southern League restructured its lower divisions into Division One South & West and Division One Midlands.

Promotion and Relegation

Ahead of the 2018/19 season, the division was renamed the Southern Football League Division One South

When it comes to promotion, the team that finishes as champions wins automatic promotion, provided they meet the required standard of the higher league. The team is usually promoted to the Southern Football League Premier Division South.

However, champions of the division have also been Southern Football League Premier Division Central or, less commonly, the Northern Premier League Premier Division. This usually occurs when there is an imbalance in the division numbers.

A second promotion spot is available via winning the play-offs, which is usually played out by the teams that finish from second to fifth place in the table. Like the champions, the play-off winners have to meet the higher league’s criteria to be promoted, and promotion is usually geographically based.

Generally, the bottom two teams are relegated to Step 5 or the ninth tier. These two teams are typically placed in divisions such as the Western League Premier Division, Wessex League Premier Division, or Hellenic League Premier Division, depending on which division best suits their location.

Recent Winners

Since the renaming of the division to the Southern Football League Division One South ahead of the 2018/19 season, multiple clubs have achieved success. However, no one club has won the division title more than once.