Essex Senior League
The Essex Senior League is a men’s football league comprising clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA, and the Amateur Football Alliance.
The league is at Step 5 of the National League System and tier nine of the English football pyramid overall. It serves as a feeder league to Division One North of the Isthmian League, which is Step 4 of the National League System and the eighth tier of the English football pyramid overall.
About the Essex Senior League
The Essex Senior League was founded in 1971 by nine clubs: Witham Town, Billericay Town, Pegasus Athletic, Tiptree United, Saffron Walden Town, Basildon United, Heybridge Swifts, Southend United ‘A’ and Stansted.
However, over the years, the league has expanded, and there are now 20 clubs in the Essex Senior League.
When it comes to promotion, clubs are promoted to Division One North of the Isthmian League. The clubs that finish in the top three in the regular season are eligible for promotion. Only one club is generally promoted to the higher level.
The team that finishes as champions is offered the chance for promotion to Step 4. If they do not wish to be promoted or do not meet the requirements of the above league, the promotion is then offered to the second-place team, then to the third-place team, and so on, until a club accepts the promotion or meets the requirements of the higher league.
If no team that finishes in the top three takes the spot, then nobody is promoted to the higher level.
Relegation from the Essex Senior League was only introduced in season 2017/18. Typically, the clubs that finish in the bottom two spots at the end of the season are relegated to the Eastern Counties League Division One South.
Recently Successful Clubs
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 2015/16 | Bowers and Pitsea |
| 2016/17 | Barking |
| 2017/18 | Great Wakering Rovers |
| 2018/19 | Hullbridge Sports |
| 2019/20 | No champions; season abandoned due to coronavirus pandemic |
| 2020/21 | No champions; season abandoned due to pandemic-related lockdowns |
| 2021/22 | Walthamstow |
| 2022/23 | Enfield |
| 2023/24 | Tilbury |
| 2024/25 | Stanway Rovers |
The most successful club in the history of the Essex Senior League is Basildon Town, who have been division champions on five occasions. They won the title in four consecutive seasons from 1976 to 1980, with their last title coming in the 1993/94 season.
Heybridge Swifts have won the title on three occasions from 1981 to 1984, while Billericay Town have also claimed three titles, which came between 1973 and 1976.