Eastern Counties League Division One North

The Eastern Counties Football League Division One is an English football league at level 10, or Step 6, of the National League System. The league consists of clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, eastern Hertfordshire, southern Lincolnshire, and north and east London, usually featuring 20 clubs.

The division acts as a feeder league to the Eastern Counties League Premier Division.

About The League

The league was established in February 1935 after discussions among clubs from several amateur leagues aimed at creating a league that would encompass the entire East Anglia region.

In February 1935, a meeting was held involving ten clubs from various leagues, including the Southern Amateur League, the Spartan League, the Norfolk & Suffolk League, the London League, and the Ipswich & District League. The purpose of this meeting was to finalise the details for the formation of a new league.

The first season of the Eastern Counties Football League began on 31st August 1935. After facing some early challenges in the 1930s and experiencing a hiatus due to the Second World War, the league eventually stabilised. By the 1948/49 season, it expanded to 16 teams, which included reserve teams from Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and West Ham United.

The number of teams fluctuated, and by 1964, only 14 clubs were competing in the division. However, two years later, the league had returned to 16 clubs, and by the 1988/89 season, a second division was established.

However, it wasn’t until 2017, following a restructuring of non-league football, that the second division was split into two regional leagues. The Eastern Counties League Division One North was joined by its counterpart in the South ahead of the 2018/19 season.

The Eastern Counties League Division One North serves as a feeder league to the Premier Division, the Isthmian League Division One North, or the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands.

Two teams from Division One North earn promotion each season. The champions of the division go up automatically, as do the winners of the play-offs involving the teams that finished from second to fifth place in the table. However, these clubs are only allowed entry into a Step 5 league if they meet the criteria for that step.

When it comes to relegation, two teams are typically relegated to a feeder league (formerly called Step 7), such as the Anglian Combination or the Suffolk & Ipswich League. However, clubs can be relegated to other feeder leagues for regional balance. The number of teams relegated may vary based on the FA’s yearly restructuring of the NLS to balance the divisions.

If more teams are relegated from the ECL Premier Division (Step 5) to Division One North, additional teams may also face relegation to a feeder league to maintain a league size of typically 20 to 22 teams.

If a team is eligible for promotion from Division One North to Step 5 but either declines the promotion or is ineligible due to ground grading or financial issues, they may face relegation to a feeder league instead. This situation could also affect the number of teams at the bottom of the standings that are relegated.

Relegated teams are assigned to an appropriate feeder league league based on their geographical location. For example, clubs in Norfolk may join the Anglian Combination, while those in Suffolk might participate in the Suffolk & Ipswich League.

Division One North Recent Winners

Due to the division’s short history, there has yet to be a dominant force, with no club winning more than one title. In fact, there have been only five champions of the division, although this was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in both seasons, 2019/20 and 2020/21.