North West Counties League Division One South
The North West Counties League Division One South forms Step 6 of the National League system alongside the North West Counties League Division One North. It is also the ninth tier of the beautiful game overall in England.
The division is organised and run by the County FA, with 18 clubs, mainly from the North of England, competing for supremacy.
The league also has teams or has had teams from the Isle of Man, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern Shropshire, the far west of West Yorkshire, and the High Peak area of Derbyshire taking part in the league. Clubs from north Wales have also featured in the league.
How does promotion and relegation work?
When it comes to promotion, the division feeds Step 5 of the National League system. The teams that win promotion then play in the NW Counties Premier Division the following campaign.
Only one team per season wins automatic promotion to Step 5, which is the team that finishes the season as champions. However, that promotion depends on whether the champion’s facilities are good enough for the step up. If they are not, then they are denied entry to the higher league.
Another promotion place is available. The second promotion spot is decided in a play-off tournament between the teams that finished from second to fifth place in the table over the 24-game league campaign.
The play-off winners are promoted to the Northern Premier Division. Once again, they must meet the criteria to play at the higher level.
Relegation is relatively simple. The teams that finish in the league’s bottom three, from 16th to 18th place, are relegated to various National Feeder Leagues (formerly Step 7). They are replaced by three teams from an appropriate feeder league.
The league made significant changes in 2018
Before the 2018/19 season, Step 6 of the National League System had just one division. However, that season, two separate leagues were established, with the club’s location deciding whether a team would play in Division One South or Division One North.
Previous winners of the North West Counties League Division One South are Ryland, West Didsbury & Chorlton, Wythenshawe Amateurs and Brocton. There would have been more winners in Division One South but for the effect of the Coronavirus.
For example, season 2019/20 was abandoned due to the pandemic, while the following season was also curtailed due to the virus.
Clubs in the North West Counties League Division One South are eligible to play in the NWCFL Challenge Cup winners, which is a competition open to all of the clubs in the three divisions of the North West Counties League.