Hampshire League

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The Hampshire League is a name used for three distinct football competitions based in Hampshire, England.

1 History
2 Member clubs 2007-08
3 Hampshire League 2004 champions
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

The first Hampshire League was formed in 1896, and ran until 2004 when it was incorporated into an expanded Wessex League.

Not all the clubs from the disbanded Hampshire League were able to meet Wessex League ground criteria, and being without a league, formed a new competition, called the Hampshire League 2004. Other clubs from local leagues, plus the reserve/"A" teams of some Wessex League clubs brought the founding complement up to 16 teams, although one failed to see through the inaugural season. The league continues to have one division technically not connected to the English football league system, but has in 2006 taken a club relegated from the bottom division of the Wessex League.

The Hampshire League was originally fed by the Aldershot & District League, Isle of Wight League, North Hants League, Portsmouth League, Bournemouth League and the Southampton League. However, with the expansion of the Wessex League, the structure of the pyramid in Hampshire is less straight-forward - Wellow F.C. of the Southampton League moved straight into the Wessex League in 2006. In the same year, Four Marks moved from the Aldershot League to the Hampshire League.

Season 2007-08 saw the formation of another Hampshire League - the Hampshire Premier League and this accommodated the Clubs from the Wessex League Division Three after the Wessex League decided to run with only two divisions from 2007. The Hampshire Football Association placed the Hampshire Premier League at a higher level than the Hampshire League 2004 in its precedence list thus making Hampshire League 2004 a feeder to the Hampshire Premier League^{[citation needed]}. In May 2008 it was announced that the league was in talks with the HPL about merging the two leagues into a new competition which it was hoped would officially gain Step 7 status.^[1]