Central Midlands Football League
Overview
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Formed in 1971 as the South Derbyshire League, changing name initially to the Derbyshire League before taking on its current name in 1983, it covers Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
and South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...
. Since the 2004–05 season, their principal sponsor has been Abacus Lighting.
The number of divisions has varied over time as follows
- 1983–84 – three divisions: Supreme, Premier First and Premier
- 1984–85 – three divisions: Central, Premier First and Premier
- 1985–86 – two divisions: Central and Premier
- 1986–87 – three divisions: Supreme, Premier and First
- 1987–88 to 1989–90 – two divisions: Supreme and Premier
- 1990–91 – three divisions: Supreme, Premier and First
- 1991–92 – three divisions: Supreme, Premier North and Premier South
- 1992–93 to 2010–11 – two divisions: Supreme and Premier
- 2011–12 to present – two divisions: North and South
Within the English football league system
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in England, with six teams from Wales also competing...
, the Central Midlands League's two divisions, called the North Division and South Division, are considered part of the National League System
National League System
The National League System comprises the seven levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the Premier League and The Football League. It contains 91 league competitions and more than 1,600 clubs. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association...
(at Step 7), while the two reserve divisions are not.
