The 1919–20 season was the 22nd in the history of the
Southern League, and the first following
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
won the Southern League championship for the second time, whilst
Mid Rhondda won Division Two. There were no promotions or relegations between divisions at the end of the season as all of the clubs in Division One bar
Cardiff City were elected to the new
Division Three
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the fo ...
of
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
, with Cardiff elected to
Division Two.
With only 10 clubs remaining (
Caerphilly
Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley.
It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wit ...
left the league) the league went through a realignment. The league was split into two national sections for England and Wales, with the winners of each section contesting a playoff for the Southern League championship. The remaining clubs in Division Two moved to the Welsh Section. In the English Section,
Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves,
Chatham Town,
Millwall Reserves,
Portsmouth Reserves,
Reading Reserves,
Southampton Reserves, and
Watford Reserves rejoined the Southern League. New clubs to join were
Boscombe
Boscombe is a suburb of Bournemouth, England. Historically in Hampshire, but today in Dorset, it is located to the east of Bournemouth town centre and west of Southbourne.
Originally a sparsely inhabited area of heathland, from around 1865 B ...
,
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
,
Gillingham Reserves,
Luton Town Reserves,
Norwich City Reserves, and
Thornycrofts.
Division One
A total of 22 teams contest the division, including 18 sides from previous season and four new teams.
Teams promoted from
1914–15 Division Two:
*
Merthyr Town
Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional association football, football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system.
The ...
*
Swansea Town
*
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
*
Newport County
Division Two
A total of 11 teams contest the division, including six sides from previous season and five new teams.
Newly elected teams:
* Aberaman Athletic
* Abertillery
* Caerphilly
* Mardy
* Porth Athletic
Football League elections
Cardiff City were the only Southern League club to apply for election to the Football League.
A history of admission to the Football League
/ref> They were successful and, along with Leeds United, replaced Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
and Lincoln City in the Football League Second Division.
After the voting, 21 clubs remained in Southern League alongside Grimsby, having gained more votes than other non-elected clubs, were then elected into the newly created Third Division.
References
External links
Southern League First Division Tables
RSSSF
RSSSF
Football Club History Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southern Football League, 1919-20
1919-20
1919–20 in English football leagues
1919–20 in Welsh football