The 2019–20 Combined Counties Football League season (known as the 2019–20 Cherry Red Records Combined Counties Football League for sponsorship reasons) was the 42nd in the history of the

Combined Counties Football League The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Jersey, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the western half and sou ...

, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

competition in England. The season was abandoned on 26 March 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The constitution was announced on 19 May 2019. This season, the Premier Division champions were to be promoted to Step 4. The runners-up in this division and ten other Step 5 divisions in other leagues were to be ranked according to PPG (points per game), and the top four in that ranking would also have been promoted. The remaining seven runners-up would have competed in "winner takes all" play-offs with seven clubs finishing bottom in Step 4 leagues, the winners being placed at Step 4 and the losers at Step 5 for 2020–21. The bottom clubs in all 14 Step 5 divisions were to be ranked according to PPG, and the 12 lowest-ranked clubs were to be relegated to Step 6. In Division One, the top four clubs were to be promoted to Step 5, with the bottom two liable to relegation to Step 7.

League suspension and season abandonment

Despite other leagues suspending all matches from 13 March due to the

, the Combined Counties League continued to hold matches on 14 March, although two clubs refused to travel. The following day, the league postponed all matches until 28 March. On 16 March, the FA decided to postpone all matches across all FA Competitions until 3 April, and a league statement confirmed the postponement of all matches for the foreseeable future. On 26 March 2020, the league season was formally abandoned, with all results being expunged, and no promotion or relegation taking place to, from, or between the two divisions. On 30 March 2020, sixty-six non-league clubs sent an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

to the

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

requesting that they reconsider their decision. Jersey Bulls had already amassed sufficient points to be promoted from Division One, but were not promoted after the abandonment.

Premier Division

The Premier Division was increased from 20 to 21 clubs, and featured five new teams after the promotion of Chertsey Town to the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

, the transfer of Horley Town to the Southern Combination League, and the relegation of A.F.C. Hayes and Walton & Hersham to Division One: * Ascot United, transferred from the Hellenic League. * Egham Town, relegated from the

. *

Frimley Green Frimley Green is a large village and ward of in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. It is south of the town of Frimley. Lakeside Country Club was the national venue for the BDO int ...

, promoted as runners-up in Division One. *

Molesey Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames. East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second retai ...

, also relegated from the Isthmian League South Central Division. *

Sheerwater __NOTOC__ Sheerwater is a residential neighbourhood or small suburb of Woking, in the Woking district in Surrey, England, occasionally described as a village, between West Byfleet and Horsell. Its border is defined to the north by a gently win ...

, promoted as champions of Division One. *Frimley Green were initially not promoted from Division One, but appealed the decision and were successful, so the division ran with 21 clubs.

League table at the time of abandonment

Results table

Division One

Division One was increased from 19 to 20 clubs, and featured four new teams after Sheerwater and Frimley Green were promoted to the Premier Division and AC London were expelled: * A.F.C. Hayes, relegated from the Premier Division. * Jersey Bulls, a new club from

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

. * Walton & Hersham, relegated from the Premier Division. * Westside, promoted from the Surrey Elite Intermediate League. *Reserve sides were not eligible for promotion to Step 5. *Cove were initially relegated at the end of last season, but were reprieved on appeal. *Kensington Borough changed their name to Kensington & Ealing Borough.

League table at the time of abandonment

Results table

References

External links

Combined Counties League Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Combined Counties Football League 2019-20 2019-20 9