The 2019–20 North West Counties Football League season was the 38th in the history of the

North West Counties Football League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...

, 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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and the second season following the split of the lower level into two geographically separated divisions. Teams are divided into three divisions: Premier Division, at Step 5, and Divisions One North and South, at Step 6. The allocations for Steps 1 to 6 for season 2019–20 were announced by the FA on 19 May. These were subject to appeal, and the North West Counties' constitution was subject to ratification at the league's AGM on 15 June. As one appeal was not yet heard until after the AGM, ratification of the constitution had to be delayed until after the hearing was held. The FA confirmed Carlisle City's transfer to the Northern League at its hearing, thereby rejecting the club's appeal against it and ratifying the constitution. As three new divisions (one at Step 4 and two at Step 5) were to be introduced to the

English football pyramid The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...

for the 2020–21 season, at the end of this season three teams were to be promoted from the Premier Division, and four from each Division One. As a result of the

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, this season's competition was formally abandoned on 26 March 2020, with all results from the season being expunged, and no promotion or relegation taking place to, from, or within the competition. On 30 March 2020, sixty-six non-league clubs sent an

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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. Consequently, the addition of three divisions in the football pyramid was fulfilled in 2021–22 instead.

Premier Division

The Premier Division consists of 20 clubs. The following 4 clubs left the Premier Division before the season - *

Abbey Hey Abbey Hey is an area of Gorton, in the city of Manchester, England. It is known mainly for Debdale Park, Wright Robinson College, Parkstone Park also known as Cat Valley field, the donkey sanctuary & Delamere Park Sports Although located just o ...

– relegated to Division One South * City of Liverpool – promoted to the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

Silsden Silsden is a town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and Leeds and Liverpool Canal between Keighley and Skipton, which had a population of 8,268 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the haml ...

– transferred to the

Northern Counties East League The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the football pyramid respectively. History T ...

* West Didsbury & Chorlton – relegated to Division One South The following 4 clubs joined the Premier Division before the season - *

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– promoted from Division One North * Longridge Town – promoted from Division One North * Rylands – promoted from Division One South *

Skelmersdale United Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool F.A. and the Lancashire County Footb ...

– relegated from the

Premier Division table at the time of abandonment

Premier Division Results

† Skelmersdale v Bootle, 29 Feb: match declared void.

Stadia and locations

Division One North

Division One North consists of 20 clubs. The following 3 clubs left Division One North before the season - *

– promoted to the Premier Division * Carlisle City – transferred to the Northern League * Longridge Town – promoted to the Premier Division The following 3 clubs joined Division One North before the season - * Emley – transferred from the

* Golcar United – promoted from the West Riding Amateur League *

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– promoted from the Cheshire League

Division One North table at the time of abandonment

Division One North Results

Stadia and locations

Division One South

Division One South consists of 20 clubs. The following 2 clubs left Division One South before the season - * Rylands – promoted to the Premier Division * Stone Dominoes – relegated to the Staffordshire County Senior League The following 2 clubs joined Division One South before the season - *

– relegated from the Premier Division * West Didsbury & Chorlton – relegated from the Premier Division

Division One South table at the time of abandonment

Division One South Results

Stadia and locations

League Challenge Cup

Also called the Macron Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons. Sources for this section
fixtures
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results
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First round

† AFC Darwen fielded ineligible player, and forfeit place in next season's competition.

Second round

* Played at AFC Liverpool's home ground, following postponements
** Played at 1874 Northwich's home ground, following postponements

Third round

* Played at Maine Road's home ground, following postponements

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Played on 24 July 2021, at the start of the 2021–22 season.

Division One Trophy

Also called The PlayerMatch.com Cup for sponsorship reasons. Sources for this section
fixtures
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results
/small>

First round

All the remaining Division One teams received a bye to the second round.

Second round

Third round

† Eliminated due to playing ineligible player

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

First leg

Second leg

† AFC Liverpool awarded the tie following the resignation of FC Oswestry Town Sandbach United won 3–1 on aggregate

Final

The semi-final second leg and the final were played at the start of the 2020–21 season, due to the premature conclusion of the 2019–20 season.

Division One Champions Cup

Not contested this season due to the abandonment of the league programme.

References

External links

The Official Website of The North West Counties League
{{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 North West Counties Football League North West Counties Football League seasons 9