The 2021–22 North West Counties Football League season was the 40th 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 fourth 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 5 and 6 this season were announced by

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

on 18 May 2021, and were subject to appeal. On 8 April, it was announced at the league's Management Committee meeting that the season would start no earlier than Saturday 31 July. The league constitution was adopted on 12 June. After the abandonment of the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England are NHS England and Public ...

, numerous promotions were decided on a points per game basis over the previous two seasons.

Premier Division

The Premier Division comprises 21 teams, 15 of which competed in the previous season's aborted competition. The following five clubs left the Premier Division before the season: *

1874 Northwich 1874 Northwich Football Club is a football club based in Northwich, Cheshire, England. Established in 2012 by supporters of Northwich Victoria, they are currently members of the . Home matches are played at Barnton's Townfield ground. The ...

– 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 ...

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Histo ...

– promoted to the Northern Premier League * Hanley Town – transferred to the

Midland League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History Th ...

* Warrington Rylands – promoted to the Northern Premier League * Whitchurch Alport – transferred to the Midland League The following six clubs joined the Premier Division before the season: * AFC Liverpool – promoted from Division One North * Lower Breck – promoted from Division One North *

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

– a newly formed

phoenix club The Phoenix Building and Cincinnati Club are two historic buildings in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The membership of these two clubs was chiefly Jewish. Located at 812 Race Street, the Phoenix Building was constructed in 1893, desi ...

Prestwich Heys Prestwich Heys A.F.C. is a semi-professional football club based in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, England. Heys run one senior side competing in the . Heys now have a Youth Team formed in the 2020–21 season ran by Nick Simister. League ...

– promoted from Division One North *

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– promoted from Division One South * Wythenshawe Town – promoted from Division One South Congleton Town's initial transfer laterally to the Midland League was successfully appealed and this move was reversed.

Premier Division table

Inter-step play-offs

Stadia and locations

Division One North

Division One North comprises 19 clubs, 16 of which were in the division the previous season. The following four clubs left Division One North before the season, three promoted to the Premier Division: * AFC Liverpool * Lower Breck *

* Shelley Community – resigned The following three clubs joined Division One North before the season: * Campion – transferred from 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 Th ...

* Ilkley Town – promoted from the

West Yorkshire League The West Yorkshire Association Football League is a football competition based in Yorkshire, England. It was previously known as the Leeds League until the name change in 1939. Although it is named the ''West Yorkshire'' League, clubs from the ...

* South Liverpool – promoted from the

West Cheshire League The West Cheshire Association Football League (commonly known as the West Cheshire League) is an English football league in the county of Cheshire, which also includes teams from Merseyside. Its current principal sponsor is ''Carlsberg'', also ...

FC Isle of Man appealed for a move to Division One South for logistical reasons after the initial allocation to this division and the club's request was granted.

Division One North table

Stadia and locations

Division One South

Division One South comprises 20 clubs, 16 of which were in the division the previous season. The following three clubs left Division One South before the season: * Stone Old Alleynians – promoted to the Midland League *

– promoted to the Premier Division * Wythenshawe Town – promoted to the Premier Division The following four clubs joined Division One South before the season, three transferred from the Midland League: * Brocton *

Rocester Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border. Geography The village is about north of Uttoxet ...

* Stafford Town Wem Town, previously allocated from the

West Midlands (Regional) League The West Midlands (Regional) League is an English association football competition for semi-professional and amateur teams based in the West Midlands county, Shropshire, Worcestershire, southern Staffordshire and northern Herefordshire. It has tw ...

, resigned from this league. To fill the vacancy, FC Isle of Man, returning from membership suspension for the rest of last season and initially assigned to Division One North, requested for a transfer to this division and the FA granted it.

Division One South table

Stadia and locations

References

External links

The Official Website of The North West Counties League
{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 North West Counties Football League North West Counties Football League seasons 9