The 2023–24 North West Counties Football League season is the 42nd 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 ...

. 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 15 May 2023, and were subject to appeals and FA ratification. Starting this season, the Premier Division (Step 5) in the league will promote two clubs; one as champions and one via a four-team play-off. This replaces the previous inter-step play-off system. For this season only, there will be only one club relegated from the division.

Premier Division

The Premier Division comprises 24 teams. The following seven clubs left the Premier Division before the season: *

Ashton Athletic Ashton Athletic Football Club is a association football, football club based in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently members of the and play at Brocstedes Park. They are full members of the Lancashire County Fo ...

– relegated to Division One North *

Avro AVRO, short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep ("General Association of Radio Broadcasting"), was a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system. It was the first public broad ...

– promoted to the

Northern Premier League Division One West Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

* Bury AFC – merged with

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

Congleton Town Congleton Town Football Club is an association football club based in Congleton, Cheshire, England. They currently play in the and are full members of the Cheshire County Football Association. The club have played in a number of regional league ...

– transferred to the Midland League Premier Division *

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

– transferred to the Midland League Premier Division *

Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...

– promoted to the Northern Premier League Division One West *

Winsford United Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...

– requested relegation to Division One South due to financial implications of the FA allocating the club to The Midlands League The following nine clubs joined the Premier Division before the season: *

– merged with Bury AFC *

Chadderton Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale and north-east of Manchester. Hi ...

– promoted from Division One North * Cheadle Town – promoted from Division One South *

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

– relegated from the

* Glossop North End – relegated from the Northern Premier League Division One West *

Pilkington Pilkington is a Japanese-owned glass-manufacturing company which is based in Lathom, Lancashire, United Kingdom. In the UK it includes several legal entities and is a subsidiary of Japanese company NSG Group. Prior to its acquisition by NSG i ...

– promoted from Division One North *

Ramsbottom United Ramsbottom United Football Club are an English association football, football club based in Ramsbottom, Greater Manchester. Nicknamed "The Rams", they currently compete in the and play their home matches at the Harry Williams Riverside Stadi ...

– relegated from the Northern Premier League Division One West *

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 Northern Premier League Division One West *

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is a district of the city of Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Cheshire, Wythenshawe was transferred in 1931 to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the ...

– promoted from Division One South, changed name from Wythenshawe Amateurs

Premier Division table

Stadia and locations

Division One North

Division One North comprises 18 clubs. The following three clubs left Division One North before the season: *

– promoted to the Premier Division *

Cleator Moor Celtic Cleator Moor Celtic Football Club is a football club based in Cleator Moor, Cumbria, England. The club are currently members of the and play at McGrath Park, on Birks Road, Cleator Moor. History Association Football arrived late in the West ...

– relegated to the

West Lancashire League The West Lancashire Football League is a football competition based in northern England, consisting of five divisions – three for first teams (Premier, One and Two), and two for reserve teams. The league is currently sponsored by Lancaster ...

– promoted to the Premier Division The following three clubs joined Division One North before the season: *

– relegated from the Premier Division * Route One Rovers – promoted from the

Yorkshire Amateur League The Yorkshire Amateur Association Football League is an amateur competitive football league based in West Yorkshire, England. The league has a total of eight divisions, the highest of which is the Yorkshire Amateur League Supreme Division, which ...

Premier Division * Shelley – 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 H ...

Premier Division

Division One North table

Stadia and locations

Division One South

Division One South comprises 18 clubs. The following five clubs left Division One South before the season: * Cheadle Town – promoted to the Premier Division * Ellesmere Rangers - resigned * Foley Meir - relegated to the

Staffordshire County Senior League The Staffordshire County Senior League is a football competition based in Staffordshire, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of the Midland League (formerly known as the Staffordshire Senior League) and the Staffordshire County League. T ...

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 ...

- relegated to the Staffordshire County Senior League *

– promoted to the Premier Division The following three clubs joined Division One South before the season: *

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...

– returned three seasons after withdrawal from the Northern Premier League * Market Drayton Town – relegated from 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 ...

Premier Division *

– relegated from the Premier Division

Division One South table

Stadia and locations

References

External links

The Official Website of The North West Counties League
{{DEFAULTSORT:2023-24 North West Counties Football League North West Counties Football League seasons 9