The Aetolian League was a short-lived
football league in the south east of
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 ...
. It was established in 1959 after the
Kent League folded, leaving a number of clubs without a league to play in. Seven of the founder members were from the Kent League and four from the
London League.
[Aetolian & Seanglian Leagues 1959–1964]
Non-League Matters The league had two divisions, although Division Two consisted mainly of the reserve teams of clubs in Division One; Medway Corinthians and Orpington Athletic were the only two clubs to field a first team in Division Two; Medway joined in 1959 and left in 1961, with Orpington joining in 1960 and remaining until the league folded.
[ As a result of Division Two being largely reserve teams, there was no promotion or relegation between the two divisions.
In 1964 after only five seasons of existence, it merged with the London League to form the Greater London League. This later merged with the ]Metropolitan League
The Metropolitan League was a football league in the south-east of England between 1949 and 1971.[Metropolitan–London League
The Metropolitan–London League was a short-lived football league for clubs in and around London. It was formed in 1971 by a merger of the Greater London League and the Metropolitan League (which had lost several clubs to the Southern League). ...]
, which in turn merged with the Spartan League
The Spartan League was a football league in England covering London and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League.
History
The Spartan League was establish ...
and later the South Midlands League
The South Midlands League was a football league covering Bedfordshire and some adjoining counties in England. It was founded in 1922 as the Bedfordshire County League and merged with the Spartan League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midland ...
to form the modern Spartan South Midlands League.
History
1959–60
Fourteen clubs joined the league for its first season:
*Seven from the defunct Kent League (Deal Town, Faversham Town, Chatham Town, Snowdown Colliery Welfare, Herne Bay, Sheppey United and Whitstable Town)
*Four from the London League (Cheshunt, Cray Wanderers, Eton Manor and Willesden)
*One from the Kent Amateur League (Crockenhill)
*One new club, Ford United (a merger of Briggs Motor Bodies and Ford Sports)
*Charlton Athletic 'A'
1960–61
Ford United won the League Cup in the 1960–61 season.History
Redbridge FC
1961–62
One new club, Beckenham Town from the London League, joined the league for the 1961–62 season.
1962–63
One new club, East Ham United from the London League, joined the league for the 1962–63 season.
1963–64
Whistable Town rejoined the league for the 1963–64 season. At the end of the season most clubs joined the newly formed
Greater London League.
References
{{Spartan South Midlands League
Football leagues in Kent
Football competitions in London
Defunct football leagues in England