Birmingham County Football Association, also simply known as ''Birmingham County FA'' or ''BCFA'', is 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 ...

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

covering the historic county of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

(including

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

) and the

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...

region,

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 ...

. The county FA arrange 14

county cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

competitions at different levels for teams in the West Midland region including the

Birmingham Senior Cup The Birmingham Senior Cup is a football competition for Birmingham County FA club teams, organised by the Birmingham County Football Association. It began in 1876 and is the oldest county cup competition still active. The Birmingham Senior Cup is ...

which is one of the oldest cup competitions in the world. The county FA was formed in 1875 and was affiliated with just 10 teams, now there are over 4,800 affiliated teams. It promotes, develops, supports and governs affiliated grassroots football on behalf of the nation

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 ...

and is currently one of only two County FA's who hold the Intermediate level of the Equality Standard for Sport.

History

The Association was formed in 1875 following a request from 10 local teams. Originally called the Birmingham District and Counties Football Association. Charles Crump of Stafford Road F.C., based in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

was elected the Associations first President. (John) Campbell Orr was appointed first Secretary.

Campbell Orr Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...

was instrumental in developing the administration and original rules of

Association Football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. William McGregor also had a strong association with Birmingham County FA and he was regarded as the founder of the original

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and one of the first Directors of

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. The Association now has over 1,200 football clubs with 4,800 affiliated teams in over 60 sanctioned leagues, with seven professional clubs under its auspices. There are also teams playing

Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

Small Sided Football Five-a-side football is a version of minifootball, in which each team fields five players (four outfield players and a goalkeeper). Other differences from football include a smaller pitch, smaller goals, and a reduced game duration. Matches are ...

, Disability Football, Women & Girls Football and Youth Football. There are over 30,000

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

supporting more than 45,000 football fixtures a season officiated by 1,500 registered

Referees A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

. Birmingham County FA encompasses clubs within

, the

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, Burton, Tamworth plus other parts of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

and

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

County cup competitions

Birmingham County FA organises 14 county cup competitions. The

is the longest-serving cup in the county and one of the oldest in the world dating back to 1875/76 season and is currently still being played among the 30 senior clubs within the region. All of the

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

finals are either played at BCFA Headquarters or Semi-Professional Grounds around the County, whilst the

Final is played at one of the local Professional Club Grounds.

Current competitions

Defunct county competitions

Leagues

There are over 60 Football Leagues sanctioned by Birmingham County FA which include competitive football in organised Adult, Youth, Mini Soccer, Women & Girls and Disability leagues. Birmingham County FA encourages and supports all Leagues to gain the FA Charter Standard accreditation. Birmingham County FA currently has 9 Charter Standard Leagues who are affiliated to the county. Below is a list of leagues who are currently affiliated with the Birmingham County FA:
(Note: The Leagues highlighted in BOLD are Chartered Standard Leagues; Years in (brackets) denote the founded year of that particular league.)

Saturday Associations and Leagues

Birmingham & District Football League The Birmingham and District Football League (formerly the Birmingham & District Amateur Football Association and often referred to as the Birmingham AFA) is an amateur association football competition covering the city of Birmingham, England, and ...

(1908) * Burton & District Football Association (1871) * Coventry Alliance League (1934) * Stratford Upon Avon Alliance (1896) * West Midlands Christian League (1979) * Wolverhampton Football Combination League (1903)

Minor / Youth Leagues

* Burton Junior League, and Burton Mini Soccer League (1988) * Central Warwickshire Youth League (1969) * Coventry Minor League & Coventry Minor U8 Mini Soccer League * Mid Warwickshire Boys & Mid Warwickshire Junior Football League * Nuneaton & Bedworth Minor League (1969) * Sandwell Minor (2004) * Stourbridge & District Youth League * Tamworth Junior (Saturday & Sunday) League (1972)

Sunday Leagues

* Beacon Sunday League (1977) * Burton & District Sunday League (1964) * Central Warwickshire Over 35's League (1979) * Coronation Alliance Football League (1948) * Coronation Football League (1952) * Coventry & Central Warwickshire League (1967) * Coventry & District Intermediate Sunday League (1966) * Coventry & District Premier Sunday League (1966) * Coventry & District Senior Sunday League (1962) * Dudley & Cradley Heath League (1910) * Festival Alliance League (1943) * Festival League (1951) * Festival Senior Amateur League (1951) * Festival Premier League (1951) * Leamington & Dist Sunday League (1966) * Nuneaton & District Sunday League (1966) * Redditch & South Warwickshire Combination (1925) * Rugby & District Sunday League * Sandwell District Football League (1954) * Sandwell Premier Football League (1967) * Solihull & District Oakbourne Sunday League * South Birmingham Sunday League & Sunday Premier League (1957) * Sutton & District Sunday Football League (1966) * Tamworth & District Sunday League * Warley Sunday League * Wolverhampton & District Sunday League (1958)

Women's Leagues

* Birmingham County Women's League (2004) * West Midlands Regional Women's League

Girls Leagues

* Central Warwickshire Girls League (1999) * Stourbridge & District Girls League * Midlands Girls Centre of Excellence Fixture Programme

Other Leagues/Competitions

* Birmingham Ability Counts Leagues Adult, Youth, Girls, Wheelchair * Birmingham Communities League * Coventry & District Christian League & Cup (1998) * Midland Police Football League (1926) * Midlands Universities League ''(MUL)'' (2011) * Shapla Football League (1993) * West Midlands Travel League (1904) * Birmingham Business League (2017)

References

External links

Birmingham FA's Official Website
* Lord Mayor of Birmingham Charity Cup * history of Aston Villa FC * history of Birmingham City FC * history of Burton Albion FC * history of Coventry City FC * history of Walsall FC * history of West Bromwich Albion FC * history of Wolverhampton Wanderers FC * history of Solihull Moors FC {{County Football Association County football associations Football in the West Midlands (county) Football in Warwickshire Sports organizations established in 1875 Sport in Birmingham, West Midlands