The Devon County Football Association, also simply known as the ''Devon FA'', is the
governing body of
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 ...
in the county of
Devon. The Devon FA was founded in 1888 in
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
.
They run a number of league and cup competitions for teams of all levels across the county, and representative teams for Senior Ladies, Under 18 Men and Under 18 Ladies.
History
The Devon County Football Association was formed in 1888 at a meeting held in the pavilion of
Plymouth Cricket Club, South Devon Place, which is now the Astor Playing Fields at Cattedown. The founding clubs were:
*
Plymouth F.C.
*
Plymouth United
*
Argyle FC
*
Plymouth College
* Newton
* Carlton Oaks
*
Tavistock Grammar School
Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13, ...
* Mannamead School
Initially the County FA established a set of rules for members and oversaw friendlies and inter county representative matches. The first County Representative match took place in March 1888 at
Weston-super-Mare against Somerset County FA where they were defeated by two goals to nil. The return fixture in April also ended in a defeat by two goals to three. In 1889, the County Cup competition, the Challenge Cup, was inaugurated. The first winners were Tavistock Town who defeated Plymouth FC in the final.
Leagues
Devon is one of the largest County FAs by geographic area. There are five affiliated Saturday men's leagues, one Women's league, four Sunday leagues and a Wednesday league. They are:
Saturday
*
Plymouth and West Devon Combination Football League
The Plymouth and West Devon Football League, or just the PWD or P&D, is a football competition based in Devon, England. The league's top division, the Premier Division, sits at level 12 of the English football league system. This top division i ...
*
South Devon League
The South Devon Football League, known under a sponsorship arrangement as the TCSSDFL, is a football competition based in England. Its top division, the ''Premier Division'', sits at level 12 of the English football league system. This league is ...
*
North Devon League
The North Devon Football League is a football competition based in England. It was established in 1904. The top division of this league, which is the Premier Division, sits at level 12 of the English football league system and is a feeder to th ...
*
Devon and Exeter League
The Devon and Exeter Football League is a football competition based in England. It was established around 1900. The top division of this league, the Premier, sits at level 12 of the English football league system and is a feeder to the Devon Footb ...
* Kingsley League (in recess)
Women's
* Devon Women's League
Sunday
* Exeter and District Sunday League
* Torbay Sunday League
* North Devon Sunday League
* Plymouth and West Devon Sunday League
*
Devon Wednesday League
Additionally there are 8 Junior Boy's leagues and one Girl's league. Affiliated clubs also play in other Football Association and Football League competitions. These include the three senior clubs that play in Football League Two (as of 2013) of Plymouth Argyle, Exeter City and Torquay United.
County Cups
The Devon St Lukes Challenge Cup is the senior county knockout cup competition. Other cup competitions include:
* St Lukes Challenge Cup
* Devon Premier Cup
*
Devon Senior Cup
* Devon Intermediate Cup
* Devon Veterans Cup
* Devon Midweek Cup
* Devon Sunday Supplementary Cup
* Devon Under 13 Boys Cup
* Devon Under 14 Boys Cup
* Devon Under 15 Boys Cup
* Devon Under 16 Boys Cup
* Devon Under 18 Youth Cup
* Devon Women's Senior Cup
* Devon Women's Supplementary Cup
* Devon Under 13 Girls Cup
* Devon Under 15 Girls Cup
* Devon Under 16 Girls Cup
References
External links
Devon FA's official site
County football associations
Football in Devon
Sports organizations established in 1888
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