The Essex and Suffolk Border Football League 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 ...

competition based in England. The league has a total of four divisions headed by the Premier Division which sits at step 7 (or level 11) of the

National League System The National League System comprises the six levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the English Football League. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association. The National League System has a h ...

. The top club may apply for promotion to Division One of the

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...

. All member clubs compete in the Border League Knock-Out Cup. The league is affiliated to the Essex County FA and

Suffolk County FA The Suffolk County Football Association is the governing body for football in the county of Suffolk, England. Football in Suffolk before formation Before the formation of the Suffolk County football Association, the county lacked both a footbal ...

History

The league was officially founded in 1911,2016–2017 Official Handbook
Essex & Suffolk Border League although the league includes records of the Colchester Borough League (founded 1893) and Colchester & District League (founded 1903) in its history. Founder members of the Border League in the inaugural 1911–12 season included Clacton Town, Colchester Town, West Bergholt and West Mersea. Over the last 100 years the league has seen many changes in its status with many clubs progressing to a higher level. The overlying trend has been the migration of the larger clubs and their replacement by smaller clubs with more basic facilities. For much of the last 20 years the Border League has run 4 divisions which included a significant proportion of reserve teams. The league lost several members in 2005–06 when the reserve teams of the Eastern Counties League clubs left for their own competition. There is a high representation of village teams but a new trend has emerged with the acceptance of Barnston from Division Three of the

Essex Olympian League The Essex Olympian Football League is a football competition based in England, founded in the 1966–67 season. It has a total of six senior divisions and one under 21 division. The Premier Division sits at step 7 (or level 11) of the National ...

and Newbury Forest from the Romford and District Football League in the

London Borough of Redbridge The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough established in 1965. The borough shares boundaries with the Epping Forest District and the ceremonial county of Essex to the north, with the London Borough of Waltham Forest to the west, the ...

Member clubs 2021–22

The league has 87 teams spread over six divisions for the 2021–22 season:

Former clubs

Among the clubs that have left the Essex & Suffolk Border Football League to compete at a higher level are: * Brantham Athletic *

Brightlingsea Regent Brightlingsea Regent Football Club is an English football club based in Brightlingsea, Essex. Formed by a merger of Brightlingsea United and Regent Park Rangers in 2005, they are currently members of the and play at North Road. History Brightl ...

* Bury Town * Clacton Town * Coggeshall Town * Colchester Town * Cornard United * Crittall Athletic * Felixstowe Town * Haverhill Rovers * Halstead Town * Harwich & Parkeston * Heybridge Swifts *

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

* Little Oakley *

Long Melford Long Melford, colloquially and historically also referred to as Melford, is a large village and civil parish in the Babergh District, Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is on Suffolk's border with Essex, which is marked by ...

* Maldon Town * Saffron Walden Town *

Stanway Rovers Stanway Rovers Football Club is a association football, football club based in Stanway, Essex, Stanway, near Colchester, in Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Hawthorns. History The modern club was established on ...

* Stowmarket Town * Sudbury Town * Sudbury Wanderers * Team Bury * Tiptree United * Whitton United * Witham Town * Wivenhoe Town

List of champions and cup winners

Gallery

References

External links

Official website
{{Football in England table cells Football leagues in England Football in Essex Football in Suffolk Sports leagues established in 1911 1911 establishments in England