The North Eastern League was a regional Scottish
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 held during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, due to the suspension of the
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...
. Held between 1941 and 1945 (an interim nationwide
War Emergency League was played in the
1939–40 season followed by one year of hiatus), the competition was played in two stages each season (autumn and spring), with bonus points awarded in the second stage: initially, for teams with higher aggregate scores over the two series; latterly, for away draws/wins. Some
reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
s from the bigger clubs competing in the other region, the
Southern League, entered the North Eastern League, with the
Rangers 'A' team winning both stages in the first season.
In the
1945–46 season, with the war itself at an end, the North Eastern League merged with the Southern League; however, only
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
participated in the ''A Division'' (finishing in
third position); the rest of the clubs were placed in the ''B Division'' along with some from the Southern region including those who had finished at the foot of the table in its
previous edition.
There was also a
North Eastern League Cup. Regular football returned in 1946, with the regional competitions disbanded.
Tables
1941–42
First Series
Second Series
BP – an extra point was awarded by having a better aggregate score over each opponent
1942–43
First Series
Second Series
BP – an extra point was awarded by having a better aggregate score over each opponent
1943–44
First Series
Second Series
BP – 3 points were awarded for an away win, 2 points for an away draw
1944–45
First Series
Second Series
BP – 3 points were awarded for an away win, 2 points for an away draw
See also
*
Association football during World War II
Defunct football leagues in Scotland
Wartime football in Scotland
Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1945
Recurring sporting events established in 1941
1945 disestablishments in Scotland
1941 establishments in Scotland
{{Scotland-footy-competition-stub