The Somerset County Football Association, also known as the Somerset FA, is the

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 ...

of football in the county of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. The association was formed in 1885.

History

The Somerset County Football Association was formed in 1885. There was a very small number of clubs at that time and no mandatory requirement to be affiliated. It is very different from today where there are in excess of 800 clubs which equates to probably more than 2,000 teams. The first Secretary was a Mr H J Ker Thompson of

Burnham-on-Sea Burnham-on-Sea is a seaside town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett, upon Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small fishing village until the late 18th century when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort. ...

who resigned in 1896. At the time there was no appointed Chairman, one would be co-opted on the night of Council Meetings. Regular meeting venues were the Hare & Hounds – Shepton Mallet, The Swan Hotel – Wells, The Commercial Hotel – Midsomer Norton, Waldegrave Arms –

Radstock Radstock is a town and civil parish on the northern slope of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, about south-west of Bath and north-west of Frome. It is within the area of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset. The Radstoc ...

, Star Hotel – Wells and

Wells Town Hall Wells Town Hall is a municipal building in the Market Place in Wells, Somerset, England. The building, which is the headquarters of Wells City Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first civic building in the market place, a mark ...

. An average attendance was fifteen with the bulk of clubs coming from the old mining area of North Somerset. In 1904 the then Secretary/Treasurer became the first paid official with a salary of £25.00 per annum. Charles J Lewin, who joined Council in July 1896 was appointed the Association's first Chairman in June 1904. He was a Radstock Headmaster and was also elected Somerset’s first ever member to the full Council of the English FA and retained both positions over the period of two world-wars. As a result of age and infirmity he resigned on 6 June 1945 ending a remarkable record of service to Somerset football, covering 49 years and was awarded a gold medal in recognition of his service. A list of the County FA's key officials is provided below:

Presidents (year took office)

*H E Murray Anderson (1896) *W J Bown (1946) *Alderman E Sheldon (1949) *Rt. Hon. Viscount Alexander of Hillsborough (1950) *H M Scott MBE JP (1952) *E J King (1977) *H Angell (1977) *F P Hillier MBE JP (1997 )

Chairmen (year took office)

*C J Lewin (1904) *W J Bown (1945) *F S Carpenter (1949) *D G Cummins (1966) *A J Hobbs (1984)

Secretary (year took office)

*H J Ken Thompson (resigned 1886) *H A Sheldon (1886) *H J Cockram (1898) *Messrs Bown & Holloway (1919) *F Holloway (1945) *C A Webb (1950) *L J Webb (1964) *Mrs H Marchment (1991) *J Pike (2007)

Affiliated Leagues

Men's Saturday Leagues

Somerset County Football League The Somerset County League is a football competition based in England. The Premier Division sits at step 7 (or level 11) of the National League System. It is a feeder to the Western League Division One and has promoted a club in seven of the la ...

(1890) *

Bath and District Football League The Bath and North Somerset District Football League was a football competition based in England. Its single division sat at level 14 of the English football league system. It was a feeder to the Somerset County Football League and was affiliat ...

(1901) *Bristol and Avon Football League (1910) * Mid-Somerset Football League (1950) *

Perry Street and District Football League The Perry Street and District League, commonly known as the Perry Street League, is a football competition with clubs from south Somerset, west Dorset and East Devon, England. The league was formed in 1903 by Charles Edward Small, the owner of ...

(1903) *Weston-Super-Mare and District Football League (1903) *

Yeovil and District Football League The Yeovil and District Football League is a football competition based in England. It has a total of three divisions including the Yeovil and District League Premier Division which sits at level 14 of the English football league system. It i ...

(1903)

Men's Sunday Leagues

*Blackmore Vale Football League (1914) – Sunday *Bridgwater & District Sunday Football League (1966) *Frome & District Sunday Football League (1968) *Taunton & District Sunday Football League *Weston-Super-Mare Sunday Football League *Yeovil Sunday Football League (1975)

Youth Leagues

*Somerset Floodlight Youth Football League *Midsomer Norton & District Youth Football League *Taunton Youth Football League *Woodspring Junior Football League *Yeovil and District Youth Football League

Ladies Leagues

*Somerset County Women’s Football League *Somerset Girls' Football League

Affiliated Member Clubs

Among the notable clubs that are affiliated to the Somerset County FA are: *

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

Bishop Sutton Bishop Sutton () is a village on the northern slopes of the Mendip Hills, within the affluent Chew Valley in Somerset. It lies east of Chew Valley Lake and north east of the Mendip Hills, approximately ten miles south of Bristol on the A368, ...

Brislington Brislington is an area in the south east of the city of Bristol, England. It is on the edge of Bristol and from Bath. Brislington Brook runs through the area in the woodlands of Nightingale Valley and St Anne's Wood. Brislington formerly hou ...

* Bridgwater Town *

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

* Bristol Manor Farm * Chard Town * Clevedon Town * Glastonbury Town * Frome Town * Hengrove Athletic *

Keynsham Town Keynsham Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Keynsham, Somerset, England. Affiliated to the Somerset County FA, they are currently members of the and play at Crown Fields. History The club was established in 1895. ...

* Larkhall Athletic * Minehead *

Odd Down Odd Down is an area of the city of Bath, Somerset, England. A suburb of the city, Odd Down is located west and south of the city centre. The city ward population taken at the 2011 census was 5,681. A section of the Wansdyke medieval earthwork ...

* Oldland Abbotonians *

Paulton Rovers Paulton Rovers Football Club is an English football club based at the First 4 Pools Stadium on Winterfield Road in the growing village of Paulton near Bristol. They were established in 1881 and currently play in the Southern Football League Div ...

* Portishead Town * Radstock Town * Shepton Mallet * Street *

Taunton Town Taunton Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Taunton, Somerset. They compete in the , the sixth tier of English football and play their home matches at Wordsworth Drive, which they moved into during the 1953 season. ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

* Wells City * Welton Rovers *

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmix ...

* Wincanton Town *

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

County Cup Winners

References

External links

* {{County Football Association County football associations Football in Somerset Sports organizations established in 1885