The Southern Counties League was a league
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 ...
tournament for teams in southern
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
History
Clubs in the Southern Counties Football Association, based in the south and west of Scotland, tried several times to form a league competition. The most successful of these initial attempts was 1897–98, under the presidency of W. T. Hay of
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
, which had seven clubs, and which played long enough to declare a champion in
Newton Stewart, which earned 11 points from its 6 games; the only club which came close to playing all its fixtures was
Nithsdale, which played 11 times. The organizational shambles however was such that
Vale of Dryfe withdrew before the season kicked off,
Thornhill before playing a match (replaced by
Dumfries Hibernians), and
the 6th G.R.V. quit after it had four matches postponed at late notice because of clashing cup commitments. One attempt to raise funds - a match between a Counties side and a
Glasgow Football Association
Founded in 1883, the Glasgow Football Association, based in the city of Glasgow, Scotland and affiliated to the national Scottish Football Association, is one of the oldest such bodies in football. In the modern game its influence is limited, th ...
side at Cresswell Park in Dumfries - only raised £16 and the visitors had an easy 9–3 win.
After abortive seasons in 1910–11 and 1914–15, was properly established in 1921–22 and, apart from two seasons, ran almost until 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 ...
.
The League never had more than 11 members, which it achieved in 1931–32, and even then
Nithsdale Wanderers only played four fixtures before withdrawing.
St Cuthbert's Wanderers was the only club to enter every season.
The League was formally abandoned in July 1937, as the Southern Counties FA voted instead to reintroduce the
South of Scotland Cup on a home-and-away principle.
An attempt to re-start the League after 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 ...
was thwarted by a protest from
Wigtown & Bladnoch, on the basis that the new membership had excluded
Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has f ...
clubs in favour of two
Ayrshire
Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...
sides (the "A" sides of
Ayr United and
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
),
so the members formed a new competition instead, called the
South of Scotland League
The South of Scotland Football League (SoSFL) is a senior football league based in south-west Scotland. The league sits at level 6 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League.
Founded in 1946, it i ...
.
Member clubs
Champions
* 1921–22: Mid-Annandale
* 1922–23: Mid-Annandale (2)
* 1924–25: Dalbeattie Star
* 1928–29: St Cuthbert's Wanderers
* 1929–30: Dalbeattie Star (2)
* 1930–31: Dalbeattie Star (3)
* 1931–32: Dalbeattie Star (4)
* 1932–33: Dalbeattie Star (5)
* 1933–34: Dalbeattie Star (6)
* 1934–35: St Cuthbert's Wanderers (2)
* 1935–36: St Cuthbert's Wanderers (3)
* 1936–37: St Cuthbert's Wanderers (4)
See also
*
Scottish Football (Defunct Leagues)
After the formation of the Scottish Football League in 1890, a number of senior football clubs set up various non-league competitions around the country. A number of these leagues were supplementary football leagues, that is they were played by ...
External links
Tables and results
References
{{Defunct football competitions in Scotland
Defunct football leagues in Scotland
1897 establishments in Scotland
Sports leagues established in 1897
Sports leagues disestablished in 1957
1957 disestablishments in Scotland