The Spartan League was 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 ...

league in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

covering

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the

South Midlands League The South Midlands League was a football league covering Bedfordshire and some adjoining counties in England. It was founded in 1922 as the Bedfordshire County League and merged with the Spartan League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midland ...

in 1997 to form the

Spartan South Midlands League The Spartan South Midlands Football League is an English football league covering Hertfordshire, northwest Greater London, central Buckinghamshire and southern Bedfordshire. It is a feeder to the Southern Football League or the Isthmian League, ...

History

The Spartan League was established in 1907 with six clubs;

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, S ...

Nunhead Nunhead is a suburb in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England.Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BB ...

, Shepherd's Bush and

West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east, ...

.Spartan League 1907-1934
Non-League Matters It gained five clubs for its second season, and split into two divisions, Eastern and Western. In 1909–10 the split was changed to Section A and B, before the league reverted to a single division in 1910–11. The league added a second division in 1920, and in 1925 it added another division, with Division Two divided into 2A and 2B. This structure lasted until 1928 when the league gained another division, with both Division One and Two divided into East and West divisions. The following season the league was reorganised, with a Premier Division created above Division One and Division Two still divided into East and West sections. This structure remained unchanged until

World War II 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 ...

.Spartan League 1934-1955
Non-League Matters The league restarted in 1945 and was divided into three divisions; Central, Eastern and Western. The following season it reverted to a single division. In 1975 the league merged with the

Metropolitan–London League The Metropolitan–London League was a short-lived football league for clubs in and around London. It was formed in 1971 by a merger of the Greater London League and the Metropolitan League (which had lost several clubs to the Southern League). ...

, forming the London Spartan League, which ran with two divisions; Division One and Division Two.Spartan League 1955-1983
Non-League Matters In 1977 they were renamed, becoming the Premier Division and Senior Division. The league readopted the name Spartan League in 1987,
Non-League Matters A third division, the Intermediate Division, was added for the 1987–88 season; by 1992 it had been renamed Division Two. In 1997 it merged with the

to form the

. The new league initially ran with two Premier Divisions (north and south), a Senior Division and two Division Ones (north and south).Spartan South Midlands League 1997-2004
Non-League Matters

Champions

Spartan League

''First season with six clubs.'' ''For the 1908–09 season, the league was split into two regional sections: Eastern and Western Sections.'' ''For the following season, the regional divisions were renamed the Section B and fSection A respectively.'' ''For the 1910–11 season, the league reverted to a single division'' ''For the 1920–21 season, Division Two was added.'' ''For the 1925–26 season, Division Two was divided in Division Two A and Division Two B'' ''For the 1928–29 season, both Division One and Two divided into East and West divisions.'' ''For the following season the league was reorganised, with a Premier Division created above Division One and Division Two still divided into East and West sections.'' ''In the 1945–46 season the league had three divisions.'' ''For the 1946–47 season, the league reverted to a single division.'' ''In 1975 the Spartan League merged with the Metropolitan-London League to form the London Spartan League.''

London Spartan League

''For the 1975–76 season, the London Spartan League ran with two divisions; Division One and Division Two. ''For the 1977–78 season, the Division One and Division Two were renamed as Premier Division and Senior Division respectively.'' ''In 1987 the London Spartan League readopted the name to Spartan League''

Spartan League

''For the 1987–88 season, the league added an Intermediate Division.'' ''For the 1991–92 season, the Intermediate Division was renamed as Division Two.'' ''In 1997 the Spartan League merged with the

to form the

.''

References

{{Spartan South Midlands League Defunct football leagues in England Football competitions in London 1907 establishments in England 1997 establishments in England