The Devon Women's Football League is an
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 ...
league for women in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
,
South West England
South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...
. It consists of two divisions, Premier and Division One, which sit at levels seven and eight of the
English women's football league structure.
History
The league was formed in 1996, at which point it sat below the now-defunct
South West Combination in the league structure. Since then
women's football in England
Women's football has been played in England for over a century, sharing a common history with the men's game as the country in which the Laws of the Game were codified.
Women's football was originally very popular in the early 20th century, b ...
has undergone a major restructuring. In 2011 the
FA Women's Super League
The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...
(WSL) was introduced at the top of the game, then a second division was added to the WSL in 2014. At this time the
FA Women's Premier League National Division (formerly the second level of women's football) was scrapped, along with the four Combination leagues that sat below the Premier League. The Premier League
Northern and
Southern divisions remained at level 3 of the league structure, with four new regional divisions of the Premier League below them at level 4.
The eight regional women's football leagues established in 1990 remained, their divisions at levels 5 and 6. The Devon Women's Football League's top division is at level 7, and feeds into the
South West Regional Women's Football League
The South West Women's Football League is at the fifth and sixth levels of the English women's football pyramid, with the seven other Regional Leagues – Eastern, London & SE, Southern, West Mids, East Mids, North East and North West. The ...
. It is affiliated to the
Devon County Football Association
The Devon County Football Association, also simply known as the ''Devon FA'', is the governing body of football in the county of Devon. The Devon FA was founded in 1888 in Plymouth.
They run a number of league and cup competitions for teams of ...
.
Former champions
2016–17
The teams competing in the Devon Women's Football League this season are listed below.
Premier Division
Eight teams are entered into the Premier Division for the 2016–17 season. All of these teams played in the same division last season unless otherwise indicated.
* Bideford Town
* Buckland Athletic Reserves ''(promoted from Division One)''
* Feniton
* Lakeside Athletic
* Plainmoor ''(promoted from Division One)''
*
Plymouth Argyle Reserves ''(new team founded in 2016)''
* Tavistock
* University of Exeter
Division One
Nine teams have been accepted into Division One of the Devon Women's Football League for the 2016–17 season.
* Brixham Villa
* Budleigh Salterton
* Ilfracombe Town
* Keyham Colts
* Newton St Cyres
* Ottery St Mary
* Seaton Town
* Shaldon Villa
* University of Plymouth
References
{{Women's football in England
7
Football in Devon