The abandoned 1939–40 season would have been the 48th season of
The Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
. The kick-off in all divisions took place on Saturday 26 August 1939.
[Ian Laschke: ''Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79''. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.] On Friday 1 September 1939,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
invaded Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...
. On Saturday 2 September 1939, all divisions of the Football League played their third game of the season.
These were the last fixtures before abandonment following the
British declaration of war on Germany on Sunday 3 September 1939. Large gatherings of crowds were suspended with the implementation of the
Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939
The Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 62) was emergency legislation passed just prior to the outbreak of World War II by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to enable the British government to take up emergency powers to ...
.
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
were leading the First Division when the season was abandoned.
League tables when season was abandoned
The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found a
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundationwebsite
and in ''Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79'',
with home and away statistics separated.
Match results are drawn from ''Rothmans'' for all divisions.
First Division
Results
Maps
Second Division
Results
Maps
Third Division North
Results
Maps
Third Division South
Results
Maps
See also
*
1939-40 in English football
*
1939 in association football
The following are the football (soccer) events of the year 1939 throughout the world.
Events
Many football leagues throughout Europe are suspended or abandoned following the start of the Second World War.
Winners club national championship ...
*
1940 in association football
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1939-40 Football League
English Football League seasons
Eng
Eng or ENG may refer to:
Language and linguistics
* Eng (letter), Ŋ ŋ
* En with descender, Ң ң
* eng, ISO 639-3 and ISO 639-2 code for English language
* Velar nasal, a phoneme
People
* Eng (name), a given name and surname in various cu ...
1939–40 in English football leagues
Cancelled association football competitions
Events cancelled due to World War II