The 2019–20 South West Peninsula League season was the 13th in the history of the

South West Peninsula League The South West Peninsula League (SWPL) is a football competition in England, which was formed in 2007 from the merger of the Devon County League and the South Western League. The league covers Cornwall, Devon, western Somerset and western Dors ...

, a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

competition in England, that feeds the Premier Division of the

Western Football League The Western Football League is a association football, football league in South West England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The league's current main sponsor is Jewson, so it ...

. The league was formed in 2007 from the merger of the

Devon County League The Devon County Football League was a football competition based in England. It consisted of 20 clubs and sat at step 7 (or level 11) of the National League System. History The league was formed in 1992 in order to form an intermediate level bet ...

and the South Western League, and is restricted to clubs based in Cornwall and Devon. The two divisions of the South West Peninsula League are on the same level of the

National League System The National League System comprises the six levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the English Football League. It comes under the jurisdiction of the Football Association. The National League System has a ...

as the Western League Division One (Step 6). The constitution was announced on 19 May 2019. Starting this season, the league consisted of two Step 6 divisions of twenty clubs each. These two divisions were made up of the 2018–19 Step 6 (Premier Division) clubs, plus others promoted from Step 7 and below. There is no longer a Step 7 division within this league. This season, the top two clubs in each division were to be promoted to Step 5. The bottom two clubs in each division were liable to relegation.

League suspension and season abandonment

On 13 March 2020, on advice from the

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

, the league announced that all South West Peninsula League matches would be suspended due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, initially for a period of ten days. On 16 March, the FA decided to postpone all matches across all FA Competitions until 3 April, and a league statement confirmed the postponement of all matches for the foreseeable future. On 26 March 2020, the league season was formally abandoned, with all results being expunged, and no promotion or relegation taking place to or from the two divisions. On 30 March 2020, sixty-six non-league clubs sent an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

to the

requesting that they reconsider their decision.

Premier Division East

The new Premier Division East featured 20 teams: *Five from the old Premier Division (Step 6): Cullompton Rangers, Elburton Villa, Ivybridge Town, Millbrook and Torpoint Athletic. *Eleven promoted from the old Division One East (Step 7): Axminster Town,

Bovey Tracey Bovey Tracey () is a town and civil parish in Devon, England. It is located on the edge of Dartmoor, which gives rise to the slogan used on the town's boundary signs: ''The Gateway to the Moor''. It is often known locally as ''Bovey''. About so ...

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish in the borough of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. As of the 2021 census, Brixham had a population of 16,825. It is one of the main three centres of the borough, along with ...

, Crediton United,

Elmore Elmore may refer to: Places United States *Elmore, Alabama *Elmore, Illinois * Elmore, Minnesota *Elmore, Ohio * Elmore City, Oklahoma * Elmore, Vermont *Elmore, Wisconsin *Elmore County (disambiguation) *Elmore Township (disambiguation) *Lake Elm ...

, Honiton Town, Ilfracombe Town, Newton Abbot Spurs, Sidmouth Town,

Stoke Gabriel Stoke Gabriel is a village and parish in Devon, England, situated on a creek of the River Dart. The village is a popular tourist destination in the South Hams and is famous for its mill pond and crab fishing (known colloquially as ''crabbing'') ...

and Torridgeside. *Two promoted from the old Division One West (Step 7):

Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the parish, which includes the village of Brandis Corner. ...

and Plymouth Marjon. *One promoted from the South Devon League (Level 12): Dartmouth. *One promoted from the North Devon League (Level 12): Torrington. *Torridgeside must have secured full planning for ground grading G by 31 March 2020, or would have faced demotion at the end of 2019–20, which did not occur following the cancellation late in that season. *Brixham, Honiton, Stoke Gabriel and Torridgeside were required to install floodlights by 31 March 2021, or face demotion at the end of 2020–21. Stoke Gabriel complied in July 2019, and Brixham complied in September.

League table at the time of abandonment

Premier Division West

The new Premier Division West featured 20 teams: *Eleven from the old Premier Division (Step 6): Bodmin Town, Callington Town,

Camelford Camelford () is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council. The ward pop ...

Falmouth Town Falmouth Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom. They are currently members of the and play at Bickland Park. The club were the first Cornish team to reach the first round proper of the FA ...

, Godolphin Atlantic (Newquay), Helston Athletic, Launceston,

Newquay Newquay ( ; ) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries with an airport and a spaceport, and a fishing port on t ...

St Austell Saint Austell (, ; ) is a town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. At the 2021 Census in the United Kingdom, census it had a population of 20,900. History St Austell was a village centred ...

, Saltash United and

Sticker A sticker is a type of label: a piece of printed paper, plastic, vinyl, or other material with temporary or permanent pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. It can be used for decoration or for functional purposes, depending on the situation. ...

. *Nine promoted from the old Division One West (Step 7):

Dobwalls Dobwalls () is a village and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated 3 mi (5 km) west of Liskeard. The name is spelt ''Dubwalls'' on Bartholomew's map and '' Black's Guide'' of 1879. The A38 trun ...

, Liskeard Athletic,

Mousehole Mousehole () is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies about offshore fro ...

Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

Porthleven Porthleven (; ) is a town, civil parish and fishing port in Cornwall, England. The most southerly port in Great Britain, it was a harbour of refuge when this part of the Cornish coastline was infamous for wrecks in the days of sail. The South W ...

St Blazey St Blazey () is a small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. St Blaise is the civil parishes in England, civil parish in which St Blazey is situated; the name St Blaise is also used by the town council. The village of Biscovey and the se ...

, St Dennis, Wadebridge Town and Wendron United. *Godolphin Atlantic changed their name to Godolphin Atlantic (Newquay) F.C. *Dobwalls, Mousehole, St Dennis and Wendron United were required to install floodlights by 31 March 2021, or face demotion at the end of 2020–21. Wendron complied in September 2019, and Mousehole in October.

League table at the time of abandonment

References

External links

South West Peninsula League
{{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 South West Peninsula Football League South West Peninsula League 10