The 2020–21 Combined Counties Football League season (known as the 2020–21 Cherry Red Records Combined Counties Football League for sponsorship reasons) was the 43rd in the history of the
Combined Counties Football League
The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's Association football, football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the wester ...
, 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. Teams were divided for the final time into two divisions; the Premier and the First. The constitution was announced on 21 July 2020.
After the abandonment of the previous season due to the
COVID-19 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 ...
, the league's constitution remained largely unchanged, with the planned structural changes being put in place after this season.
The 2020–21 season started in September and was suspended on 21 December again as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic in England
The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England were NHS England and Public ...
. The league season was subsequently abandoned.
The league committee later announced a supplementary cup competition, the Fripp-Smith Trophy, to provide competitive football for their clubs. All clubs were invited to take part, with 23 ultimately accepting.
Promotion, relegation and restructuring
The scheduled restructuring of non-league football took place at the end of the season to include a new division that was added to the Combined Counties at step 5 for 2021–22. Promotions from steps 5 to 4 and 6 to 5 were based on points per game across all matches over the two abandoned seasons (2019–20 and 2020–21), while teams were promoted to step 6 on the basis of a subjective application process.
Premier Division
The Premier Division was reduced from 21 to 20 clubs after
Balham
Balham () is an List of areas of London, area in south-west London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, with small parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. It has been settled since Saxon times and appears in t ...
transferred to the
Southern Counties East League as they moved to groundshare with
AFC Croydon Athletic
Association Football Club Croydon Athletic is a football club based in Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon, England. Founded by supporters of Croydon Athletic after it folded, the club are currently members of the and play at the ...
.
League table at time of curtailment
Results table
Division One
Division One remained at 20 clubs, and was unchanged from the previous season.
*Reserve sides are not eligible for promotion to Step 5.
League table at time of curtailment
Results table
Fripp-Smith Trophy
At the group stage, each team plays each other once.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
References
External links
Combined Counties League Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Combined Counties Football League 2020-21
2020-21
9
Combined Counties Football League, 202-21