Isthmian League
The
Isthmian League is a regional
football league covering
London and
South East England. It is more commonly known by the name of its official title sponsor as the
Ryman League, and before that as the
Diadora League,
ICIS League,
Rothmans Isthmian League,
Vauxhall-Opel League and
Berger Isthmian League.
The league was founded in
1905, and was strongly dedicated to
amateurism. The champions did not even receive a trophy, league policy being that the honour sufficed. Teams less able to compete financially thus gravitated to it rather than the
Southern League, while those with ambition and money would move in the opposite direction.
Although the league established itself as one of the strongest leagues in the country, routinely providing the winners of the
FA Amateur Cup, it was still seen as being at a lower level than the Southern League and
Northern Premier League which were the top regional
semi-professional leagues.
The league began to admit professionalism in the
1970s, although it refused to participate in the formation of the Alliance Premier League in
1979. Two Isthmian clubs,
Enfield and
Dagenham, defected to the APL in
1981 but it was not until
1985 that the Isthmian League champions were given a promotion place to the newly renamed
Football Conference.
The reward of promotion into the Conference means that, since 1985, no team has retained the title (as had happened on 22 occasions previously); however,
Canvey Island were runners-up three seasons running from
2000-
01 to
2002-
03, also winning the
FA Trophy and reaching the Third Round Proper of the
FA Cup, before finally securing the
2003-
04 league title.
The name is derived from the fact that the geographical location of most of the clubs participating describe an
isthmus of land around
London and
South-East EnglandThe league expanded over the years from six clubs in its first season, to 14 clubs in
1921-
22. Over the next five decades, only a few new members were admitted, mainly to fill vacancies left by clubs leaving the league. A second division of 16 clubs was formed in
1973, and a third division was added in
1977. These divisions were renamed as
Premier,
First and
Second divisions.
Most new Isthmian League members joined from the
Athenian League, which was similarly dedicated to amateurism. The Athenian League disbanded in
1984 when the Isthmian League Second Division split into
North and
South sections. These were restructured again to Second and
Third divisions in
1991.
In
2002, the league was restructured again, with the First and Second Divisions merging to become
First (North) and
First (South), and the Third Division being renamed as the Second. In addition, the Isthmian's three feeder leagues - the
Combined Counties League,
Essex Senior League and
Spartan South Midlands League - ran in parallel with the Isthmian Second, and were able to feed directly into the regional First Divisions.
In
2004,
The Football Association pushed through a major restructuring of the non-league
National League System (NLS), creating new regional divisions of the
Football Conference. The Isthmian League was reduced back down to three divisions, and its boundaries were changed to remove the overlap with the
Southern League.
Further reorganisation saw a reversion to two regional First Divisions,
North and
South, and the disbandment of the Second Division, in
2006.
There is a league cup, open to teams of all divisions, until recently sponsored by
Bryco and now by
Westview.
One team,
Clapton F.C., had been ever-present in the Isthmian League since its foundation, but they will move to the
Essex Senior League for the 2006/07 season.
*
Maidstone United*
Wimbledon F.C.**
AFC Wimbledon became members of Isthmian League Division One for the
2004-05 season after promotion from the
Combined Counties League, and were promoted to the Isthmian League Premier Division for the
2005-06 season*
Wycombe Wanderers*
Yeovil Town F.C.*
The Isthmian League
