Founded 1893 | ||
 | ||
Divisions Premier Division (Level 11 in the system)
Division One (Level 12 in the system)
Division Two (for reserve teams)
Division Three (for reserve teams)
Division Four (for A & B teams) Feeder to North West Counties League Promotion to North West Counties League
First Division Relegation to Altrincham and District Amateur Football League
Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League
Lancashire Amateur League
Rochdale Alliance
Wigan & District League Domestic cup(s) Gilcryst Cup
Murray Shield Number of teams 29 (for the purposes of the league system) Level on pyramid English football league system | ||
The Manchester Football League, currently known under terms of sponsorship as FBT Football League, is a football league in England, covering a 30-mile radius from Manchester Town Hall. It was formed in 1893, although play ceased between 1912 and 1920. Currently it consists of five divisions, only two of which are part of the English football league system
Contents
The 2014–15 top division champions are Stockport Georgians. They will be defending their trophy this season after choosing not to progress to the North West Counties League Division One.
Structure
The league consists of five divisions: Premier Division, Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, and Division 4. The Premier Division and Division One can incorporate both first and reserve teams, while Divisions Two and Three consist entirely of reserve teams, and Division Four is exclusively for lower than reserve teams of clubs in the top two divisions of the Manchester League. A team from the "reserve divisions" can be promoted to the top Manchester League divisions only if its first team participates in a higher than the Manchester League competition tier (Level 10 and above). There is no promotion/relegation between Division Three and Division Four, hence lower than reserve teams of football clubs (A & B teams) are bound to Division Four.
The Premier Division has a promotion/relegation arrangement with the North West Counties Football League, placing it at level 11 of the English football league system. However, the NWCFL's ground requirements are considerably higher than those of the Manchester League, so meeting them usually requires expensive improvements, and consequently few teams take up the opportunity of promotion. Ashton Athletic took the step up in 2006, despite only finishing 4th in Division One. Teams such as Salford City, Maine Road and Northern Nomads have all played in the league at some point.
Teams from the Premier Division are relegated to Division One making Division One the twelfth level of the English football league system. However, first teams from Division One are relegated to their respective area leagues at Level 13 (Altrincham and District Amateur Football League, Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League, Lancashire Amateur League, Rochdale Alliance, or Wigan & District League) since divisions Two and Three are only for reserve teams of the clubs in divisions Premier and One.
Thus, only the Premier Division and Division One of the Manchester League are part of the English football league system at levels eleven and twelve.
For the 2015–16 season there are 29 clubs competing in Level 11 and Level 12 of the system.