Southern Counties East Football League


The Southern Counties East Football League is an English football league for teams based in Kent and south east London, although it currently also includes some teams in East Sussex, which was established in 1966. Until 2013 it was known as the Kent League, which was also the name of a similar league which existed from 1894 until 1959.

History

The first Kent League was formed in 1894 and folded in 1959. Despite many of the same clubs having spells in membership, there is no direct connection between the two competitions.
The current incarnation of the league was formed in 1966 as the Kent Premier League, and in its early years many of its members were reserve sides of Southern League teams. Gradually, the reserve sides were all shifted down into the lower divisions.
In 2013 the league changed its name to the Southern Counties East League, to reflect the fact that many of its member clubs no longer played within the county of Kent.
At the end of the 2015–16 season, the league merged with the Kent Invicta League and the latter became the lower division of the merged league.

Sponsorship

For the 2012–13 season, the league was sponsored by Hürlimann Sternbräu lager, brewed by Kentish brewers, Shepherd Neame and was therefore billed as the Kent Hurlimann Football League

Current structure

The league had only one division until the 2015–16 season. In the past it included additional divisions for reserve teams. The league is now at Steps 5–6 of the National League System since the 2016–17 season, with clubs able to move upwards to the Step 4 divisions of the Isthmian League. Prior to the 2011–12 season, clubs could be relegated to the Kent County League, although in practice this rarely happened. The formation of the new Kent Invicta Football League for the 2011–12 season meant there was a Step 6 league allowing for more frequent promotion/relegation between the Southern Counties East League and the Kent Invicta League. After the merger with the latter league, the Southern Counties East League now has two divisions and is fed by the Kent County League.

List of champions

YearChampions
1966–67Margate Reserves
1967–68Margate Reserves
1968–69Brett Sports
1969–70Faversham Town
1970–71Faversham Town
1971–72Chatham
1972–73Sheppey United
1973–74Chatham
1974–75Sheppey United
1975–76Sittingbourne
1976–77Medway
1977–78Faversham Town
1978–79Sheppey United
1979–80Chatham Town
1980–81Cray Wanderers
1981–82Erith & Belvedere
1982–83Crockenhill
1983–84Sittingbourne
1984–85Tunbridge Wells
1985–86Alma Swanley
1986–87Greenwich Borough
1987–88Greenwich Borough
1988–89Hythe Town
1989–90Faversham Town
1990–91Sittingbourne
1991–92Herne Bay
1992–93Tonbridge