Isthmian League
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| Country |
 England
|
|---|---|
| Founded | 1905 |
| Divisions | Premier Division Division One North Division One South |
| Number of teams |
72 Premier Division: 24 Division One North: 24 Division One South: 24 |
| Level on pyramid | 7 and 8 |
| Promotion to | National League South |
| Relegation to |
Combined Counties League Eastern Counties League Essex Senior League Southern Combination League Southern Counties East League Spartan South Midlands League |
| Domestic cup(s) |
FA Cup FA Trophy Isthmian League Cup |
| Current champions |
Hampton & Richmond Borough (Premier Division) A.F.C. Sudbury (Division One North) Folkestone Invicta (Division One South) |
| Website | Official website |
 2016–17 Isthmian League
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The Isthmian League is a regional men's football league covering London, East and South East England featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. It is sponsored by Ryman, and therefore officially known as the Ryman League. The Isthmian League will have a new sponsor for the 2017–18 season.
It was founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area. It now consists of 72 teams in three divisions; the Premier Division above its two feeder divisions, Division One North and Division One South. Together with the Southern League and the Northern Premier League, it forms the seventh and eighth levels of the English football league system. It has various regional feeder leagues and the league as a whole is a feeder league mainly to the National League South.
Before the Isthmian League was formed, there were no leagues in which amateur clubs could compete, only cups. Therefore, a meeting took place between representatives of Casuals, Civil Service, Clapton, Ealing Association, Ilford and London Caledonians to discuss the creation of a strong amateur league. All the clubs supported the idea and the Isthmian League was born on 8 March 1905. Membership to the league was through invitation only. The league was strongly dedicated to amateurism; the champions did not even receive a trophy or medals; the league motto was honor sufficit.
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 amateur 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 which was the top regional semi-professional league. By 1922 the league had fourteen clubs and over the next five decades, only a few new members were admitted, mainly to fill vacancies left by clubs leaving the league. Most new Isthmian League members joined from the Athenian League, which was similarly dedicated to amateurism. The Isthmian League was most likely named after the ancient Isthmian Games, with the later Athenian League, Corinthian League and Delphian League all adding a Classical flavour to amateur football competition.
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