London League (football)

The London League was a football competition that was held in the London and surrounding areas of south-east England from 1896 until 1964.

In 1896 the president of the London League was Arnold Hills founder of Thames Ironworks F.C. (now known as West Ham United). One of the men who helped draft the rules of the competition was Francis Payne, club secretary of Thames Ironworks F.C. in 1897. The league started with three divisions, the 3rd Grenadier Guards winning the inaugural championship.

The league fluctuated between having a single division and reaching four divisions. Before World War I, most of the senior London Football League clubs fielded a reserve side in the London League.

In 1964, the London League ceased to exist, merging with the Aetolian League to form the Greater London League, which then further merged in 1971 with the Metropolitan League to form the Metropolitan–London League. This later merged into the Spartan League, which in turn merged into the modern Spartan South Midlands League.

In 1920, a third division, known as Division Two was added

In 1924, Division Two was disbanded

In 1939, the league was suspended due to the outbreak of World War II. On the resumption of football after the War, nineteen clubs played in the London League, split into Western and Eastern Divisions. Eastern Division champions Woolwich Polytechnic beat Eastern Champions Edgware Town 2–1 in a play-off

In 1946, the divisions were re-organised, and a new structure of a Premier Division and a Division One was formed

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