Peter Swales Shield
| Founded | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Region |
 England Wales
|
| Number of teams | 66 |
| Current champions | Halesowen Town (1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) |
Boston United (4 titles) |
| Website | Evo-Stik League Website |
 2013–14
|
|
The Peter Swales Shield (previously known as the Northern Premier League Shield) is an annual one-off game organised by the Northern Premier League. It is named in memory of Peter Swales.
The game is currently played between the champions of the NPL Division One North and the champions of the NPL Division One South. In years where the NPL Premier Division champions and the NPL Challenge Cup winners played, and a team wins the league double i.e. both the league and the cup; the second placed team in the Premier Division takes the Shield berth.
The first time the shield was contested was in August of season 1971–72. At this point the Northern Premier League consisted of just one division. As the league was expanded, the competition accepted teams from the new divisions. Boston United are the most successful club with four titles and a runners-up. Accrington Stanley, Altrincham, Boston United, Marine, Runcorn and Wigan Athletic are the clubs which have successfully defended the title. Only one Welsh team has ever won the Challenge Cup: Bangor City in the competition's 1987–88 season.
From 1973–1989, 1996–2007 and since 2011, the winners of the Challenge Cup qualify for the Peter Swales Shield where they play the champions of the Premier Division. Between 1990–1995, the winners of the President's Cup qualified instead of the Challenge Cup winners. Upon the splitting of Division One into two divisions: Division One North and Division One South, the winners of the Chairman's Cup qualified for the Shield. This ended in 2011 when F.C. Halifax Town (champions of the Premier Division) played Ashton United (winners of the Challenge Cup) in the Shield.
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