Southern League Premier Division
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| Country | England |
|---|---|
| Other club(s) from | Wales |
| Confederation | The Football Association |
| Founded | 1894 |
| Number of teams | 68 |
| Level on pyramid | Level 7 and Level 8 |
| Promotion to |
National League South, National League North |
| Relegation to |
Combined Counties League Hellenic League Midland Football League Spartan South Midlands League United Counties League Wessex League Western League |
| Domestic cup(s) | Southern League Cup |
| Current champions |
Chippenham Town (Premier Division) Hereford (D1 South & West) Royston Town (D1 Central) (2016–17) |
| Website | Official website |
 2016–17
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The Southern League, currently known as the Evo-Stik League Southern under the terms of a sponsorship agreement with Bostik Ltd, is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, 'South Central' and Midlands of England and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system.
The structure of the Southern League has changed several times since its formation in 1894, and currently there are 68 clubs which are divided into three divisions. The Premier Division is at step 3 of the National League System (NLS), and is a feeder division, mainly to the National League South but also to the National League North. Feeding the Premier Division are two regional divisions, Division One South & West and Division One Central, which are at step 4 of the NLS. These divisions are in turn fed by various regional leagues.
Professional football (and professional sport in general) developed more slowly in Southern England than in Northern England. Professionalism was sanctioned by The Football Association as early as 1885, but when The Football League was founded in 1888 it was based entirely in the north and midlands with the County Football Associations in the South being firmly opposed to professionalism.
Woolwich Arsenal (nowadays simply Arsenal) were the first club in London to turn professional in 1891 and were one of the prime motivators behind an attempt to set up a Southern League to mirror the existing Northern and Midlands based Football League. However, this venture failed in the face of opposition from the London Football Association and Woolwich Arsenal instead joined the Football League as its only representative south of Birmingham in 1893. Additionally, an amateur league, the Southern Alliance was founded in 1892, with seven clubs from the region, but that folded after one incomplete season.
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