North West Counties Football League

The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern Shropshire, the far west of West Yorkshire, and the High Peak area of Derbyshire. In the past, the league has also hosted clubs from North Wales such as Caernarfon Town, Colwyn Bay, and Rhyl. From season 2018–19 the league increased to three divisions: the Premier Division, at level nine (Step 5 the NLS) in the English football league system, and two geographically separate Division Ones, North and South, at level ten (Step 6 in the NLS). The league is a member of the Joint Liaison Council which administers the Northern arm of the National Football System in England.^[1]

North West Counties Football League

Founded	1982
Country	England
Other club(s) from	Isle of Man
Divisions	Premier Division Division One North Division One South
Number of clubs	60 24 (Premier Division) 18 (Division One North) 18 (Division One South)
Level on pyramid	9–10 (Steps 5 & 6 in the National League System)
Feeder to	Northern Premier League Division One West
Domestic cup(s)	League Challenge Cup First Division Challenge Cup First Division Champions Cup FA Cup FA Vase
Current champions	Wythenshawe (Premier Division) FC St Helens (Division One North) Brocton (Division One South) (2023–24)
Website	nwcfl.com
Current: 2024–25 season

History

The league was formed in 1982 by the merger of the Cheshire County League and the Lancashire Combination. Originally consisting of three divisions, this was reduced to two in 1987 due to the creation of an extra division in the Northern Premier League (NPL). At the same time, promotion and relegation between the two leagues was introduced, with either the first- or second-placed club in the North West Counties Football League (NWCFL) being entitled to a place in the NPL, subject to their ground meeting that league's requirements.^[2]

The NWCFL has six feeder leagues of its own with eligibility for promotion to the First Division being accorded to champions of the Cheshire Association Football League, Liverpool County Premier League, West Cheshire Amateur Football League, Staffordshire County Senior League, West Lancashire Football League, and Manchester Football League, subject to ground grading requirements.^[3]

The league's first title sponsor was Bass Brewery, who remained sponsors until 1995. In 1998, the train operating company First North Western became the new sponsor in a two-year deal. Hallmark Security were title sponsors between 2015 and 2018.^[4]

In 2008, Division One and Two were renamed the Premier and First divisions respectively. As part of the Football Association's ongoing restructure of the National League System,^[5] the First Division was regionalised in 2018.^[6] The vacant positions in the new North and South divisions were filled by 15 clubs from feeder leagues.^[7]

Four clubs have won a Premier Division/Division One and League Challenge Cup double,^[8] Ashton United in 1992, Kidsgrove Athletic in 1998, F.C. United of Manchester in 2007 and Glossop North End in 2015. Atherton Laburnum Rovers are the only club to have won the same division consecutively, winning Division One in 1993 and 1994. Clitheroe have won three different divisions consecutively, winning Division Three in 1984, Division Two in 1985 and Division One in 1986.

Two former Football League clubs, Northwich Victoria and Nelson, are currently members of the league, as well as Darwen F.C., a continuation of Darwen. Former members Accrington Stanley, Fleetwood Town and Salford City currently play in the English Football League, being promoted from the league in 1987, 2005 and 2008 respectively.^[9]

For sixteen years the league's record attendance was 1,353 for a Division One championship decider between Radcliffe Borough and Caernarfon Town in 1983.^[10] In 1999, a crowd of 2,281 saw Workington's championship-deciding match with Mossley at Borough Park. In 2006, a new record was set, with 6,023 at Gigg Lane for a Division Two match between FC United of Manchester and Great Harwood Town on 23 April.^[11] The following season saw a record 4,058 for an evening match, at Salford City's Division One home game against FC United of Manchester.^[12]

The league has two cup competitions – the League Challenge Cup, which is open to all clubs and is sponsored by Macron,^[13] and the First Division Challenge Cup called the Edward Case Cup. A tertiary competition, the Floodlit Trophy, operated on weeknights from 1990 to 2000, as well a reserve league and cup which were disbanded in 2014.^[14]

Member clubs (2024–25)

Premier Division

Club Location Home ground Abbey Hey Gorton, Manchester Abbey Stadium AFC Liverpool Crosby Rossett Park (Groundshare with Marine) Barnoldswick Town Barnoldswick Greenberfield Lane Burscough Burscough Community Stadium Bury FC Bury Gigg Lane Chadderton Chadderton, Oldham Andrew Street Charnock Richard Charnock Richard, Chorley Mossie Park Cheadle Town Cheadle, Stockport Park Road Stadium Colne Colne Holt House FC Isle of Man Douglas The Bowl FC St Helens St Helens Windleshaw Sports Glossop North End Glossop The Amdec Forklift Stadium Irlam Irlam, Salford Silver Street Litherland REMYCA Litherland Litherland Sports Park Longridge Town Longridge Mike Riding Ground Lower Breck Liverpool Anfield Sports and Community Centre Padiham Padiham, Burnley Arbories Memorial Sports Ground Pilkington St Helens Ruskin Drive Sports Ground Prestwich Heys Prestwich, Bury Adie Moran Park Ramsbottom United Ramsbottom The Harry Williams Riverside Squires Gate Squires Gate, Blackpool School Road South Liverpool Liverpool Jericho Lane Stockport Town Woodley, Stockport Stockport Sports Village West Didsbury & Chorlton Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester Brookburn Road

Division One North

Club Location Home ground AFC Blackpool Squires Gate, Blackpool The Mechanics Ashton Athletic Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan Brocstedes Park Ashton Town Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan Edge Green Street Atherton Laburnum Rovers Atherton Crilly Park Bacup Borough Bacup West View Daisy Hill Westhoughton, Bolton New Sirs Darwen Darwen WEC Group Anchor Ground Droylsden Droylsden Butcher's Arms Ground Euxton Villa Euxton Jim Fowler Memorial Ground Garstang Garstang The Riverside Holker Old Boys Barrow-in-Furness Rakesmoor Maghull Maghull Old Hall Field Maine Road Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester Brantingham Road Nelson Nelson Victoria Park Route One Rovers Keighley Marley Stadium Skelmersdale United Skelmersdale Community Stadium (Groundshare with Burscough) Steeton Keighley Marley Stadium Thornton Cleveleys Thornton-Cleveleys Gamble Road

Division One South

Club Location Home ground Abbey Hulton United Abbey Hulton, Stoke-on-Trent Birches Head Road Allscott Heath Allscott Allscott Sports & Social Club Alsager Town Alsager Wood Park Stadium Ashville Wallasey Ray Parker Stadium Barnton Barnton Creative Hut Stadium Cammell Laird 1907 Birkenhead Kirklands Cheadle Heath Nomads Cheadle Heath, Stockport The Heath Eccleshall Eccleshall Pershall Park Foley Meir Stoke-on-Trent Whitcombe Road Market Drayton Town Market Drayton Greenfields Sports Ground New Mills New Mills Church Lane Runcorn Town Runcorn Viridor Community Stadium Sandbach United Sandbach Sandbach Community Football Centre Shawbury United Shawbury New Meadow (Groundshare with Shrewsbury Town) Stafford Town Stafford Evans Park Stockport Georgians Stockport Cromley Road Winsford United Winsford Barton Stadium Wolverhampton Sporting Wolverhampton Pride Park

AFC Liverpool

Barnoldswick Town

Burscough

Bury AFC

Chadderton

Charnock Richard

Cheadle Town

Colne

FC Isle of Man

Glossop North End

Irlam

Kendal Town

Litherland REMYCA

Longridge Town

Lower Breck

Padiham

Pilkington

Prestwich Heys

Ramsbottom United

Skelmersdale United

Squires Gate

West Didsbury & Chorlton

Wythenshawe Amateurs

Wythenshawe Town

AFC Blackpool

Ashton Athletic

Ashton Town

Atherton Labernum Rovers

Bacup Borough

Daisy Hill

Darwen

Euxton Villa

FC St Helens

Garstang

Holker Old Boys

Ilkley Town

Nelson

Route One Rovers

Runcorn Town

Shelley

South Liverpool

Steeton

Abbey Hey

Abbey Hulton United

Alsager Town

Ashville

Barnton

Brocton

Cammell Laird 1907

Cheadle Heath Nomads

Droylsden

Eccleshall

Maine Road

Market Drayton Town

New Mills

Sandbach United

Stafford Town

Stockport Georgians

Stockport Town

Winsford United

Locations of the NWCFL member clubs by division (2023–24).
– Premier Division – First Division North – First Division South

Previous divisional champions

1982–87

The league was formed with three divisions.

Season	Division One	Division Two	Division Three
1982–83	Burscough	Radcliffe Borough	Colne Dynamoes
1983–84	Stalybridge Celtic	Fleetwood Town	Clitheroe
1984–85	Radcliffe Borough	Clitheroe	Kirkby Town
1985–86	Clitheroe	Kirkby Town	Blackpool Mechanics
1986–87	Stalybridge Celtic	Droylsden	Atherton Collieries

1987–2008

Due to the expansion of the Northern Premier League, and the withdrawal of clubs who could no longer meet the ground requirements, the third division was disbanded and a two division format was instigated, a format that stayed in place until 2018.

F.C. United were crowned champions of the North West Counties Football League Division Two in 2005–06

Season	Division One	Division Two
1987–88	Colne Dynamoes	Ashton United
1988–89	Rossendale United	Vauxhall G M
1989–90	Warrington Town	Maine Road
1990–91	Knowsley United	Great Harwood Town
1991–92	Ashton United	Bamber Bridge
1992–93	Atherton Laburnum Rovers	Maghull
1993–94	Atherton Laburnum Rovers	Haslingden
1994–95	Bradford Park Avenue	Flixton
1995–96	Flixton	Vauxhall G M
1996–97	Trafford	Ramsbottom United
1997–98	Kidsgrove Athletic	Oldham Town
1998–99	Workington	Fleetwood Freeport
1999–2000	Vauxhall GM	Woodley Sports
2000–01	Rossendale United	Warrington Town
2001–02	Kidsgrove Athletic	Stand Athletic
2002–03	Prescot Cables	Bacup Borough
2003–04	Clitheroe	Colne
2004–05	Fleetwood Town[a]	Cammell Laird
2005–06	Cammell Laird	FC United of Manchester
2006–07	FC United of Manchester	Winsford United
2007–08	Trafford	New Mills

2008–18

Glossop North End NWCFL Champions 2015

In the 2008–09 season, the league renamed their divisions to the Premier Division and First Division.

Season	Premier Division	First Division
2008–09	AFC Fylde	Bootle
2009–10	Newcastle Town	Stone Dominoes
2010–11	New Mills	AFC Blackpool
2011–12	Ramsbottom United[15]	Wigan Robin Park[16]
2012–13	Padiham	Formby
2013–14	Norton United	Nelson
2014–15	Glossop North End	Atherton Collieries
2015–16	Colne	Hanley Town
2016–17	Atherton Collieries	Widnes
2017–18	Runcorn Linnets	Silsden

2018–present

As from the 2018–19 the league has operated three divisions, the Premier Division at Step 5 and Division one - the Step 6 division being split geographically into North and South components both with promotional slots to Step 5. This was retained for the 2019–20 season.

Season	Premier Division	Division One North	Division One South
2018–19	City of Liverpool	Longridge Town	Rylands
2019–20	Season abandoned due to coronavirus pandemic
2020–21	Season curtailed due to lockdown regulations
2021–22	Macclesfield	Bury AFC	West Didsbury & Chorlton
2022–23	Vauxhall Motors	Pilkington	Wythenshawe Amateurs
2023–24	Wythenshawe	FC St Helens	Brocton

^[17]

NWCFL Challenge Cup winners

The NWCFL Challenge Cup is for all members of the league. Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence.

1982–83 – Darwen 1983–84 – Ellesmere Port & Neston 1984–85 – Leek Town 1985–86 – Warrington Town 1986–87 – Colne Dynamoes 1987–88 – Warrington Town 1988–89 – Colwyn Bay 1989–90 – Knowsley United 1990–91 – Vauxhall GM 1991–92 – Ashton United 1992–93 – Burscough 1993–94 – Rossendale United 1994–95 – Nantwich Town 1995–96 – Burscough 1996–97 – Newcastle Town 1997–98 – Kidsgrove Athletic 1998–99 – Vauxhall GM 1999–2000 – Skelmersdale United 2000–01 – Formby 2001–02 – Prescot Cables 2002–03 – Mossley

2003–04 – Bacup Borough 2004–05 – Cammell Laird 2005–06 – Salford City 2006–07 – F.C. United of Manchester 2007–08 – Maine Road 2008–09 – New Mills 2009–10 – Abbey Hey 2010–11 – Winsford United 2011–12 – Bacup Borough 2012–13 – Runcorn Linnets 2013–14 – Ashton Athletic 2014–15 – Glossop North End 2015–16 – Atherton Collieries 2016–17 – City of Liverpool 2017–18 – Widnes 2018–19 – 1874 Northwich 2019–20 – 1874 Northwich[b] 2020–21 – Not held 2021–22 – Charnock Richard 2022–23 – Congleton Town[18] 2023–24 – Barnoldswick Town[19]

Results by team

Teams shown in italics are no longer in existence, teams in bold are members of the NWCFL as of 2023–24.

Club	Wins	Last final won	Runners-up	Last final lost
Warrington Town	2	1988	2	1990
Burscough		1996		2018
Vauxhall Motors		1999	1	1998
Bacup Borough		2012		2023
1874 Northwich		2020	–	–
Newcastle Town	1	1997	2	2004
Skelmersdale United		2000		2005
Maine Road		2008		2014
Atherton Collieries		2016		2015
Darwen		1983	1	1991
Colwyn Bay		1989		1988
Nantwich Town		1995		1993
Formby		2001		2013
Prescot Cables		2002		1999
Cammell Laird		2005		2006
New Mills		2009		2011
Winsford United		2011		2010
Runcorn Linnets		2013		2009
City of Liverpool		2017		2019
Ellesmere Port & Neston		1984	–	–
Leek Town		1985	–	–
Colne Dynamoes		1987	–	–
Knowsley United		1990	–	–
Ashton United		1992	–	–
Rossendale United		1994	–	–
Kidsgrove Athletic		1998	–	–
Mossley		2003	–	–
Salford City		2006	–	–
F.C. United of Manchester		2007	–	–
Abbey Hey		2010	–	–
Ashton Athletic		2014	–	–
Glossop North End		2015	–	–
Widnes		2018	–	–
Charnock Richard		2022	–	–
Congleton Town		2023	–	–
Barnoldswick Town		2024	–	–

First Division Challenge Cup winners

The First Division Challenge Cup is for all members of the First Division. It was known as the Second Division Trophy from 1989 to 2008.

1989–90 – Great Harwood Town 1990–91 – Glossop 1991–92 – Newcastle Town 1992–93 – Stantondale 1993–94 – North Trafford 1994–95 – Formby 1995–96 – Ramsbottom United 1996–97 – Nelson 1997–98 – Tetley Walker 1998–99 – Fleetwood Freeport 1999–2000 – Warrington Town 2000–01 – Squires Gate 2001–02 – No competition 2002–03 – Stone Dominoes 2003–04 – Colne 2004–05 – Cammell Laird 2005–06 – Flixton 2006–07 – New Mills

2007–08 – Kirkham & Wesham 2008–09 – AFC Liverpool 2009–10 – AFC Liverpool 2010–11 – Atherton Collieries 2011–12 – Norton United 2012–13 – West Didsbury & Chorlton 2013–14 – Formby 2014–15 – AFC Darwen 2015–16 – Barnton 2016–17 – City of Liverpool 2017–18 – Prestwich Heys 2018–19 – Sandbach United 2019–20 – Sandbach United 2020–21 – Not held 2021–22 – FC Isle of Man 2022–23 – Bacup Borough 2023–24 – Bacup Borough

First Division Champions Cup winners

The First Division Champions Cup is for the winners of the two geographical divisions within Division One. Its inaugural season was 2018–19.

2018–19 – Rylands[20] 2019–20 – No winner 2020–21 – Not held 2021–22 – Not held 2022–23 – Wythenshawe Amateurs[21] 2023–24 – FC St Helens[22]

Floodlit Trophy winners

The NWCFL Floodlit Trophy was for all members of the Premier and First divisions.

1990–91 – Colwyn Bay 1991–92 – Great Harwood Town 1992–93 – Newcastle Town 1993–94 – Bootle 1994–95 – Penrith

1995–96 – Newcastle Town 1996–97 – Colwyn Bay 1997–98 – Burscough 1998–99 – Clitheroe 1999–2000 – Vauxhall GM

Notes

1. Note that the Fleetwood Town club that won the Division Two title in 1983–84 is not the same club as the one of the same name who won the Division One Championship in 2004–05. The earlier club folded in 1993, and the new club was not formed until 1997 as Fleetwood Wanderers, then Fleetwood Freeport before taking the Fleetwood Town name in 2002.
2. The 2020 final was delayed to and played in July 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England.