Page 30 - v. Corinthian-Casuals

Combined

Counties

Football

League

he Combined Counties Football League he League was formally renamed Home
Ttraces its history back to 1921 when the TCounties League on 18th June 1978 as
Surrey Senior League was formed on 16th its geographical area spread further afield.
May 1922. The founding members were Al- As the new League was, geographically, in-
dershot Institute Albion, Camberley & York- sufficiently large enough to comply with
town, Carshalton Athletic, Dorking, Egham, Football Association regulations, the League
Farnham United Breweries, Hersham, Ley- was required to affiliate to the Surrey Coun-
land Motors, Merton Town, RAE (Farnbor- ty Football Association. After a few months,
ough) and Walton on Thames. The following an objection to the name was raised by the
season the league was bolstered by the arrival London Football Association through an au-
of Brighton Railway, Godalming, Guildford tonomous body called the Home Counties
& Weybridge. The league continued to op- Conference. This body instructed the Surrey
erate, with a break for the war, until the late County Football Association to refuse sanc-
1970s. Epsom & Ewell were champions in tion to the League under its present nomen-
1974 -75 when they reached the inaugural clature in future seasons.
FA Vase Final at Wembley Stadium.
n anticipation, the League decided to re-
Ivert to a similarity of the former title of the
n 1978, when the clubs and officers of the old defunct league – Surrey Senior Football
ISurrey County Senior League decided to League – after a change of heart by some of
end a thirty-year alignment with the Sur- the more County-aligned members. Though
rey County Football Association following initially, verbally agreed by the Surrey Coun-
continual losses of clubs to other leagues ty Football Association, the name was offi-
and a general lack of new senior clubs com- cially rejected on the grounds that the Surrey
ing through from the County Intermediate County Football Association intended to re-
Leagues. The officers managed to obtain form the Surrey County Senior League in a
some sponsorship; a condition of which was new form at some time in the future. This re-
the formation of a new league to enlarge the jection came only ten days before the Home
catchment area and scope in an attempt to Counties Football League Annual General
seek direct affiliation with the Football Asso- Meeting. The reformed Surrey County Sen-
ciation. And so the Home Counties Football ior League was started again in the 1982-
League was born. 1983 season.