The 1978–79 Southern Football League

Southern Football League

The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...

 season saw Worcester City

Worcester City F.C.

Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club are currently members of the Conference North and play at St George's Lane.-History:...

 win the Premier Division title. At the end of the season the Alliance Premier League

Football Conference

The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...

 was established as a new, national top division of non-League football. Thirteen clubs from the Premier Division joined the new league, leading to a restructuring of the Southern League for the 1979–80 season

1979–80 Southern Football League

The 1979–80 Southern Football League season saw the league split into Midland and Southern Divisions after 13 clubs had left the previous season to establish the Alliance Premier League. Bridgend Town won the Midland Division, whilst Dorchester Town won the Southern Division...

, in which it was divided solely into Midland and Southern Divisions.

Due to the forthcoming changes, there was no relegation or promotion between the Southern League's divisions, although the Premier Division clubs that remained in the Southern League had effectively been relegated one level, being placed in the Midland or Southern Divisions the following season. Several clubs left the Division One North at the end of the season to join the Northern Premier League

Northern Premier League

The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...

, which had also lost clubs to the new Alliance Premier League, whilst Premier Division Atherstone Town

Atherstone Town F.C.

Atherstone Town Football Club is a football club based in Atherstone, Warwickshire, England.They were officially established in 2004 after a previous club bearing the same name folded in 1979...

 folded.

Premier Division

The Premier Division featured four new clubs, all of which had been promoted from the North and South Divisions the previous season:

• Bridgend Town
• Margate
• Dorchester Town
• Witney Town

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Worcester City Worcester City F.C. Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club are currently members of the Conference North and play at St George's Lane.-History:...	42	27	11	4	92	33	59	65	Left league to establish Alliance Premier League
2	Kettering Town Kettering Town F.C. Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08...	42	27	7	8	109	43	66	61
3	Telford United Telford United F.C. Telford United F.C. was an English football club based in Telford, Shropshire.The club existed under various names for a total of 132 years from its formation in 1872. The club was founder members of the Alliance Premier League in 1979 and played at this level for 25 years before being wound up in...	42	22	10	10	60	39	21	54
4	Maidstone United Maidstone United F.C. Maidstone United Football Club is an English football team from Maidstone, Kent.The current club is a continuation of the old Maidstone United, which was a member of the Football League between 1989 and 1992. The club was forced out of the league by financial ruin but the youth squad formed the...	42	18	18	6	55	35	20	54
5	Bath City Bath City F.C. Bath City Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset. They play in the Conference National league after gaining promotion from the Conference South via the play-offs in May 2010...	42	17	19	6	59	41	18	53
6	Weymouth Weymouth F.C. Weymouth F.C. are an English football club based in the town of Weymouth, who currently play in the Southern League Premier Division.-History:Weymouth Football Club were founded in 1890 and played their first game on 24 September of that year...	42	18	15	9	71	51	20	51
7	AP Leamington Leamington F.C. Leamington Football Club is the main football club in Whitnash, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Southern Football League Premier Division....	42	19	11	12	65	53	12	49
8	Redditch United Redditch United F.C. Redditch United F.C. is an English football club based in Redditch, Worcestershire. The club are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division and play at the Valley.-Birmingham Combination:...	42	19	10	13	70	57	13	48
9	Yeovil Town Yeovil Town F.C. Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...	42	15	16	11	59	49	10	46
10	Witney Town	42	17	10	15	53	52	1	44	Transferred to Midland Division at end of season
11	Nuneaton Borough	42	13	17	12	59	50	9	43	Left league to establish Alliance Premier League
12	Gravesend & Northfleet	42	15	12	15	56	55	1	42
13	Barnet Barnet F.C. Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....	42	16	10	16	52	64
42
14	Hillingdon Borough Hillingdon Borough F.C. Hillingdon Borough Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Ruislip, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was also the name of a now-extinct club that existed between 1965 and 1987.-Historic club:...	42	12	16	14	50	41	9	40	Transferred to Southern Division at end of season
15	Wealdstone Wealdstone F.C. Wealdstone Football Club are an English semi-professional football club who formed in Wealdstone, in the London Borough of Harrow, but are currently based a few miles away in Ruislip, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. At present, the club are members of the Isthmian League Premier Division. They...	42	12	12	18	51	59
36	Left league to establish Alliance Premier League
16	Atherstone Town Atherstone Town F.C. Atherstone Town Football Club is a football club based in Atherstone, Warwickshire, England.They were officially established in 2004 after a previous club bearing the same name folded in 1979...	42	9	17	16	46	65
35	Folded at end of season
17	Dartford Dartford F.C. Dartford F.C. are an English football club based in Dartford, Kent. After finishing as champions of the Isthmian League Division One North in the 2007–08 season, they compete in the Isthmian League Premier Division. They finished in 8th position in their first season...	42	10	14	18	40	56
34	Transferred to Southern Division at end of season
18	Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town F.C. Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...	42	11	10	21	38	72
32	Transferred to Midland Division at end of season
19	Margate Margate F.C. Margate Football Club is an English football team based in the seaside resort of Margate, Kent, currently playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was known for a number of years during the 1980s as Thanet United....	42	10	9	23	44	75
29	Transferred to Southern Division at end of season
20	Dorchester Town Dorchester Town F.C. Dorchester Town Football Club are a semi-professional football club, based in Dorchester, Dorset, England, and currently playing in the Blue Square Bet South...	42	7	11	24	46	86
25	Transferred to Southern Division at end of season
21	Hastings United Hastings United F.C. Hastings United is a semi-professional English football club who currently play in the Isthmian League Premier Division and are affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association and the Hastings Football Association....	42	5	13	24	37	85
23	Transferred to Southern Division at end of season
22	Bridgend Town Bridgend Town F.C. Bridgend Town F.C. is a Welsh football club that currently play in the Welsh Football League First Division. They are based in Bridgend in south Wales. Historically, their local rivals were Maesteg Park who disbanded in 2009...	42	6	6	30	39	90
18	Transferred to Midland Division at end of season

Football League election

Runners-up Kettering Town were the only Southern League club to apply for election to the Football League. However, all four Football League clubs were re-elected.

Club	League	Votes
Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers F.C. Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...	Football League Division Four The Football League The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...	50
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra F.C. Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...	Football League Division Four The Football League The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...	49
Darlington Darlington F.C. Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...	Football League Division Four The Football League The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...	43
Halifax Town Halifax Town A.F.C. Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...	Football League Division Four The Football League The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...	37
Altrincham Altrincham F.C. Altrincham Football Club is an English association football club from Altrincham, Greater Manchester. They currently play in the Conference North, having been relegated from the Conference National at the end of the 2010–11 season.-History:...	Northern Premier League Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...	13
Kettering Town	Southern League	12

Division One North

Division One North featured three new clubs:

• Alvechurch (promoted from the West Midlands (Regional) League)
• Bedford Town (relegated from the Premier Division)
• Grantham (relegated from the Premier Division)

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Grantham Grantham Town F.C. Grantham Town F.C. is a football club, based in Grantham, Lincolnshire, currently playing in the Northern Premier League Division One South. They are nicknamed The Gingerbreads and they play their home matches at the South Kesteven Sports Stadium . They were established in August 1874...	38	21	10	7	70	45	25	52	Left to join Northern Premier League Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...  at end of season
2	Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil F.C. Merthyr Tydfil Football Club was a Welsh football club based at the Penydarren Park ground in Merthyr Tydfil. In 2010 the club was liquidated and reformed under the name Merthyr Town, which was accepted into Division One of the Western League.-History:...	38	22	7	9	90	53	37	51
3	Alvechurch Alvechurch F.C. Alvechurch Football Club is English association football club based in Alvechurch, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, currently playing in the Midland Football Alliance. They are affiliated with the Worcestershire County Football Association.-History:...	38	20	10	8	70	42	28	50
4	Bedford Town Bedford Town F.C. Bedford Town F.C. is an English football club based in the Borough of Bedford. The club are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division and play at The New Eyrie in Cardington, a parish on the outskirts of Bedford....	38	19	9	10	74	49	25	47
5	King's Lynn King's Lynn F.C. King's Lynn F.C. was an English football club based in King's Lynn, Norfolk. Established in 1879, they were wound up at the High Court on 25 November 2009 with debts of £77,000 and went out of business in December after a failed appeal...	38	17	11	10	57	46	11	45
6	Oswestry Town Oswestry Town F.C. Oswestry Town F.C. was a football club, formerly playing in the League of Wales.The club was founded as Oswestry United in 1860, which meant they were one of the world's oldest football clubs. Matches were latterly played at Park Hall stadium, Oswestry, after a spell at Victoria Road...	38	18	8	12	63	43	20	44	Left to join Northern Premier League Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...  at end of season
7	Gloucester City	38	18	8	12	76	59	17	44
8	Burton Albion Burton Albion F.C. Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...	38	16	10	12	51	40	11	42	Left to join Northern Premier League Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...  at end of season
9	Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers F.C. Kidderminster Harriers F.C. are an English football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire formed in 1886 They currently play in the Conference National and have played at Aggborough Stadium since they were formed...	38	13	14	11	70	60	10	40
10	Bedworth United Bedworth United F.C. Bedworth United Football Club is a football club based in Bedworth, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Southern League Division One Central....	38	13	14	11	41	34	7	40
11	Tamworth Tamworth F.C. Tamworth Football Club are an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Tamworth, Staffordshire. Nicknamed 'The Lambs', they are currently members of the Conference National, the fifth highest tier in the English league system....	38	15	8	15	47	45	2	38	Left to join Northern Premier League Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...  at end of season
12	Stourbridge Stourbridge F.C. Stourbridge Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Stourbridge, West Midlands. The club currently plays in the Southern League Premier Division.-Early years:The club was founded in 1876 and was originally known as Stourbridge Standard...	38	15	7	16	64	61	3	37
13	Barry Town Barry Town F.C. Barry Town FC are a football team based in Barry. They dominated the League of Wales during the 1990s, but finished bottom in 2003-04 and were relegated...	38	14	9	15	51	53
37
14	Enderby Town	38	14	8	16	46	55
36
15	Banbury United Banbury United F.C. Banbury United is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, who play in the Southern League Premier Division. They are nicknamed The Puritans and they play their home matches at the Spencer Stadium...	38	10	13	15	42	58
33
16	Wellingborough Town	38	13	6	19	50	71
32
17	Cambridge City Cambridge City F.C. Cambridge City Football Club is an English football club currently playing in the Southern League Premier Division.-History:The club was founded in 1908 Cambridge Town F.C., as Cambridge had not been granted city status at that point, and were committed to amateur sport...	38	9	9	20	37	62
27
18	Bromsgrove Rovers Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. were a non-League football club from the town of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. The peak of the club's success was in 1993 when Rovers finished runner-up in the Football Conference...	38	6	14	18	33	61
26
19	Milton Keynes City Milton Keynes City F.C. Milton Keynes City Football Club are a defunct football club that was based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The name has been used by two English non-League football teams from the Milton Keynes area during the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s....	38	7	9	22	37	87
23
20	Corby Town Corby Town F.C. Corby Town F.C. is an English football club based in Corby, Northamptonshire. They will be members of the Conference North for the 2011–12 season. The Steelmen play their home games at the newly built Steel Park, adjacent to their previous ground, Rockingham Triangle Sports Stadium, which is...	38	5	6	27	40	85
16

Division One South

Division One South featured four new clubs:

• Dover (relegated from the Premier Division)
• Dunstable (transferred from the Midland Division)
• Gosport Borough (promoted from the Hampshire League
  Hampshire League
  Hampshire League is a name used for two distinct football competitions based in Hampshire, England. There are two leagues; Hampshire Premier Football League named 'Puma Engineering Hampshire Premier Football League' for sponsor purposes and the division below which is the Hampshire League 2004 or...
  
  )
• Minehead (relegated from the Premier Division)

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Dover Dover F.C. Dover F.C. was a football club based in Dover, Kent, England. The club joined the Kent League in 1894, but folded in 1901. Dover F.C. was revived a year later, this time as a purely amateur club, and rejoined the Kent League, but folded again in 1909...	40	28	9	3	88	20	68	65
2	Folkestone & Shepway	40	22	6	12	84	50	34	50
3	Gosport Borough Gosport Borough F.C. Gosport Borough Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Gosport, England currently playing in the Southern League Division One South and West...	40	19	11	10	62	47	15	49
4	Chelmsford City Chelmsford City F.C. Chelmsford City F.C. is an English semi-professional football club based in the town of Chelmsford, Essex. The club are currently members of the Conference South and play at the Melbourne Stadium.-Chelmsford:...	40	20	7	13	65	61	4	47
5	Minehead	40	16	13	11	58	39	19	45	Transferred to Midland Division at end of season
6	Poole Town Poole Town F.C. Poole Town F.C. is a football club based in Poole, England. They were established in 1890 and joined the Western League Division Two in 1930. They won the Western League title in 1957 and reached the First Round Proper of the FA Cup four times in their history. They are currently members of the...	40	15	15	10	48	44	4	45
7	Hounslow Hounslow F.C. Hounslow F.C. was an English football club based in Hounslow, Greater London.-History:A Hounslow F.C. existed in the early part of the twentieth century, and spent the 1899–1900 in the London League. The modern club were originally named Hounslow Town and joined the Corinthian League in 1946. They...	40	16	12	12	56	45	11	44
8	Waterlooville Waterlooville F.C. Waterlooville F.C. was an English football club based in Waterlooville, Hampshire. They ceased to exist in 1998 when they merged with Havant Town to form Havant & Waterlooville.-History:...	40	17	10	13	52	43	9	44
9	Trowbridge Town Trowbridge Town F.C. Trowbridge Town F.C. are a football club based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, and they play at Woodmarsh on the southern edge of the town. They are currently members of the Hellenic Football League Division One West.-History:...	40	15	12	13	65	61	4	42	Transferred to Midland Division at end of season
10	Aylesbury United Aylesbury United F.C. Aylesbury United are a football club based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, currently playing in the Spartan South Midlands League, nicknamed the Ducks....	40	16	9	15	54	52	2	41
11	Taunton Town Taunton Town F.C. Taunton Town Football Club are an English football club based in Taunton, Somerset, England. They compete in the Southern Football League Division One South & West, and play their home matches at their Wordsworth Drive ground which they moved into during the 1953 season...	40	16	9	15	53	51	2	41	Transferred to Midland Division at end of season
12	Bognor Regis Town Bognor Regis Town F.C. Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an English football club based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. The club are currently members of Isthmian League Division One South and play at Nyewood Lane.-History:...	40	17	7	16	58	58	0	41
13	Dunstable	40	18	4	18	57	55	2	40
14	Tonbridge Tonbridge Angels F.C. Tonbridge Angels Football Club is an English football club who play at Longmead Stadium in Tonbridge, Kent, since moving from the Angel Ground in 1980....	40	15	10	15	43	47
40
15	Salisbury Salisbury City F.C. Salisbury City Football Club is an English football club based in Salisbury, Wiltshire currently playing in the Conference South. They were formed in 1947 and play at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium...	40	13	10	17	47	51
36
16	Basingstoke Town Basingstoke Town F.C. Basingstoke Town Football Club is an English football club based in Basingstoke, Hampshire. The club are currently members of the Conference South and play at the Camrose, named after their late benefactor, Lord Camrose. Their motto, 'Vestigia Nulla Retrorsum', means 'No stepping...	40	12	11	17	49	62
35
17	Addlestone Addlestone & Weybridge Town F.C. Addlestone & Weybridge Town F.C. was a football club based in Addlestone, England. The home ground was in Liberty Lane. They changed their name from Addlestone FC to Addlestone & Weybridge Town FC in order to enlarge the catchment area, a move which didn't work very well, in 1980...	40	12	9	19	56	64
33
18	Andover Andover F.C. Andover F.C. was a football club based in Andover, Hampshire, established in 1883. Since the 2007–08 season, Andover had been a member of the Southern League Division One South and West at Step 4 of the National League System...	40	12	6	22	47	69
30
19	Ashford Town Ashford United F.C. Ashford United F.C. was an English football club based in Ashford, Kent. The side was formed in 1880 and won the Kent Senior Cup in 1893. A year later the club became founder members of the Kent League. The club played home games at Godinton Road....	40	10	10	20	28	53
30
20	Crawley Town Crawley Town F.C. Crawley Town Football Club is an English football club based in Crawley, West Sussex. They won the title of the Football Conference, by a record 15 point margin on second place, and with it promotion to The Football League, in April 2011.-1896–2009:...	40	9	9	22	44	75
27
21	Canterbury City Canterbury City F.C. Canterbury City F.C. are a football club currently based in Herne Bay near Canterbury, England. Reformed in 2007, they are the first football club formed as a Community interest company. For the 2011–12 season they will compete in the Kent League Premier Division...	40	6	3	31	31	98
15