The Amateur Football Combination (AFC) is a football league

Sports league

League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...

 based in and around London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and the Home Counties

Home Counties

The home counties is a term which refers to the counties of South East England and the East of England which border London, but do not include the capital city itself...

, and is believed to be the biggest adult football league in Europe.

History

The Amateur Football Combination is one of the biggest adult football leagues in Europe, with around 100 clubs and 350 sides playing Saturday afternoons in and around London and the Home Counties from September through to May, and comprises more than 1% of adult male 11-a-side football teams in England.

The AFC is an adult male league affiliated to the Amateur Football Alliance

Amateur Football Alliance

The Amateur Football Alliance is a County Football Association in England. It is unusual among County FAs in not being based around a particular geographical area. It was founded in 1907, as the Amateur Football Defence Foundation, quickly changed to Amateur Football Association, when The FA...

 (AFA), London FA

London Football Association

The London Football Association is the regional Football Association for Greater London. The London FA was established in 1882 and is affiliated to The Football Association...

, Middlesex FA

Middlesex County Football Association

The Middlesex County Football Association is an organisation that regulates and promotes football, aiming to increase the quantity and quality of participation in the historic area of Middlesex.-History:...

 and Surrey FA

Surrey County Football Association

The Surrey County Football Association was founded in 1877 and affiliated to The Football Association in 1882, at the same time as a County Senior Cup competition, the Surrey Senior Cup, was established...

, and was formed in 2002 by the merger of the Old Boys' Football League (1907) and Southern Olympian League (1911) and subsequently merging with the London Financial Football Association (itself comprising the London Banks Football Association, 1900 and the London Insurance Football Association, 1908) in 2006.

AFC Membership

Clubs and club members include "Old Boys

Old Boys

The terms Old Boys and Old Girls are the usual expressions in use in the United Kingdom for former pupils or alumni of primary and secondary schools. While these are traditionally associated with independent schools, they are also used for some schools in the state sector...

" sides, local authorities and businesses, as well as social and youth club

Youth club

A youth club or youth social club is a place where young people can meet and enjoy activities such as football, soccer, basketball, table tennis, or video games, and other religious, sports activities are frequently sponsored by a community center....

s.

League Structure

The league is divided into four sections using a pyramid system, but plays outside of the "football pyramid

National League System

The National League System comprises the seven levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the Premier League and The Football League. It contains 91 league competitions and more than 1,600 clubs. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association...

" - the top teams do not progress into semi-professional leagues:

AFC League System
Premier
Senior 1
Senior 2
Senior 3 North		Senior 3 South
Inter. North	Inter. West		Inter. South
1 North	1 West		1 South
2 North	2 West		2 South
3 North	3 West		3 South
4 North	4 West		4 South
5 North			5 South
5 North			5 South
6 North			6 South
7 North			7 South
8 North			8 South
9 North			9 South
			10 South

Cup Competitions

As well as league competitions, AFC clubs take part in cup competitions. Most clubs enter the Amateur Football Alliance County Cups, but depending on their location clubs also enter Surrey FA, Berkshire & Buckinghamshire FA

Berkshire and Buckinghamshire Football Association

The Berkshire and Buckinghamshire Football Association is the County Football Association for Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. The Berks & Bucks FA was formed in 1878, with the first president and driving force being Mr J H Clark from Maidenhead...

, London FA and Essex FA Cups. Many clubs also enter the London Old Boys Cups and the Old Boys Cup. In the event of a dry winter, if the league programme finishes early in the spring, the AFC will run its own "Spring Cups".

Recent divisional champions, Senior Section

Season	Premier	Senior 1	Senior 2
2001-02	Old Meadonians	Latymer Old Boys	Old Wokingians
2002-03	Old Meadonians	Old Salvatorians	Old Tenisonians
2003-04	Old Meadonians	Parkfield	Glyn Old Boys
2004-05	Old Meadonians	Bealonians	Wood Green Old Boys
2005-06	Old Meadonians	Southgate County	Sinjuns Grammarians
2006-07	Old Meadonians	Enfield Old Grammarians	Old Meadonians II
2007-08	Old Aloysians	Parkfield	Old Minchendenians
2008-09	Bealonians	Old Minchendenians	Centymca
2009-10	Albanian	Old Suttonians	Old Uffingtonians

Spirit of Football

In 2006 the AFC launched its "Spirit of Football" campaign, emphasising and promoting fair play and respect for all within the game, a concept later embraced nationally within the Football Association's "Respect" campaign.

External links

• Amateur Football Alliance
• Amateur Football Combination
• Amateur Football Combination Facebook Page