The Hellenic Football League is an English football league covering an area including the English counties

Counties of the United Kingdom

The counties of the United Kingdom are subnational divisions of the United Kingdom, used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. By the Middle Ages counties had become established as a unit of local government, at least in England. By the early 17th century all...

 of Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, southern Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

, southern Herefordshire

Herefordshire

Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...

, western Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

, and northern Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

. There is also one team from Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

.
The league was established in 1953. In the 2000–01 season the Hellenic League absorbed the Chiltonian League

Chiltonian League

The Chiltonian League was an English football league that existed from 1984 until it merged with the Hellenic League in 2000. It never had a defined place in the English football league system, but successful clubs moved from the Chiltonian League to the Combined Counties League and to the South...

 and now has a Premier Division, Division One East, Division One West and three divisions for reserve teams. In the 2006–07 the Hellenic League absorbed the Banbury District and Lord Jersey FA

Banbury District and Lord Jersey FA

The Banbury District and Lord Jersey FA is a football competition based in Oxfordshire, England. The league has a total of four divisions, of which the highest, the Premier Division, sits at level 13 of the English football league system and is a feeder to the Oxfordshire Senior Football League.-...

 Veterans League with three Divisions now under the Hellenic Veterans League title.

Starting with the 2004–05 re-organisation the Hellenic League became a step 5 and 6 league in the National League System

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...

. Premier Division clubs play at Step 5 level, which offers progression to the 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...

 Division One (Step 4) for Premier Division winners who have the required ground status.

Hellenic League Division One teams play at Step 6 level, promotion to the Step 5 Hellenic Premier League can be gained by clubs finishing in the top two of Division One East and West dependent on required ground facilities as specified by The Football Association

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

. Acceptance to HL Division One is also offered to teams playing in the various Step 7 County Leagues of the related Hellenic League area, dependent on league table status.

54 teams play in the Hellenic Premier and Division Ones. 16 teams play at Veterans level (players aged 35 or over)

External links

• Hellenic Football League Official Website