Southern Football League Premier Central Stadiums & Stats
As part of the Southern Football League, you could say that the Premier Central Division dates all the way back to 1894.
In reality, this particular division was only added to the league in 2018.
As such, it is technically known as the Pitching In Southern Football League Premier Central Division, due to sponsorship, which I’m sure you’ll agree is a ridiculously long name.
To most, it’s simply known as the Premier Central.
The clubs that play at this level are semi-professional at best, usually with a small but loyal fanbase from the local area and no further afield. That said, it can also serve as a training ground for the stars of tomorrow, with scouts attending to find youth prospects and players who do well often finding themselves poached by the leagues above.
This page will explain how the Central division fits into the overall league structure, explore its history, and also look at the sort of stadiums you can expect to find playing here.
Team Stats
| Team | Year Founded | Nickname | Team Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banbury United | 1931 | The Puritans | Banbury Community Benefit Society |
Ticket Prices
| Stadium | Season Ticket Price (Adult) | Season Ticket Price (Conc) | Season Ticket Price (Junior) | Match Ticket Price (Adult) | Match Ticket Price (Conc) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banbury United | £250.00 - £275.00 | £180.00 - £200.00 | £75.00 - £90.00 | £15.00 - £15.00 | £11.00 - £11.00 |
Southern League Premier Central Stadiums
If you ever go and watch a game in the Southern League Premier Central Division, you can expect to do so in a stadium with a capacity under 5,000 in most cases. The rules at this level state a minimum capacity of 1,950, but most venues can welcome more than this.
Not that many frequently do, with the average attendance being somewhere around the 500-600 mark.
‘Stadium’ is probably pushing the use of language a bit to be honest when describing venues at this level, but they are obviously places which are dedicated to playing football matches – you wouldn’t ever mistake one for a park green.
The pitch will be distinctly separated from the viewing area around it with pitch side hoardings, there will be at least one small stand with a minimum of 250 seats, but many clubs also have covered or uncovered terraces as well.
You will also find dugouts, a medical room, a club house serving refreshments, and gated entrances separating the outside from the inside.
The standard of facilities varies, since some clubs have come from leagues above where the stadium requirements as laid out by the FA are higher, and others have come from below where requirements are not as difficult to meet.
About the League
Unlike the Northern League, the Southern League actually has two Premier Divisions, and the Premier Central is one of them.
The other is the Premier South, but I have a separate page about them.
It still has four different divisions within it though, and they are as follows:
- Southern Football League Premier Division Central
- Southern Football League Premier Division South
- Southern Football League Division One Central
- Southern Football League Division One South
The two Premier divisions play in parallel with the Northern Premier and the Isthmian Premier, but the Premier Central is fed from the Division One Central league below it, while the Premier South is fed from the Division One South league.
There is nothing unusual about the way teams play out their seasons, with each team playing all others twice, away and at home, scoring 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and none for a loss.
At the end of the season, the team at the top of the league is automatically promoted to either the National League North or South, while those teams finishing from 2nd to 5th enter the playoffs to decide on the second team promoted.
At the other end of the table, four teams are relegated to one of several lower divisions depending on their location, so the turnover in the Southern League Premier Central is very high.
League History
The Southern Football League Premier Central Division is a relatively new addition to the Southern Football League, playing its first season in 2018/19.
Its history is therefore almost exactly the same as the Southern Football League’s.
After a failed first attempt, the original Southern Football League was established in 1894, and we have Millwall to thank for driving its creation.
Despite now being nestled down in the 7th tier of the football pyramid, it was once a feeder league for what used to be the third division of the Football League. In fact, six of the founder members would go on to be well known professional teams; Luton, Gillingham, Millwall, Reading, Southampton, and Swindon.
In 1979 though, the Alliance Premier League was formed (now the National League), and the best teams from the Southern League were absorbed into it. When the National League North and South divisions were added in 2004 the same thing happened again, and the Southern League was pushed further down the pyramid.
It was a restructuring in 2017 that brought about the addition of the Premier Central Division, which now acts as a feeder league to the National League North.