The Central Alliance was a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
league in England, covering the
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...
.
History
The league was established in 1911 with twelve clubs, most of which had previously been members of the Notts & Derbyshire League;
Derby County Reserves,
Grantham
Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...
, Grantham Avenue,
Ilkeston United, Long Eaton St Helens, Mansfield Mechanics,
Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system.
The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...
,
Nottingham Forest Reserves, Peterborough GN Loco,
Sutton Junction,
Sutton Town and
Walsall Reserves.
[The Central Alliance 1911–1925]
Non-League Matters
Following the outbreak of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
the league was played in two series in 1915–16, with the nine clubs playing each other once; however, three clubs dropped out before the second series, and the remaining six only played nine or ten matches before the league was abandoned.
[ It restarted in 1919–20.][ However, at the end of the 1924–25 season the league was dissolved, with five clubs joining the ]Midland League
The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midl ...
, three joining the Derbyshire Senior League and one joining the Leicestershire Senior League
The Leicestershire Senior League (currently sponsored by Everards Brewery) is a association football, football competition based in Leicestershire, England.
History
The league was formed in 1896, had a two-year hiatus between 1901 and 1903, and ...
.[
In 1947 the league was re-established with 14 clubs.][The Central Alliance 1947–1962]
Non-League Matters By 1950 it had expanded to the extent that a second division was added.[ A third division was added in 1956, with Division One split into North and South sections, above Division Two.][ This system remained in place until 1961 when several clubs moved to the reformed Midland League, and the league reverted to two divisions,][ a Premier Division and Division One. The following season Division One was divided into A and B sections.]
Non-League Matters[
The league lost all but four of its Premier Division clubs to the new ]East Midlands Regional League The East Midlands Regional League was a football league in the East Midlands region of England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which ...
in 1967. The two leagues subsequently merged to form the Midlands Regional Alliance in 1985.
Divisional champions
References
{{reflist
Defunct football leagues in England
1911 establishments in England
1985 disestablishments in England