Sunday league football in England consists of a series of leagues of amateur

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 ...

clubs that play matches on Sundays. Most Sunday leagues across England consist of multiple divisions including promotion and relegation, but are not part of the

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the ...

. Every Sunday League operates under the jurisdiction of the local county association. Since 1964, all the Sunday Leagues (adult, junior and youth) have been under the auspices of

the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

and their clubs are eligible to compete in the

FA Sunday Cup The FA Sunday Cup is a knock-out amateur competition founded in 1964 for English Sunday league football teams. Prior to 1960 The Football Association did not permit clubs or players under its jurisdiction to take part in competitive football pl ...

and the local county cups.

History

Beginnings

The idea mainly started among young unemployed men in the 1920s in the Greater London area, with kick-abouts taking place in open spaces on Sunday afternoon. Soon, the first matches were organised but under difficult conditions for the players and the clubs: there were no changing rooms, no nets or corner flags and pitch markings. In the early 1930s a large percentage of workers were brought in London from Ireland, Manchester and Wales and these new immigrants formed their own Sunday football clubs.
The first Sunday League to be formed in England was the Edmonton & District Sunday Football League of North London in 1925. The East London Sunday League followed in 1930, the Metropolitan Sunday League in 1934, the West Fulham in 1936 and the Essex Corinthian in 1937.
Despite the fact that businessmen helped the clubs financially the new Leagues could not affiliate to the local County Football Association.

Sunday league football Sunday league football is a term used in Britain, Ireland and Australia to describe the amateur association football competitions which take place on Sunday rather than the more usual Saturday. The term ''pub league'' may also be used, owing to ...

was not recognised by any County FA and footballers who were under contract by a Saturday side or referees had to play under assumed names or risk being suspended.

FA's hostile stance

Sunday leisure and entertainment activities had long been constrained by successive ''Sunday Observance Acts'' which also prohibited the charging for admission to such events. Additionally, in the religious areas of society it was considered unacceptable to partake in such activities on a Sunday, which was deemed a "day of rest". However, for those fans that worked on Saturdays and supported their local teams later in the day, Sundays were the only days to play football.

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

went along with the traditional view and would refuse to officially recognise Sunday football, and thus place restrictions on it. However, many players and officials used false names when participating on a Sunday.
In August 1939 the FA finally decided to appoint a Sub-Committee to review the situation and potentially recognise

, but the World War II intervened.

Post war

With the parks being turned into anti-aircraft gun sites and with most young people becoming involved in the war effort and going into the services, very little football was played. On 24 September 1943 the Sub-Committee members were actually appointed and of these was Edward "Teddy" Eden, the F.A. Councillor for Birmingham, who was to spend the next 17 years persuading other F.A. Councillors to recognise Sunday football.
After end of the World War II football activities were resumed and

attracted interest again with more London leagues being founded: the Southern Sunday League in 1944, Hackney and Leyton, and Hampstead & District (later renamed to Camden Sunday League) in 1947, Wandsworth and District in 1949 with most matches played at

Hackney Marshes Hackney Marshes is an area of open space in London's Lower Lea Valley, lying on the western bank of the River Lea. It takes its name from its position on the eastern boundary of Hackney, the principal part of the London Borough of Hackney, an ...

. In 1947 the Manchester Amateur Sunday League became the first one to start outside the area of Greater London, while the FA via its Sub-Committee had already made a few recommendations Sunday football restrictions since October 1945. When those recommendations were reviewed in July 1946 it was decided that no changes in the restrictions against Sunday football would be made.
Despite that, large crowds with an attendance of 300 to 400 were very common in the mid 1940s. Nearly every pub in London used to have and sponsor a football team, while other teams were funded by working men's clubs. Another reason for the creation of Sunday teams was the fact that many amateur football players had work commitments on a Saturday and they could only play football on Sundays. Sunday football's popularity rose rapidly in the 1950s with many more leagues starting to form around England: the Watford Sunday League was founded in 1955, the South Birmingham Sunday League in 1957, the Wolverhampton & District in 1958 and the Middleton & District in 1959.

saw this development as a threat to the ''legitimate'' Saturday football. But, by the late 1950s several Sunday leagues were getting unofficially recognised by the local County Associations. One of the first leagues was the Essex Sunday league which was unofficially recognised by the Essex County FA in 1955. Moreover, many young talents of the time would start of their careers playing

and

Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of England's best ever players, he is England's fifth- ...

and

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England national team that won the 1966 FIFA ...

were among them before joining amateur or professional youth sides.
In 1959 the FA announced that any players or referees participating in the Sunday leagues would be banned from the official Saturday football, after noticing that many professionals - including England's and

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

' outside left, Jimmy Mullen were also playing

.
Nevertheless, that announcement resulted in the creation of a national knock-out competition by the Sunday league Committees, the Sunday Cup between teams from the various Sunday leagues in 1960 and soon after

the FA The Football Association (the FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsibl ...

changed its policy and allowed Sunday leagues to become affiliated to County Associations.

The creation of the national Sunday Cup

The big step that the Committees of the various Sunday leagues across England took was the launch of a national cup competition in the 1960–61 season, similar to the

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footb ...

which had commenced in 1893. The inaugural final saw Walsall Waflers from the Lichfield & Walsall Sunday league facing the Stamford Rovers of the Grantham & District. Forest Gate Mount Athletic from the Essex Sunday Corinthian Sunday League won the next 3 finals until 1964 when

persuaded by Teddy Eden who had become the Chairman of the Committee decided to sanction the competition and rename it to

.
The format under the FA's jurisdiction would change in the 1964–65 season with a new trophy presented to the F.A. by

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

, the King of Iran was allocated to this new revamped competition which was held on a County basis. Counties could enter either a representative XI league side or nominate one of their clubs to represent them. Only London used a nominated club, the Summerstown Athletic from Wimbledon. At the end 16 counties entered the new competition, with

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(Summerstown Athletic) being crowned the winners against

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

(3-0).

The rise in the 1960s

After the FA allowed all Sunday leagues to be affiliated to the County Associations, there was a rapid increase in the creation of more leagues. Burton & District was founded in 1964, Gloucester & District and the Tameside Sunday League in 1965, Barnet & District, Coventry & District, Bletchley & District, Leamington & District, Nuneaton & District, Sutton & District in 1966, Cheltenham Sunday League and Hyde & District in 1968 etc. That unprecedented boom was also coupled up with England winning the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

in the summer of 1966. A few months earlier, on 26 January 1966, Teddy Eden, died, aged 86, just two days after presiding at what was to be his final Sunday Football committee meeting.

The 1980s

Amateur players continued to also feature in the Sunday league. On several occasions key players for amateur sides picked up injuries sustained whilst playing

and many senior Saturday clubs not only followed suit against the Sunday League, but also encouraged their players to sign professional forms. Such a development would automatically exclude them from playing Sunday league football and it meant that several Sunday League clubs would lose their quality players. The majority of those amateur players eventually signed professional forms and that had a domino effect on some of the smaller Sunday sides of that time, all over the country.

The importance of Hackney Marshes

The

pitch complex was formed in 1946 with some rubble from the Blitz used as part of the sub-surface. The Marshes located in Stratford, East

were divided into north, south, east and west, and at its peak in the 1950s and 60s there were 120 full-size pitches bringing over 2,500 local footballers down to the area every Sunday morning. The number of football pitches was down to 106 by 1990 and the hosting of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

by London meant that 12 pitches were converted to a car park. There are 88 left today, of which 60 are described as full-size adult pitches.

In 2010

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

had expressed the desire to play at the

and he flew into the spiritual home of English Sunday football via helicopter from

London City Airport London City Airport is an international airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the London Borough of Newham, Borough of Newham, about east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the two centres ...

. Messi travelled to

on 15 September 2010 and was expected to come on as a substitute during a match of the Hackney and Leyton Sunday League, as part of a publicity stunt by

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

. However, the exhibition event was cancelled due to security fears, after being surrounded by fans just moments after stepping out of the helicopter.

21st century: diversity of clubs and social media rise

In the 1950s there were various Sunday teams formed by Irish or Italian immigrants. With the turn of the century the scene has changed. Several new clubs reflect different ethnic backgrounds such as Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Ghanaian, Arabic, Nigerian, Turkish, Caribbean, Brazilian and others. Most of these ethnic teams consist of football players who had previously competed in semi-professional or even professional leagues in their countries before migrating to England. A great example is F.C. Romania a Sunday club that switched to Saturday football and currently plays in the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

or ethnic-Ukrainian Niva FC of the Hackney and Leyton Sunday Football League. Along with the bolstering of their squads has come the rise of the popularity of English Sunday league clubs who not only operate on higher standards with many of them recording their matches but also seem to have a great amount of following on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

and

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and some great examples are Baiteze (40k subscribers), Rebel FC (110k subscribers), Hashtag United (476k subscribers), and SE Dons (241k subscribers) who also signed former

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

player, Zak Ansah and ex- Cyprus U-21 international Jack Sammoutis.

Structure

Most of the Sunday leagues have named their first tier as the Premier Division while the Division One was previously considered the top level. Some leagues had even 10 divisions overall in the past (like the Wolverhampton & District in the 1950), while most of them they had up to 8. In the recent years 5 divisions is the most common number, though some Sunday leagues consist of just 2. All the divisions are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. A certain number of the most successful clubs in each division can rise to a higher division, whilst those that finish the season at the bottom of their league can find themselves sinking down a level.
The Sunday leagues are not officially part of the

, but are recognised at various levels by county football associations. They are eligible to enter County Sunday cup competitions (league cups, cups, charity cups etc.) and the

. Sunday clubs may, if they feel they meet the appropriate standard of play and have suitable facilities, apply to join a Saturday league and join the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

Finances and costs

has been financially supported to a certain extent by pubs and working men's clubs throughout its long history. But in recent years most clubs are either self-funded with their players contributing to the running costs or partially funded by various sponsors, though there are still quite a few pub clubs. The expenditure per season varies from £1,800 to £2,500, depending on the living standards of each area. The costs could include league affiliation (around £160), insurance and registration fees, pitch fees (up to £500 a year), kit and equipment costs (at least £350), also nets-corner flags-balls (around £200), referee fees (£250 and £500 per year payable by the home team) and fines. The increase of those costs resulted into the demise of many clubs which has drastically brought down the total number of Sunday teams registered in the local counties. A 2015 study commissioned by the FA revealed that 2,360 grassroots football teams had folded in a three-year period between 2012 and 2015.

Sunday Leagues by County Association

;London Football Association *Camden Sunday League (1947) - 2 divisions (formerly 8 divisions) *Central London Super Sunday League (2008) *East London Sunday League (1930) *Ford Sunday League *Hackney and Leyton Sunday League (1947) *Inner London League (2001) *London and Kent Border Football League *Metropolitan Sunday League (1934) *North London Sunday League (1985) *Southern Sunday League (1944) *Sportsman's Senior Sunday League (1949) *Wandsworth and District Sunday League (1949) *West Fulham Sunday League (1936) *Woolwich and Eltham Sunday Football Alliance (2006) ;Bedfordshire County Football Association *Bedford and District Sunday League *North Home Counties Sunday League *Leighton and District Sunday League *South Beds Sunday League ;Berks & Bucks Football Association Other affiliated men's 11-a-side leagues are the Aylesbury & District League, the Bracknell Town & District Sunday League, the Chesham Sunday League, the Chiltern Church League, the Grant & Stone High Wycombe Sunday Combination, the Milton Keynes Sunday League, the Newbury & District Sunday League, the Reading & District Sunday League, the Upper Thames Valley League. Sunday Intermediate Cup and Junior cups ;Birmingham County Football Association * Beacon Sunday League (1977) * Burton & District Sunday League (1964) * Coventry & District Intermediate Sunday League (1966) * Coventry & District Premier Sunday League (1966) * Coventry & District Senior Sunday League (1962) * Leamington & Dist Sunday League (1966) * Nuneaton & District Sunday League (1966) * Rugby & District Sunday League * Solihull & District Oakbourne Sunday League * South Birmingham Sunday League & Sunday Premier League (1957) * Sutton & District Sunday Football League (1966) * Tamworth & District Sunday League * Warley Sunday League * Wolverhampton & District Sunday League (1958) - 7 divisions (formerly 10 divisions) ;Cambridgeshire County Football Association *Cambridge & District League ;Cornwall County Football Association *Cornwall Sunday League *West Cornwall Sunday League ;Cumberland Football Association *Carlisle City Sunday League ;Derbyshire County Football Association *Alfreton and District Sunday League *Chesterfield and District Sunday League (1966) *Derby City League - Sunday Morning *Derby Taverners Sunday League (1963) *Long Eaton Sunday League (1970) ;Devon County Football Association *Exeter and District Sunday League *Torbay Sunday League *North Devon Sunday League *Plymouth and West Devon Sunday League *Devon Wednesday League ;Dorset County Football Association *Blackmore Vale Football League *Weymouth Sunday League ;Durham County Football Association *Consett and District Sunday League *Durham and District Sunday League *Darlington Sunday Morning Invitation League *Hartlepool Sunday League *Peterlee and District Sunday League *Spennymoor Sunday League *Stockton Sunday League *Sunderland Sunday League *Wear Valley Sunday League ;East Riding County Football Association *Hull Sunday League ;Essex County Football Association *Braintree & North Essex Sunday League *Brentwood Sunday League *Chelmsford Sunday League *Colchester & District Sunday League *Dagenham & District Sunday League *Essex Sunday Corinthian League - 7 divisions *Essex Sunday Football Combination *Harlow & District Sunday League *Romford & District Churches League *Sceptre Sunday League *South Essex Sunday League *Southend Borough Combination Veterans League *Southend and Basildon Sunday League *Thurrock Association Sunday League ;Gloucestershire County Football Association *Bristol & District Sunday League (1966) *Bristol & Wessex Sunday League (1980) *Bristol Regional League (Sunday) (1963) *Cheltenham Sunday League (1968) - 5 divisions *Gloucester & District Sunday League (1965) ;Hampshire Football Association *Basingstoke & District Sunday League *M.A. Hart Bournemouth Football League ;Herefordshire County Football Association *Herefordshire Sunday League ;Hertfordshire County Football Association *Barnet Sunday League (1966) *Berkhamsted Sunday League *East Herts Corinthian League (1993) *Hitchin Sunday League (1977) *North London and South Herts League (1985) *Olympian Sunday League – Watford (1972) *Review Sunday League *North West Essex Sunday League *Stevenage Sunday League *Waltham (Sunday) League *Watford Sunday League *Welwyn Hatfield Sunday League ;Huntingdonshire Football Association *Huntingdonshire Sunday League ;Kent County Football Association *Ashford and District Sunday League *Dover Sunday League *Herne Bay and Whitstable Sunday League *Maidstone and Mid Kent Sunday League *Medway Messenger Sunday League *North Kent Sunday League *Orpington and Bromley District Sunday League *Sheppey Sunday League *Thanet Sunday League *West Kent Sunday League ;Lancashire County Football Association *Blackburn Sunday League *Blackpool and Fylde Sunday Alliance *Burnley and District Sunday League *Bury and District Sunday League *Chorley Nissan Sunday League *Harry Dewhurst Memorial Sunday League *Middleton and District Sunday League *Lancashire Evening Post Sunday League *Ormskirk and District Sunday League *Pendle Charity League *Skelmersdale and District Sunday League *South Lancashire Counties League ;Leicestershire and Rutland County Football Association *Alliance Football League *Charnwood Sunday Football League *Hinckley & District Football League *Leicester Sunday Football League *Melton & District Sunday Football League ;Lincolnshire Football Association *Boston and District Sunday League *Grantham & District Sunday League *Grimsby Cleethorpes and District Sunday League *Grimsby Intermediate League (Sunday) *Lincoln and District Sunday League *Scunthorpe and District Sunday League *Spalding and District Sunday League ;Liverpool County Football Association *Birkenhead Sunday League *Crosby and District Sunday League *Ellesmere Port Senior Sunday League *Formers League – Sunday Competition *Liverpool Business Houses League – Sunday Competition *Ormskirk and District Sunday League *Skelmersdale and District Sunday League *Southport and District League – Sunday Competition *Wallasey and District Sunday League *Wirral Sunday League ;London FA *Camden Sunday League (1948) *Central London Super Sunday League (2008) *East London Sunday League (1930) *Ford Sunday League *Hackney and Leyton Sunday League (1947) - 5 divisions *Inner London League (2001) *London and Kent Border Football League *London City Airport Sunday League *Metropolitan Sunday League (1934) *North London Sunday League (1985) *Southern Sunday League (1944) *Sportsman's Senior Sunday League (1949) *Wandsworth and District Sunday League (1949) *West Fulham Sunday League (1936) *Woolwich and Eltham Sunday Football Alliance (2006) ;Manchester Football Association *Cheshire and Manchester Sunday League (1971) *Eccles Sunday League (1969) *Hyde & District Sunday League (1968) *Manchester Accountants Sunday League *Manchester Amateur Sunday League (1947) *Middleton and District Sunday League (1959) *Oldham Sunday Football League (1970) *Stockport and Cheadle Sunday League *Tameside Sunday League (1965) ;Middlesex County Football Association *Middlesex County Sunday League ;Norfolk County Football Association *Great Yarmouth Sunday League *King's Lynn and District Sunday League *Norwich and District Sunday League ;North Riding County Football Association *Langbaurgh Sunday League - 3 Divisions *MB Distribution Redcar Sunday League - 2 Divisions *Ian's Cars of Barlby York Sunday Morning League - 4 Divisions *Scarborough and District Sunday League - 3 Divisions *Teesborough Football League - 2 Divisions *Black Sheep Brewery Hambleton Football Combination - 3 Divisions ;Northamptonshire Football Association *Daventry & District Sunday League *Kettering Area Sunday League *Northants Sunday Combination *Northants Sunday Conference *Peterborough & District Sunday League *Peterborough Sunday Morning League *Rushden & District Sunday League ;Northumberland Football Association *Blyth and Wansbeck Sunday League *Cramlington and District Sunday League *Hexham and District Sunday League *Morpeth Sunday League *Newcastle Central Sunday Afternoon League *North East Sunday League ;Nottinghamshire County Football Association *Nottinghamshire Sunday League ;Oxfordshire County Football Association *Upper Thames Valley Sunday Football League (1980–Present) ;Sheffield & Hallamshire County Football Association *Sheffield Sunday League ;Shropshire Football Association *Greenhous Shrewbury and District Sunday League ;Somerset County Football Association * Bath and District Football League *Blackmore Vale Football League (1914) – Sunday *Bridgwater & District Sunday Football League (1966) *Frome & District Sunday Football League (1968) *Taunton & District Sunday Football League *Weston-Super-Mare Sunday Football League *Yeovil Sunday Football League (1975) ;South Derbyshire Football Association *Burton and District Sunday Football League ;Staffordshire Football Association *Stafford and District Sunday Football League ;Suffolk County Football Association *Bury and District Sunday Football League *Ipswich and District Licensed Trades League *Ipswich Sunday League *Lowestoft Sunday League *Sudbury and District Sunday League ;Surrey County Football Association *Surrey Sunday League ;Sussex County Football Association *SSFL Sussex Sunday League ;West Riding County Football Association *Bradford Sunday Alliance League *Bridge Balti Halifax Sunday Football League *Castleford & District Sunday League *Claro Sunday League *Goole & District Sunday League *Heavy Woollen Sunday League *Kirklees Sunday League *Leeds Combination League *Leeds Sunday Alliance Football League *Leeds Sunday Leagues *Wakefield & District Sunday League *Wharfedale Triangle League ;Wiltshire Football Association *Wiltshire Sunday League ;Worcestershire County Football Association *Worcestershire Sunday League

Sunday League records

*In March 2012, Wheel Power F.C. won 58–0 against Nova 2010 F.C. in the Torbay Sunday League to record what was believed to be the largest victory ever achieved in British football. *On 4 May 2013, Alex Torr scored a hat-trick in world record-breaking 70 seconds in the Rawson Springs - Winn Gardens (7-1), in the Meadowhall Sunday League of Sheffield. Match referee Matt Tyers has confirmed the timings of the goals and admitted he had never seen anything like it before. Torr just three days earlier had notched another treble in just three in a 7–0 win over Penistone Church. *Simeon Cobourne scored at least 60 goals per season for four consecutive years with Digby Rangers in Birmingham's Coronation League (2015-2019). *Stan Gittings managed Hackney and Leyton Sunday Football League club, Midfield, for more than 40 years since its conception in 1967.

Notable clubs

*Forest Gate Mount Athletic - won 3 Sunday Cups (1962, 1963, 1964) * New Salamis - played in 2 Sunday Cup Finals (2015, 2016) and afterwards switched to Saturday football, playing currently in the

Spartan South Midlands League The Spartan South Midlands Football League is an English football league covering Hertfordshire, northwest Greater London, central Buckinghamshire and southern Bedfordshire. It is a feeder to the Southern Football League or the Isthmian League, ...

Senrab F.C. Senrab F.C. is a Sunday League football club, based at Wanstead Flats in the Forest Gate district of London, England. It is noted for the high number of professional players who played for the club in their youth. History The club takes its na ...

- produced more than 170 professional players and still compete in the Essex Corinthian League * Albion Sports - won 5 championships in the Bradford Sunday League (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006), played in 2 Sunday Cup Finals (2000, 2005) and afterwards switched to Saturday football, playing currently in the

Northern Counties East League The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the English football pyramid respectively. ...

* F.C. Romania - switched to Saturday football, playing currently in the

Walthamstow Avenue F.C. Walthamstow Avenue Football Club was an English football club based in Walthamstow in London. Based at Green Pond Road, they played in dark and light blue hooped shirts, and light blue shorts. The club was established in 1900, and was one of t ...

- the oldest club (founded in 1900), won the

and the

Isthmian Football League The Isthmian League () is a regional football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 88 teams in fo ...

3 times each, before joining the

English Sunday League Sunday league football in England consists of a series of League system, leagues of amateur association football, football clubs that play matches on Sundays. Most Sunday leagues across England consist of multiple divisions including promotion ...

*Stannington Village - won 6 championships in the Sheffield Sunday League (2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018) *Sheffield Trades & Labour - won 4 championships in the Sheffield Sunday League (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992) *Woodhouse George/West End - won 7 championships in the Sheffield Sunday League (1995, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) *Billet Villa - played in 9 Cup Finals in a row between 1969 and 1977, losing only to Partridge in the 1972, in the Orpington and Bromley District Sunday Football League *Southboroug - won 7 league consecutive titles between the 1950s and 1960s in the Orpington and Bromley District Sunday Football League *Hetton Lions Cricket Club - won a record 4 Sunday Cups (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012) *Carlton United - played in 3 Sunday Cup Finals (1967, 1973,1979), currently playing in the Lowestoft Sunday League *M.G. Sports - won 5 titles in a row in the Hackney and Leyton Sunday Football League between 1985 and 1989. *Penn Old boys - one of the longest operating Sunday club, founded in 1958 by 16 year-olds and played in the Wolverhampton & District Sunday League for 40 years until 1998. *Imperial - won a record 7 championships in the Barnet Sunday League *Marshtons Sports FC - won a record 5 championships in the Wolverhampton & District (1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996) and played in 3 Sunday Cup Finals (1990, 1992, 1997) *Riverside - won 13 championships in the Watford Sunday League (1956, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973) *Oakview - won a record 14 championships in the Watford Sunday League (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) *Evergreen - won 9 championships in the Watford Sunday League (1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1992, 1993) and played in the 1976 Sunday Cup Final *Luton St.Josephs - won 10 championships in the Watford Sunday League (1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010) and played in 6 Sunday Cup Finals (1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2020) *Monica Star FC - the only Sunday team that has fielded 4 ex-

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

players in their squad:

Lee Hendrie Lee Andrew Hendrie (born 18 May 1977) is an English former professional footballer and pundit for Sky Sports. As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Aston Villa where he spent fourteen years. He also play ...

, Paul Devlin,

Darren Byfield Darren Asherton Byfield (born 29 September 1976) is a former professional footballer. He is currently a first-team coach at Walsall. Byfield won six caps for Jamaica in 2003, and has scored 110 goals in 484 appearances across all domestic compet ...

and

Lee Carsley Lee Kevin Carsley (born 28 February 1974) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of the England national under-21 football team. In a playing career lasting 17 years, Carsley played as a midfielder in t ...

. The club was founded in 1977. *Lapton - won four promotions and also titles in a row between 2003 and 2006 in the Hackney and Leyton Sunday Football League * SE Dons - arguably the most popular Sunday club worldwide with more than 175,000 social media subscribers and international jersey sales. They play in the Orpington and Bromley District Sunday League *Caversham United FC - founded in 2015, “The Goats” play in the Reading & District Sunday League. Their progressive social media and charity work has led to their popularity spreading, with shirts now sent to over 25 countries. *Ten em Bee - founded in 1975, currently plays in the Bromley and South London Football League (formerly in the London and Kent Border League) and has produced players like

Dickson Etuhu Dickson Paul Etuhu (born 8 June 1982) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He played in the Premier League for Manchester City, Sunderland and Fulham, as well as in the Football League for Preston N ...

Joe Gomez Joseph Dave Gomez (born 23 May 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Liverpool and the England national team. Gomez began his career at Charlton Athletic, breaking into the first team at 17 and playi ...

Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English media personality and former professional footballer. Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal as a forward, spending six years with the former and seven year ...

and his son Shaun Wright-Phillips *Birstall Stamford Fc - the most successful team in Sunday league history winning 87 trophy's domestically with also getting to 4 semi finals and a final (2019) in the Sunday FA cup. They play in the Leicestershire and Charnwood Sunday league.

Notable players

Many players with professional experience before or after joining the league have played for various Sunday League clubs. Some of them were also ex-internationals.

Junior and minor

Lee Bowyer Lee David Bowyer (; born 3 January 1977) is an English football manager and former professional player. As a player, he was a midfielder who featured for Charlton Athletic, Leeds United, West Ham United (two spells), Newcastle United, Birmingha ...