2020–21 Eastern Counties Football League

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Eastern Counties Football League
Season2020–21

The 2020–21 Eastern Counties Football League, also known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship reasons, was the 78th season in the history of the Eastern Counties Football League, a football competition in England. Teams were divided into three divisions, the Premier Division at Step 5, and the geographically separated Division One North and Division One South (Eastern Senior League), both at Step 6 of the English football league system.

The allocations for Steps 5 and 6 for season 2020–21 were announced by the FA on 21 July,[1] and were subject to appeal.

The 2020–21 season started in September and was suspended in December a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The league season was subsequently abandoned.[2]

Promotions, relegation and restructure[]

The scheduled restructure of non-League took place at the end of the season, with new divisions added to the Combined Counties and the United Counties League at step 5 for 2021-22, along with new a division in the Northern Premier League at step 4.[3] Promotions from steps 5 to 4 and 6 to 5 were based on points per game across all matches over the two cancelled seasons (2019-20 and 2020-21), while teams were promoted to step 6 on the basis of a subjective application process.[3]

Premier Division[]

Eastern Counties League Premier Division
Season2020–21
ChampionsNone
PromotedStowmarket Town
RelegatedNone

The Premier Division comprised the same set of 20 teams which competed in the aborted competition the previous season.

Premier Division table[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification
1 Wroxham 10 10 0 0 28 8 +20 30
2 Norwich United 11 9 2 0 24 9 +15 29
3 Brantham Athletic 11 6 4 1 21 13 +8 22
4 Walsham-le-Willows 12 6 3 3 30 21 +9 21
5 Ely City 12 5 5 2 12 8 +4 20
6 Kirkley & Pakefield 11 6 1 4 21 23 −2 19
7 Stanway Rovers 12 4 4 4 25 17 +8 16 Transfer to the Essex Senior League
8 Hadleigh United 11 4 4 3 16 14 +2 16
9 Mildenhall Town 8 4 3 1 19 10 +9 15
10 FC Clacton 10 4 3 3 22 16 +6 15 Transfer to the Essex Senior League
11 Stowmarket Town (P) 7 4 3 0 10 5 +5 15 Promotion to the Isthmian League North Division
12 Gorleston 10 5 0 5 16 20 −4 15
13 Newmarket Town 10 3 1 6 16 22 −6 10
14 Swaffham Town 13 3 1 9 16 27 −11 10
15 Whitton United 9 3 0 6 17 22 −5 9
16 Godmanchester Rovers 12 2 3 7 14 22 −8 9 Transfer to the United Counties League
17 Woodbridge Town 11 2 2 7 16 22 −6 8
18 Haverhill Rovers 11 2 1 8 19 28 −9 7
19 Long Melford 8 1 2 5 12 19 −7 5
20 Thetford Town 11 1 0 10 6 24 −18 3
Source: FA Full-Time
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Number of matches won; 5) Head-to-head results[4]
(P) Promoted


Division One North[]

Eastern Counties League Division One North
Season2020–21
ChampionsNone
PromotedFakenham Town
March Town United
Lakenheath
Mulbarton Wanderers
RelegatedNone

Division One North comprised 19 teams, one less than in the previous season, following the resignation of Felixstowe & Walton United Reserves.

Division One North table[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification
1 Fakenham Town (P) 11 9 2 0 34 8 +26 29 Promotion to the Eastern Counties Premier
2 Ipswich Wanderers 10 9 1 0 33 9 +24 28 Transfer to the Eastern Counties One South
3 March Town United (P) 11 9 0 2 32 11 +21 27 Promotion to the Eastern Counties Premier
4 Lakenheath (P) 10 7 1 2 30 12 +18 22
5 Sheringham 13 6 3 4 32 26 +6 21
6 Leiston Reserves 10 7 0 3 22 20 +2 21
7 Great Yarmouth Town 13 6 1 6 25 27 −2 19
8 Mulbarton Wanderers (P) 10 5 3 2 27 7 +20 18 Promotion to the Eastern Counties Premier
9 Downham Town 11 6 0 5 24 19 +5 18
10 Diss Town 12 4 3 5 27 27 0 15
11 Framlingham Town 11 4 1 6 26 29 −3 13
12 Needham Market Reserves 12 4 1 7 24 34 −10 13
13 King's Lynn Town Reserves 11 4 0 7 28 32 −4 12 Withdrawal after the season
14 Cornard United 12 3 2 7 20 28 −8 11 Transfer to the Eastern Counties One South
15 AFC Sudbury Reserves 10 3 2 5 15 27 −12 11
16 Debenham LC 10 3 1 6 12 21 −9 10
17 Norwich CBS 10 1 6 3 19 18 +1 9
18 Haverhill Borough 11 1 1 9 7 27 −20 4 Transfer to the Eastern Counties One South
19 Wisbech St Mary 14 1 0 13 16 71 −55 3
Source: FA Full-Time
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Number of matches won; 5) Head-to-head results[4]
(P) Promoted

Division One South (Eastern Senior League)[]

Eastern Counties League Division One South
(Eastern Senior League)
Season2020–21
ChampionsNone
PromotedAthletic Newham
White Ensign
Little Oakley
RelegatedNone

Division One South comprised 17 teams, one less than those competing at the time the previous season was aborted. There were two departures:

  • Brightlingsea Regent Reserves resigned at the end of the season
  • Fire United, who resigned prior to the 2020–21 season[5]

and one arrival:

In addition, Hackney Wick were relocated to the Spartan South Midlands League, but this relocation was reversed. On 27 August 2020, Lopes Tavares announced the renaming of the club to Athletic Newham.[6]

Division One South table[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1 Newbury Forest 10 7 1 2 21 16 +5 22
2 Athletic Newham (P) 12 5 6 1 20 13 +7 21 Promotion to the Essex Senior League
3 White Ensign (P) 10 6 2 2 22 14 +8 20
4 Wivenhoe Town 11 6 1 4 20 14 +6 19
5 Little Oakley (P) 8 6 0 2 23 12 +11 18 Promotion to the Essex Senior League
6 Frenford 11 5 2 4 22 14 +8 17
7 Wormley Rovers 10 5 2 3 17 14 +3 17
8 Benfleet 10 5 2 3 25 26 −1 17
9 Coggeshall United 11 4 3 4 14 14 0 15
10 Barkingside 9 4 1 4 12 12 0 13
11 Hackney Wick 14 3 4 7 23 30 −7 13
12 Burnham Ramblers 10 3 2 5 18 21 −3 11
13 Halstead Town 9 2 3 4 21 17 +4 9
14 Holland 7 1 3 3 8 12 −4 6
15 Harwich & Parkeston 11 0 5 6 10 20 −10 5
16 Brimsdown 10 1 2 7 17 40 −23 5
17 May & Baker 5 1 1 3 8 12 −4 4
Source: FA Full-Time
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Number of matches won; 5) Head-to-head results[4]
(P) Promoted

References[]

  1. ^ "National League System club allocations – Steps 5–6, Season 2020–21" (PDF). Non League Paper. 21 July 2020.
  2. ^ "FA Update On Steps 3-6". 24 February 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b "EXPLAINED: The 2021-22 Non-League restructure". The Non-League Paper. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "The FA Handbook 2020/2021 Part 29 Standardised Rules Section 12.2". The FA. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  5. ^ Eastern Counties Football League [@ThurlowNunnL] (27 August 2020). "Early season fixtures for the Thurlow Nunn League are now viewable on the FA's Full Time System. The fixtures do not include Fire United, who will not be taking their place in the league this season" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Athletic Newham F.C. [@Athleticnewham] (27 August 2020). "It is with great pride that we officially announce our new club name 'ATHLETIC NEWHAM FC' and also reveal our new club badge. Through sports we will focus on the wellbeing of the Newham community. We hope to get the support of the community as we aim to continuously develop" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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