2002–03 Southern Football League

The 2002–03 Southern Football League season was the 100th in the history of the league, an English football competition.

Tamworth won the Premier Division and earned promotion to the Football Conference for the first time. Halesowen Town, Hastings United, Ilkeston Town and Folkestone Invicta were relegated from the Premier Division, whilst Dorchester Town, Merthyr Tydfil, Eastbourne Borough and Weston-super-Mare were promoted from the Eastern and Western Divisions, the former two as champions. Spalding United, St Leonards, Rocester and Racing Club Warwick were all relegated to the eighth level.

Premier Division

The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from the previous season and five new clubs:

  • Two clubs promoted from the Eastern Division:
    • Hastings Town, who also changed name to Hastings United
    • Grantham Town

League table
Southern Football League
Premier Division
Season2002–03
ChampionsTamworth
PromotedTamworth
RelegatedFolkestone Invicta
Halesowen Town
Hastings United
Ilkeston Town
Matches played462
Goals scored1,257 (2.72 per match)
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Tamworth 42 26 10 6 73 32 +41 88 Promoted to the Football Conference
2 Stafford Rangers 42 21 12 9 76 40 +36 75
3 Dover Athletic 42 19 14 9 42 35 +7 71
4 Tiverton Town 42 19 12 11 60 43 +17 69
5 Chippenham Town 42 17 17 8 59 37 +22 68
6 Worcester City 42 18 13 11 60 39 +21 67
7 Crawley Town 42 17 13 12 64 51 +13 64
8 Havant & Waterlooville 42 15 15 12 67 64 +3 60
9 Chelmsford City 42 15 12 15 65 63 +2 57
10 Newport County 42 15 11 16 53 52 +1 56
11 Hednesford Town 42 14 13 15 59 60 −1 55
12 Moor Green 42 13 14 15 49 58 −9 53
13 Hinckley United 42 12 16 14 61 64 −3 52
14 Bath City 42 13 13 16 50 61 −11 52
15 Welling United 42 13 12 17 55 58 −3 51
16 Grantham Town 42 14 9 19 59 65 −6 51
17 Weymouth 42 12 15 15 44 62 −18 51
18 Cambridge City 42 13 10 19 54 56 −2 49
19 Halesowen Town 42 12 13 17 52 63 −11 49 Relegated to the Western Division
20 Hastings United 42 10 13 19 44 57 −13 43 Relegated to the Eastern Division
21 Ilkeston Town 42 10 10 22 54 92 −38 40 Relegated to the Western Division
22 Folkestone Invicta 42 7 7 28 57 105 −48 28 Relegated to the Eastern Division
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Eastern Division

The Eastern Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from the previous season and four new clubs:

League table
Southern Football League
Eastern Division
Season2002–03
ChampionsDorchester Town
PromotedDorchester Town
Eastbourne Borough
RelegatedSpalding United
St. Leonards
Matches played462
Goals scored1,497 (3.24 per match)
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Dorchester Town 42 28 9 5 114 40 +74 93 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Eastbourne Borough 42 29 6 7 92 33 +59 93
3 Stamford 42 27 6 9 80 39 +41 87
4 Salisbury City 42 27 8 7 81 42 +39 86[lower-alpha 1]
5 Bashley 42 23 12 7 90 44 +46 81
6 King's Lynn 42 24 7 11 98 62 +36 79
7 Rothwell Town 42 22 10 10 77 52 +25 76
8 Banbury United 42 21 11 10 75 50 +25 74
9 Tonbridge Angels 42 20 11 11 71 55 +16 71
10 Histon 42 20 7 15 99 62 +37 67
11 Ashford Town (Kent) 42 18 9 15 63 57 +6 63
12 Sittingbourne 42 15 8 19 57 69 −12 53
13 Burnham 42 15 7 20 62 79 −17 52
14 Fisher Athletic 42 15 5 22 57 80 −23 50
15 Chatham Town 42 14 5 23 54 84 −30 47
16 Newport (Isle of Wight) 42 12 6 24 53 87 −34 42
17 Dartford 42 11 8 23 48 78 −30 41
18 Erith & Belvedere 42 11 6 25 65 96 −31 39
19 Corby Town 42 9 11 22 49 84 −35 38
20 Fleet Town 42 8 8 26 34 80 −46 32
21 Spalding United 42 4 6 32 40 108 −68 18 Relegated to the United Counties League
22 St. Leonards 42 4 4 34 38 116 −78 16 Relegated to the Sussex County League
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. Salisbury City were deducted three points.

Western Division

The Western Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from the previous season and four new clubs:

League table
Southern Football League
Western Division
Season2002–03
ChampionsMerthyr Tydfil
PromotedMerthyr Tydfil
Weston-super-Mare
RelegatedRacing Club Warwick
Rocester
Matches played462
Goals scored1,382 (2.99 per match)
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Merthyr Tydfil 42 28 8 6 78 32 +46 92 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Weston-super-Mare 42 26 7 9 77 42 +35 85
3 Bromsgrove Rovers 42 23 7 12 73 41 +32 76
4 Solihull Borough 42 21 13 8 77 48 +29 76
5 Gloucester City 42 22 9 11 87 58 +29 75
6 Mangotsfield United 42 21 10 11 106 53 +53 73
7 Redditch United 42 22 6 14 76 42 +34 72
8 Rugby United 42 20 9 13 58 43 +15 69
9 Gresley Rovers 42 19 10 13 63 54 +9 67
10 Taunton Town 42 20 7 15 76 78 −2 67
11 Sutton Coldfield Town 42 18 10 14 63 53 +10 64
12 Evesham United 42 19 6 17 76 72 +4 63
13 Clevedon Town 42 14 13 15 54 60 −6 55
14 Cirencester Town 42 15 7 20 62 82 −20 52
15 Cinderford Town 42 13 12 17 50 67 −17 51
16 Shepshed Dynamo 42 12 6 24 48 76 −28 42
17 Stourport Swifts 42 10 11 21 48 66 −18 41
18 Bedworth United 42 11 7 24 46 74 −28 40
19 Swindon Supermarine 42 11 5 26 52 85 −33 38
20 Atherstone United 42 9 10 23 45 78 −33 37
21 Rocester 42 9 10 23 34 74 −40 37 Relegated to the Midland Alliance
22 Racing Club Warwick 42 3 9 30 33 104 −71 18
Source: fchd.com rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
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See also

References
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