Isles of Scilly Football League

The Isles of Scilly Football League is the official football league for the Isles of Scilly. The football league is the smallest in the world,[1][2] with only two clubs.[3]

Isles of Scilly Football League
Founded1920s
CountryUnited Kingdom (Cornwall, England)
Divisions1
Number of teams2
Domestic cup(s)Wholesalers Cup
Foredeck Cup
Current championsWoolpack Wanderers
Most championshipsWoolpack Wanderers

The league is affiliated with The Football Association.[1]

History

In the 1920s, the Lyonnesse Inter-Island Cup, a competition between the islands of St. Mary's, Tresco, St. Martins, Bryher and St. Agnes, was formed. By the 1950s, only two clubs remained - the Rangers and the Rovers. In 1984 the two clubs changed their names to the Garrison Gunners and the Woolpack Wanderers, which are their current names.[1][2]

The League is attempting to get into the Guinness World Records for the smallest league in the world.[1]

In April 2008, Adidas ran an advertisement called "Dream Big", highlighting the league, featuring several well-known football personnel including David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Patrick Vieira.[4]

Competition structure
Game in progress between the two teams - the Garrison Gunners in yellow, and the Woolpack Wanderers in red.

The League competition involves the Woolpack Wanderers and the Garrison Gunners playing each other seventeen times, often on a Sunday. There also exist two Cups: The Wholesalers Cup and the Foredeck Cup, which is played over two legs. An "Old Men versus the Youngsters" match is played on Boxing Day. The season itself starts with the Charity Shield.[1] All the matches are played on the Garrison football field, on the island of St. Mary's.[5]

The league is played during the winter, from mid-November until the end of March.[1][6]

Occasionally, a combined Scilly Isles team play Newlyn Non Athletico, a team at level 14 of the English football league system. A team from Truro visits annually to play against a combined team.[5]

Honours

The Woolpack Wanderers have won the Charity Cup 5 times - in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. In addition, they have won the Lioness Shield twice - in 2006 and 2007.[7]

The Garrison Gunners have won the Lioness Shield once, in 2005.[7]

Concerns

The Isles of Scilly are struggling to hold on to their young people. There is no sixth form on the Isles so when youngsters turn 16, they go to the mainland. In addition, house prices are expensive, so they tend not to return until much older. As a result, the number of players in the league is dwindling. In 2008 Howard Cole, a secretary who referees the games, estimated the average age of both teams to be within the mid- to late-30s.[5]

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References
  1. "WSL About Us". worldssmallestleague.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-09-28. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  2. Booth, Lawrence (2004-05-12). "Is third really a bad omen?". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  3. Smith, Rory (21 December 2016). "Welcome to the World's Smallest Soccer League. Both Teams Are Here". The New York Times.
  4. Sweney, Mark (2008-04-21). "Adidas stars visit football's minnows". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  5. Morris, Steven (2008-11-20). "The league that can field only two teams for the game of two halves". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
  6. "WSL Fixtures". worldssmallestleague.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-11-02. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
  7. "WSL Trophy Room". worldssmallestleague.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2008-09-28. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
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