The Isthmian League is a regional football league covering LondonLondon — containing the City of London — is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England and a major "world city". With over seven million inhabitants (Londoners) in the Greater London area, it is amongst the most densely populated areas in Western Europe. Founded as Londinium, the capital of the Roman province of Britannia, it later rose to become the centre of the British Empire. Today it generates over 17% of the GDP of the UK's economy, the world's fourth largest, and is a major financia...
[click for more] and South East EnglandSouth East England is one of the official regions of England. The current boundaries are shown on the map below. Until the late 1990s the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire were also included for official purposes....
[click for more]. It is more commonly known by the name of its official title sponsor as the RymanRyman is a British stationery company that for some years has been the official title sponsor of the Isthmian League....
[click for more] League, and has in previous years been variously known (in chronological order) as the Rothmans Isthmian League, Berger Isthmian League, Servowarm Isthmian League, VauxhallVauxhall Motors is the UK subsidiary of General Motors. Although originally the most significant part of the GM European operations, Vauxhall has had many ups and downs, with low periods in the mid-1970s and the late 1990s....
[click for more]-Opel League, Vauxhall League, DiadoraDiadora is an Italian clothing company that produces shoes, shirts, and other items such as backpacks and bags. Many professional athletes wear Diadora clothing - in tennis, for example, players such as Gaston Gaudio, David Sanchez and David Ferrer wear their shoes or shirts. The company also manufactures clothing for cycling and soccer. Diadora makes uniforms for PFC Levski Sofia, a Bulgarian football team, as well as Maccabi Tel Aviv, an Israeli football team, among others....
[click for more] League and ICIS League.

The league was founded in 1905, and was strongly dedicated to amateurismAmateurism is the philosophy that elevates things done without self-interest above things done for pay, especially with regard to sports. A zealously guarded ideal in the 19th century, it faced steady decline throughout the 20th century and is now held to by few organizations even if they maintain the word Amateur in their titles. The International Olympic Committee now demands of sport governing bodies that they have a lenient attitude toward professional athletes where once anyone taking money in any way ...
[click for more]. The champions did not even receive a trophy, league policy being that the honour sufficed. Teams less able to compete financially thus gravitated to it rather than the Southern LeagueThe Southern League is an English football league for semi-professional and amateur teams. For other uses, see Southern League (disambiguation). ...
[click for more], while those with ambition and money would move in the opposite direction.

Although the league established itself as one of the strongest leagues in the country, routinely providing the winners of the FA Amateur CupThe FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition. The cup was launched by The Football Association in 1893 as a response to the domination of the FA Cup by professional teams. At the time, amateur football was still very strong, although not quite as strong as the professional game. It ended in 1974 when the FA abolished the distinction between professional and amateur clubs. Two new competitions, the FA Trophy and the FA Vase were created in its place....
[click for more], it was still seen as being at a lower level than the Southern League and Northern Premier LeagueThe Northern Premier League, known in recent years as the UniBond League under a title sponsorship contract, is one of the three regional English football leagues whose champions are promoted to the Football Conference, currently called the Nationwide Conference. From now on its champions will be promoted to the Conference North division rather than the national....
[click for more] which were the top regional semi-professionalA semi-professional athlete is one that is paid money to play and are thus not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thusly making them not a full professional athlete. Semi-professional athletes and teams were far more common in the early and mid-20th century in North America than they are currently. Today there are many benefits, such as collegiate eligibility and the attendant ...
[click for more] leagues.

The league began to admit professionalism in the 1970s, although it refused to participate in the formation of the Alliance Premier League in 1979. Two Isthmian clubs, EnfieldEnfield F.C. are a football team from Enfield, London. Their traditional rivals are Barnet F.C.. Enfield are historically one of the most successful amateur clubs in England, but in recent seasons have been in freefall due to the club's decision to relocate to Borehamwood, and the formation of a rival club, Enfield Town F.C. (a situation that closely parallels the more publicized creation of AFC Wimbledon)....
[click for more] and DagenhamDagenham F.C. was an Association football club, founded in 1949. In 1992, it merged with Redbridge Forest F.C. to form Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.....
[click for more], defected to the APL in 1981 but it was not until 1985 that the Isthmian League champions were given a promotion place to the newly renamed Football ConferenceThe Football Conference is a football league at the top of the National League System of so-called non-league football in England. Conference National is the highest of the three divisions within The Football Conference, and Conference North and Conference South serve as regional feeders one step down. The Football Conference consisted of only one division up until 2004, but expanded as part of an extensive restructuring of the National League System which took effect beginning with the 2004-05 season....
[click for more].

The reward of promotion into the Conference means that, since 1985, no team has retained the title (as had happened on 22 occasions previously); however, Canvey IslandCanvey Island F.C, known as the Gulls or Yellow Army, are an English association football club founded in 1926. Based on Canvey Island in the estuary of the Thames, their ground Park Lane is a few feet below sea level and at one end ships are sometimes seen going by in a highly visible reminder of this....
[click for more] were runners-up three seasons running from 2000-01 to 2002-03, also winning the FA TrophyThe FA Trophy is an English football competition for clubs playing in the Football Conference,Southern League,Isthmian League,and Northern Premier League.Clubs at lower levels of the National League System play in the FA Vase....
[click for more] and reaching the Third Round Proper of the FA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is the main "knockout" cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association. The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world. As such its prestige as the sport's premier domestic cup competition is without par around the world. As it involves clubs of all standards playing against each other, there is great scope for "giant-killers" from the lower divisions to eliminate top clubs from the tournam...
[click for more], before finally securing the 2003-04 league title.

The name presumably commemorates the ancient Isthmian GamesThe Isthmian Games were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece, and were held at Corinth every two years. With the Nemean Games, the Isthmian Games were held both the year before and the year after the Olympic Games, while the Pythian Games were held in the third year of the Olympiad cycle. The Isthmian Games were held in honour of Poseidon, and were said to have originated around 580 BC to celebrate the death of the tyrant Kypselos. Another story states that the Games were founded by Theseus....
[click for more], named after the isthmusAn isthmus is a narrow strip of land, bordered on two sides by water, and connects two larger land masses. The term is pronounced "IS-mus" with a silent th. The plural form can either be isthmuses or isthmi. The most famous isthmus is Panama, which connects the North and South American continents. Other isthmuses include:...
[click for more] of CorinthCorinth, or Korinth (Κόρινθος) is a Greek city, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the original isthmus, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. To the west of the isthmus lies the Gulf of Corinth....
[click for more].

The league expanded over the years from six clubs in its first season, to 14 clubs in 1921-22. Over the next five decades, only a few new members were admitted, mainly to fill vacancies left by clubs leaving the league. A second division of 16 clubs was formed in 1973, and a third division was added in 1977. These divisions were renamed as Premier, First and Second divisions.

Most new Isthmian League members joined from the Athenian LeagueThe Athenian League was an English amateur football league in and around London. The league was formed in 1912 with nine clubs, but had to close down in 1914 due to the onset of World War I. When it reformed in 1920, only three of the previous teams rejoined. Clubs left and joined the league at a rate of about one a year, with a number leaving to join the Isthmian League, the strongest amateur league in the London area. Total membership remained fairly stable at between 12 and 16 clubs until 1963, when it a...
[click for more], which was similarly dedicated to amateurism. The Athenian League disbanded in 1984 when the Isthmian League Second Division split into North and South sections. These were restructured again to Second and Third divisions in 1991.

In 2002, the league was restructured again, with the First and Second Divisions merging to become First (North) and First (South), and the Third Division being renamed as the Second. In addition, the Isthmian's three feeder leagues - the Combined Counties LeagueThe Combined Counties Football League is a regional English football league comprised of teams in several counties near London. It has had a succession of title sponsors,most recently a company called Seagrave Haulage (during this period the league emblem was a moving truck on a shield with the letters SHL,for Seagrave Haulage League,superimposed) but has no such relationship at present....
[click for more], Essex Senior LeagueThe Essex Senior League is an English football league covering Essex and east London. It is a feeder to the Isthmian League. ...
[click for more] and Spartan South Midlands League - ran in parallel with the Isthmian Second, and were able to feed directly into the regional First Divisions.

In 2006 the Second Division was scrapped and the league now operates with a Premier Division and two regional First Divisions.

In 2004, The Football Association The Football Association (The FA) is the governing body of football in England (and the Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man). The FA was established in 1863 and is the oldest football association in the world. It was instrumental in formulating the rules of the modern game and has a special place in the history of the sport. It is a member of UEFA and FIFA, and holds a permanent seat on the International Football Association Board (IFAB)....
[click for more] pushed through a major restructuring of the non-league National League SystemThe National League System, otherwise known as the football pyramid, is a comprehensive league structure for football clubs in England playing below the level of the FA Premier League and The Football League. Comprising some 2,200 leagues and 40,000 clubs playing so-called non-league football, it comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association. The National League System has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, and allows even the smallest club to...
[click for more] (NLS), creating new regional divisions of the Football ConferenceThe Football Conference is a football league at the top of the National League System of so-called non-league football in England. Conference National is the highest of the three divisions within The Football Conference, and Conference North and Conference South serve as regional feeders one step down. The Football Conference consisted of only one division up until 2004, but expanded as part of an extensive restructuring of the National League System which took effect beginning with the 2004-05 season....
[click for more]. The Isthmian League was reduced back down to three divisions, and its boundaries were changed to remove the overlap with the Southern LeagueThe Southern League is an English football league for semi-professional and amateur teams. For other uses, see Southern League (disambiguation). ...
[click for more].

Further reorganisation saw a reversion to two regional First Divisions, North and South, and the disbandment of the Second Division, in 2006.

There is a league cup, open to teams of all divisions, until recently sponsored by Bryco and now by Westview.

One team, Clapton F.C.Clapton F.C. are an English association football club who have been in the Isthmian League since it was established. Champions twice in the early years, they have been in the lower reaches of the league since WWII, and are currently in the Second Division....
[click for more], had been ever-present in the Isthmian League since its foundation, but they moved to the Essex Senior LeagueThe Essex Senior League is an English football league covering Essex and east London. It is a feeder to the Isthmian League. ...
[click for more] for the 2006-07 season.

In February 2007, the league caused controversy when they deducted AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is a semi-professional English football team representing the area of Wimbledon and Merton in London, though they currently play their games in nearby Kingston upon Thames. They spent their first seasons in the Premier Division of the Seagrave Haulage Combined Counties League but have been promoted to the Isthmian League First Division for the 2004/2005 season after winning the CCL championship with seven games left to play with a 0-3 away victory at Walton Casuals on April 13, 2004. On April...
[click for more] 18 points for fielding an ineligible player in 11 league games.^[1] However, on March 26, the F.A cut the punishment down to three points and £400, admitting themselves that the penalty imposed was "excessive".^[2]

Here is a complete list of Isthmian League champions, throughout the league's history.

For the 1974-75 season, Division One was added.

For the 1977-78 season, Division Two was added.

For the 1984-85 season, Division Two was reorganised into North and South regions.

For the 1991-92 season, Division Two North and South were merged and Division Three was added.

For the 2002-03 season, Division One was reorganised into North and South regions and Division Three became Division Two.

For the 2002-03 season, Division Two was disbanded and Division One North and South were merged into new Divisions One and Two.

For the 2006-07 season, Divisions One and Two was reorganised into Division One North and South regions.

• The Isthmian League