Football Alliance
The Football Alliance was between 1889 and 1892 a football league in rivalry with the English professional league Football League .
As a reaction to the Football League, which emerged at the beginning of the 1888/89 season, the Football Alliance was created in 1889 with - like its competitor - twelve member clubs. The Alliance covered a similar area as the Football League from the Midlands to the north-west of England . In addition, with the clubs from Sheffield , Grimsby and Sunderland , clubs a little further east were part of this league. With The Wednesday a predecessor club of today's Sheffield Wednesday was the first champions of the Football Alliance.
After the end of the first season, the Alliance took in 1890 with FC Stoke on the relegated from the Football League. When the Football League increased its capacity from twelve to 14 clubs in the 1891/92 season, two Alliance clubs, Stoke and Darwen FC , benefited from this increase.
In 1892 it was formally decided to merge the Football Alliance with the Football League, with the simultaneous aim of establishing a second-rate Football League Second Division , the participants of which consisted primarily of clubs from the former Football Alliance. The previous clubs from the Football League also formed - with the exception of relegated FC Darwen, who had to compete in the new Second Division - together with the three best Alliance clubs, the Football League First Division, which now consists of 16 teams .
Football Alliance participant
- AFC Ardwick (1891-1892)
- Birmingham St. George's (1889-1892)
- FC Bootle (1889-1892)
- Burton Swifts (1891-1892)
- Crewe Alexandra (1889-1892)
- FC Darwen (1889-1891)
- Grimsby Town (1889-1892)
- Lincoln City (1891-1892)
- Long Eaton Rangers (1889-1890)
- Newton Heath (1889-1892)
- Nottingham Forest (1889-1892)
- The Wednesday (1889-1892)
- Small Heath (1889-1892)
- FC Stoke (1890-1891)
- Sunderland Albion (1889-1891)
- Walsall Town Swifts (1889-1892)
Football Alliance winner
| year | master |
|---|---|
| 1890 | The Wednesday |
| 1891 | FC Stoke |
| 1892 | Nottingham Forest |