The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player registration as well as promoting development amongst those bodies and referees.

There are currently 50 county FAs. Most county FAs align roughly along historic county boundaries, although some cover more than one county, and some of the major cities, particularly those with a strong football tradition, have their own FAs. The Sheffield FA was the first to be created, in 1867. Additionally, the three branches of the British Armed Forces, as well as the Amateur Football Alliance, which has a strong presence in the south-east of England, are listed as having their own County FAs not corresponding to geography.

County football associations host 'county cups' – knockout cup competitions held at a sub-regional level, which are open to affiliated members of the county FA. Typically, county FAs will host cup competitions at the following levels: senior, intermediate, junior, women's, veterans, senior Sunday football, intermediate Sunday football and junior Sunday football.

List of county FAs

AssociationAreaFoundedMain county cup
Amateur Football Alliance1907AFA Senior Cup
Army1888Army FA Challenge Cup
BedfordshireBedfordshire1894Bedfordshire Senior Cup
Berks & BucksBerkshire Buckinghamshire1878Berks & Bucks Senior Cup
BirminghamBlack Country (within 30 miles of Stevenson Place, Birmingham) Warwickshire1875Birmingham Senior Cup
CambridgeshireCambridgeshire1884Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup
CheshireCheshire1878Cheshire Senior Cup
CornwallCornwall1889Cornwall Senior Cup
CumberlandCumberland1885Cumberland Senior Cup
DerbyshireDerbyshire1883Derbyshire Senior Cup
DevonDevon1887Devon St Lukes Cup
DorsetDorset1887Dorset Senior Cup
DurhamCounty Durham1883Durham Challenge Cup
EssexEssex1882Essex Senior Cup
GloucestershireGloucestershire1886Gloucestershire Senior Cup
GuernseyGuernsey1893Guernsey FA Cup
HampshireHampshire1887Hampshire Senior Cup
HerefordshireHerefordshire1893Herefordshire Senior Cup
HertfordshireHertfordshire1885Herts Senior Cup
HuntingdonshireHuntingdonshire1894Huntingdonshire Senior Cup
Isle of ManIsle of Man1890Isle of Man FA Cup
JerseyJersey1905Le Riche Cup
KentKent1881Kent Senior Cup
LancashireLancashire1878Lancashire Senior Cup
Leicestershire & RutlandLeicestershire Rutland1887Leicestershire and Rutland Senior Cup
LincolnshireLincolnshire1881Lincolnshire Senior Cup
LiverpoolMerseyside 18 mile radius / 8 miles on the Wirral from Liverpool Town Hall1882Liverpool Senior Cup
LondonGreater London (within 12 miles of Charing Cross)1882London Senior Cup
ManchesterGreater Manchester (within 12 miles of Manchester Town Hall in historic Lancashire)1884Manchester Senior Cup
MiddlesexMiddlesex1883Middlesex Senior Cup
NorfolkNorfolk1881Norfolk Senior Cup
NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire1887Northamptonshire Senior Cup
NorthumberlandNorthumberland1882Northumberland Senior Cup
NottinghamshireNottinghamshire1882Nottinghamshire Senior Cup
OxfordshireOxfordshire1884Oxfordshire Senior Cup
Royal Air Force1920RAF Challenge Cup
Royal Navy1904Royal Navy Cup
ShropshireShropshire1877Shropshire Senior Cup
SomersetSomerset1885Somerset Premier Cup
StaffordshireStaffordshire1877Staffordshire Senior Cup
SuffolkSuffolk1885Suffolk Senior Cup
SurreySurrey1882Surrey Senior Cup
SussexSussex1882Sussex Senior Challenge Cup
WestmorlandWestmorland1897Westmorland Senior Challenge Cup
WiltshireWiltshire1884Wiltshire County FA Senior Cup
WorcestershireWorcestershire1893Worcestershire Senior Cup
East RidingEast Riding of Yorkshire1902East Riding Senior Cup
North RidingNorth Riding of Yorkshire1881North Riding Senior Cup
Sheffield and Hallamshire20 mile radius from Sheffield Cathedral1867Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior Cup
West RidingWest Riding of Yorkshire (except within 20 miles of Sheffield Cathedral)1896West Riding County Cup

Other FAs with equivalent status

There are an additional five recognised bodies that have representation on the FA Council on the same level as County FAs.

AssociationFounded
Cambridge University1856
English Schools1904
Independent Schools1960s
Oxford University1872
Women's Football Conference1983

See also

External links

  • at The FA official website
  • , Premier League (archived 11 June 2014).