List of former English Football League clubs

Boston United were relegated from the Football League after a 3–1 defeat to Wrexham on the final day of the 2006–07 season, ending a four-year spell in the league.

The Football League comprises professional football clubs from England and Wales. It was established in 1888 and in 1892 the Second Division was formed, with the existing division being renamed the First Division. The First World War caused the league to be postponed from 1915 to 1919 and two seasons following its resumption a Third Division was introduced for one season, before being regionalised as North and South. The 1958–59 season saw the introduction of a Fourth Division, with the top 12 clubs from the Third Division North and South from the previous season starting in a national Third Division, and the bottom 12 starting in the Fourth Division. The introduction of the Premier League, which superseded the First Division as the top-flight of English football, caused a reorganisation of the English football league system in 1992, with the Fourth Division being disbanded. The First Division, Second Division and Third Division were rebranded as the Championship, League One and League Two respectively ahead of the 2004–05 season, which came as part of a sponsorship with Coca-Cola.

From the 1986–87 season, the club finishing bottom of the Football League's basement division was relegated to the Conference National, the highest level of non-league football, depending on the ability of the Conference champions to meet FA requirements. Before this, clubs would lose their league status by failing to gain re-election after finishing in the bottom four of the bottom division. Since the 2002–03 season, the bottom two clubs of League Two face relegation to the Conference.

The list includes clubs that are current members of the Premier League, who lost their Football League status upon promotion, and those which lost their status by other means. This includes clubs which have become defunct, merged with another club or have been relegated to a lower position in the pyramid.

Clubs

The tables show the first and last seasons in which each club competed in the league. Some clubs' membership was intermittent between their first and last seasons. Clubs shown in bold were among the founder members of the league. As of 2008 the only founder member clubs still playing in the league are Preston North End, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County and Notts County.

Current members of the Premier League (2008–09)

Club	First league season	Last league season	Ref
Arsenal	1893–94	1991–92
Aston Villa	1888–89	1991–92
Blackburn Rovers	1888–89	2000–01
Bolton Wanderers	1888–89	2000–01
Chelsea	1905–06	1991–92
Everton	1888–89	1991–92
Fulham	1907–08	2000–01
Hull City	1905–06	2007–08
Liverpool	1893–94	1991–92
Manchester City	1892–93	2001–02
Manchester United	1892–93	1991–92
Middlesbrough	1899–1900	1997–98
Newcastle United	1893–94	1992–93
Portsmouth	1920–21	2002–03
Stoke City	1888–89	2007–08
Sunderland	1890–91	2006–07
Tottenham Hotspur	1908–09	1991–92
West Bromwich Albion	1888–89	2007–08
West Ham United	1919–20	2004–05
Wigan Athletic	1978–79	2004–05

Other former member clubs

Club	First league season	Last league season	Reason	Current status	Ref(s)
Aberdare Athletic	1921–22	1926–27	Not re-elected	Defunct
Accrington	1888–89	1892–93	Resigned	Defunct
Accrington Stanley	1921–22	1961–62	Resigned	Defunct, Accrington Stanley later formed and are playing in Football League Two
Aldershot	1932–33	1991–92[A]	Liquidated	Defunct, Aldershot Town later formed and are playing in Football League Two
Ashington	1921–22	1928–29	Not re-elected	Playing in the Northern League Division One
Barrow	1921–22	1971–72	Not re-elected	Playing in the Conference National
Bootle	1892–93	1892–93	Resigned	Playing in the North West Counties Football League Division One
Boston United	2002–03	2006–07	Relegated	Playing in the Northern Premier League Premier Division
Bradford Park Avenue	1908–09	1969–70	Not re-elected	Playing in the Northern Premier League Premier Division
Burton Swifts	1892–93	1900–01	Merged with Burton Wanderers to form Burton United	Defunct
Burton United	1901–02	1906–07	Not re-elected	Defunct
Burton Wanderers	1894–95	1896–97	Not re-elected; later merged with Burton Swifts to form Burton United	Defunct
Cambridge United	1970–71	2004–05	Relegated	Playing in the Conference National
Darwen	1891–92	1898–99	Not re-elected	Playing in the North West Counties Football League Division One
Durham City	1921–22	1927–28	Not re-elected	Playing in the Northern Premier League Division One North
Gainsborough Trinity	1896–97	1911–12	Not re-elected	Playing in the Conference North
Gateshead	1930–31	1959–60	Not re-elected	Defunct, Gateshead later formed and are playing in the Conference North
Glossop	1898–99	1914–15	Not re-elected	Playing in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division
Halifax Town	1921–22	2001–02	Relegated	Playing in the Northern Premier League Division One North
Kidderminster Harriers	2000–01	2004–05	Relegated	Playing in the Conference National
Leeds City	1905–06	1919–20[B]	Resigned	Defunct
Loughborough Town	1895–96	1899–1900	Not re-elected	Defunct
Maidstone United	1989–90	1991–92[C]	Liquidated	Defunct, revived version of the club playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division
Mansfield Town	1931–32	2007–08	Relegated	Playing in the Conference National
Merthyr Town	1920–21	1929–30	Not re-elected	Defunct
Middlesbrough Ironopolis	1893–94	1893–94	Resigned	Defunct
Nelson	1921–22	1930–31	Not re-elected	Playing in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division
New Brighton	1923–24	1950–51	Not re-elected	Playing in the West Cheshire Amateur Football League Division One
New Brighton Tower	1898–99	1900–01	Liquidated	Defunct
Newport County	1920–21	1987–88	Relegated	Defunct, revived version of the club playing in the Conference South
Northwich Victoria	1892–93	1893–94	Resigned	Playing in the Conference National
Oxford United	1962–63	2005–06	Relegated	Playing in the Conference National
Rotherham County	1919–20	1924–25	Merged with Rotherham Town to form Rotherham United	Defunct
Rotherham Town	1893–94	1895–96	Merged with Rotherham County to form Rotherham United	Defunct
Rushden & Diamonds	2001–02	2005–06	Relegated	Playing in the Conference National
Scarborough	1987–88	1998–99	Relegated	Defunct
South Shields	1919–20	1929–30	Relocated and became Gateshead	Defunct
Southport	1921–22	1977–78	Not re-elected	Playing in the Conference North
Stalybridge Celtic	1921–22	1922–23	Resigned	Playing in the Conference North
Thames	1930–31	1931–32	Not re-elected	Defunct
Torquay United	1927–28	2006–07	Relegated	Playing in the Conference National
Wigan Borough	1921–22	1930–31	Resigned	Defunct
Wimbledon	1977–78	2003–04	Relocated and became Milton Keynes Dons, with AFC Wimbledon formed in protest to this	Defunct
Workington	1951–52	1976–77	Not re-elected	Playing in the Conference North
Wrexham	1921–22	2007–08	Relegated	Playing in the Conference National
York City	1929–30	2003–04	Relegated	Playing in the Conference National

See also

• List of former Scottish Football League clubs
• Timeline of English football

Footnotes

A. ^A Aldershot resigned during the 1991–92 season and the club's record was expunged from the table.

B. ^B Leeds City resigned during the 1919–20 season and the club's record was expunged from the table.

C. ^C Maidstone United were included in the fixtures for the 1992–93 season but folded after postponing their first match.

References

General

• "footballsite.co.uk". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved August 22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

Specific