2023–24 United Counties League

United Counties League
Division One
Season	2023–24
Champions	Bourne Town
Promoted	Bourne Town; Harrowby United; Newark Town
Relegated	Asfordby
Top goalscorer	Jack Thatcher; (Dunkirk); (38 goals)
Biggest home win	Bourne Town 8–0 Clifton All Whites (6 April 2024); Kirby Muxloe 8–0 Clifton All Whites (9 December 2023);
Biggest away win	Sandiacre Town 1–7 Kirby Muxloe; (29 July 2023)
Highest scoring	Bourne Town 8–0 Clifton All Whites (6 April 2024); Rainworth Miners Welfare 6–2 Sandiacre Town (19 March 2024); Kirby Muxloe 6–2 West Bridgford (2 March 2024); Kirby Muxloe 3–5 Radford (16 December 2023); Kirby Muxloe 8–0 Clifton All Whites (9 December 2023); Clipstone 4–4 Radford (1 November 2023); Bourne Town 7–1 Holwell Sports (4 October 2023); Clipstone 7–1 Kirby Muxloe (30 September 2023); Rainworth Miners Welfare 2–6 Newark Town (22 August 2023); Sandiacre Town 1–7 Kirby Muxloe (29 July 2023);
	← 2022–23 2024–25 →

United Counties League
Premier Division South
Season	2023–24
Champions	Wellingborough Town
Promoted	Wellingborough Town; Racing Club Warwick
Relegated	Desborough Town
Matches played	380
Top goalscorer	Leon Lobjoit; (Daventry Town); Nehemiah Richard-Noel; (Wellingborough Town); (25 goals)
Biggest home win	Daventry Town 7–0 GNG Oadby Town; (15 August 2023)
Biggest away win	Coventry United 0–6 St Neots Town (13 January 2024); GNG Oadby Town 0–6 Newport Pagnell Town (26 August 2023);
Highest scoring	Racing Club Warwick 8–2 Bugbrooke St Michaels (9 December 2023); Aylestone Park 5–5 Rugby Borough (28 October 2023);
	← 2022–23 2024–25 →

United Counties League
Premier Division North
Season	2023–24
Champions	Sherwood Colliery
Promoted	Sherwood Colliery; Loughborough Students
Relegated	Pinchbeck United
Matches played	306
Top goalscorer	Craig Westcarr (27)
Biggest home win	AFC Mansfield 8–0 Pinchbeck United; (30 September 2023)
Biggest away win	Pinchbeck United 0–11 Loughborough Students; (9 September 2023)
Highest scoring	Pinchbeck United 0–11 Loughborough Students; (9 September 2023)
	← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 season was the 117th in the history of the United Counties League, a football competition in England. The United Counties League operates three divisions in the English football league system, the Premier Divisions North and South at Step 5 and Division One at Step 6.

The allocations for Steps 5 and 6 this season were announced by The Football Association on 15 May 2023.^[1] Starting this season, the two Step 5 divisions in the league promote two clubs each; one as champions and one via a four-team play-off. This replaced the previous inter-step play-off system. For this season only, there was only one club relegated from each of the two premier divisions.^[2]

Premier Division North

The Premier Division North featured 15 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with three new clubs:

Ashby Ivanhoe, promoted from the Midland League
Hucknall Town, promoted from Division One
Lincoln United, relegated from the Northern Premier League

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Sherwood Colliery (C, P)	34	26	6	2	97	18	+79	84	Promoted to the Northern Premier League
2	Lincoln United	34	24	1	9	67	35	+32	73	Qualified for the play-offs
3	Loughborough Students (O, P)	34	21	7	6	83	32	+51	70
4	Melton Town	34	21	3	10	74	40	+34	66
5	Skegness Town	34	15	9	10	50	41	+9	54
6	Sleaford Town	34	17	2	15	44	48	−4	53
7	Boston Town	34	15	7	12	48	38	+10	52
8	Eastwood	34	14	8	12	56	58	−2	50
9	Deeping Rangers	34	13	8	13	54	43	+11	47
10	Heanor Town	34	14	6	14	65	67	−2	45^[a]
11	Ashby Ivanhoe	34	13	3	18	63	66	−3	42
12	Newark and Sherwood United	34	11	9	14	51	55	−4	42
13	Belper United	34	11	8	15	48	67	−19	41
14	Kimberley Miners Welfare	34	10	5	19	40	59	−19	35
15	Wisbech Town	34	8	10	16	52	62	−10	34
16	AFC Mansfield	34	9	4	21	50	87	−37	31
17	Hucknall Town	34	4	9	21	32	74	−42	21
18	Pinchbeck United (R)	34	6	3	25	29	113	−84	21	Relegated to the Eastern Counties League

Source: The FA Full-Time
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results^[3]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ Heanor Town were deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player against Pinchbeck United on 4 November 2023.

Play-offs

Semi-finals			Final

2	Lincoln United	1

5	Skegness Town	3
			3	Loughborough Students	7

			5	Skegness Town	0
3	Loughborough Students	1

4	Melton Town	0

Semifinals

20 April	Loughborough Students	1–0	Melton Town	Loughborough
15:00	Bangura 78'	Report		Stadium: Loughborough University Stadium Attendance: 265 Referee: Paul Mcvey

20 April	Lincoln United	1–3	Skegness Town	Lincoln
15:00	Wright 41'	Report	Wressell 16' Floyd 84' Acar 88'	Stadium: Ashby Avenue Attendance: 251 Referee: Brian O'Sullivan

Final

27 April	Loughborough Students	7–0	Skegness Town	Loughborough
15:00	Edwards 7' Spiteri 11' O'Toole 13' Wicks 15' Bangura 45+2' Morales 80' Thew 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Loughborough University Stadium Attendance: 672 Referee: Ryan Haynes

Stadia and locations

Club	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Ashby Ivanhoe	Ashby-de-la-Zouch	NFU Sports Ground
Belper United	Eastwood	Coronation Park
Eastwood	Eastwood	Coronation Park
Boston Town	Boston	Tattershall Road	6,000
Deeping Rangers	Market Deeping	Haydon Whitham Stadium	2,000
Heanor Town	Heanor	Town Ground	2,700
Hucknall Town	Hucknall	RM Stadium	4,000
Kimberley Miners Welfare	Kimberley	Stag Ground
Lincoln United	Lincoln	Ashby Avenue	2,200
Loughborough Students	Loughborough	Loughborough University Stadium	3,000
AFC Mansfield	Mansfield (Forest Town)	Forest Town Stadium
Melton Town	Melton Mowbray	Melton Sports Village
Newark and Sherwood United	Newark-on-Trent	Hawton Lane
Pinchbeck United	Spalding	Sir Halley Stewart Field	2,700
Sherwood Colliery	Mansfield Woodhouse	Debdale Park
Skegness Town	Skegness	Vertigo Stadium
Sleaford Town	Sleaford	Eslaforde Park	1,000
Wisbech Town	Wisbech	Fenland Stadium	1,118

Premier Division South

The Premier Division South featured 13 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with seven new clubs.

Relegated from the Northern Premier League:
Plus:
- Aylestone Park, promoted from Division One
- Leicester Nirvana, transferred from the Premier Division North
- Racing Club Warwick, transferred from the Midland League
- Rugby Borough, promoted from the Spartan South Midlands League

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Wellingborough Town (C, P)	38	29	5	4	92	32	+60	92	Promoted to the Northern Premier League
2	Racing Club Warwick (O, P)	38	24	8	6	90	44	+46	80	Qualified for the play-offs
3	Aylestone Park	38	25	5	8	103	60	+43	80
4	St Neots Town	38	22	9	7	74	35	+39	75
5	March Town United	38	22	9	7	69	40	+29	75
6	Newport Pagnell Town	38	20	5	13	74	54	+20	62^[a]
7	Yaxley	38	16	8	14	78	63	+15	56
8	GNG Oadby Town	38	16	7	15	74	89	−15	55
9	Daventry Town	38	16	3	19	79	69	+10	51
10	Bugbrooke St Michaels	38	15	5	18	72	81	−9	50
11	Histon	38	14	8	16	64	73	−9	50
12	Lutterworth Town	38	15	4	19	57	72	−15	49
13	Easington Sports	38	14	8	16	60	59	+1	47^[b]
14	Coventry United	38	13	7	18	74	75	−1	46
15	Cogenhoe United	38	12	9	17	43	71	−28	45	Resignation from the league
16	Rugby Borough	38	10	6	22	68	92	−24	36
17	Eynesbury Rovers	38	9	5	24	48	88	−40	31^[c]
18	Godmanchester Rovers	38	9	4	25	44	87	−43	31
19	Leicester Nirvana	38	6	11	21	50	88	−38	29
20	Desborough Town (R)	38	6	8	24	35	76	−41	26	Relegated to the Spartan South Midlands League

Source: The FA Full-Time
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results^[3]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ Newport Pagnell Town were deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player against Godmanchester Rovers on 18 November 2023.
^ Easington Sports were deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player against Daventry Town on 31 January 2024.
^ Eynesbury Rovers were deducted 1 point for fielding an ineligible player against St Neots Town on 26 December 2023.

Play-offs

Semi-finals			Final

2	Racing Club Warwick	4

5	March Town United	0
			2	Racing Club Warwick	2

			3	Aylestone Park	1
3	Aylestone Park	2 (7)

4	St Neots Town	2 (6)

Semifinals

20 April	Aylestone Park	2–2 (a.e.t.) (7–6 p)	St Neots Town	Leicester
15:00	Bucalossi 9' (pen.), 33'	Report	Thorpe 25' Goff 90+6'	Stadium: Saffron Lane Attendance: 597 Referee: Paul Mihalache

20 April	Racing Club Warwick	4–0	March Town United	Warwick
15:00	Cobourne 8' Willis 14' Carsley 60' Shearer 90'	Report		Stadium: Townsend Meadow Attendance: 552 Referee: Phoebe Horner

Final

27 April	Racing Club Warwick	2–1	Aylestone Park	Warwick
15:00	Monaghan 17' Willis 65'	Report	Hollis 89'	Stadium: Townsend Meadow Attendance: 1,024 Referee: Chris Walton

Stadia and locations

Club	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Aylestone Park	Leicester	Saffron Lane	1,128
Bugbrooke St Michaels	Bugbrooke	Birds Close	2,500
Cogenhoe United	Cogenhoe	Compton Park	5,000
Coventry United	Coventry	Butts Park Arena^[a]	4,000
Daventry Town	Daventry	Elderstubbs	1,855
Desborough Town	Desborough	Waterworks Field
Easington Sports	Easington	Addison Road
Eynesbury Rovers	Eynesbury	Alfred Hall Memorial Ground
GNG Oadby Town	Leicester	Riverside	3,000
Godmanchester Rovers	Godmanchester	Bearscroft Lane
Histon	Impington	Bridge Road	4,300
Leicester Nirvana	Leicester	Hamilton Park
Lutterworth Town	Lutterworth	Dunley Way
March Town United	March	GER Sports Ground
Newport Pagnell Town	Newport Pagnell	Willen Road	2,000
Racing Club Warwick	Warwick	Townsend Meadow	1,280
Rugby Borough	Rugby	Kilsby Lane
St Neots Town	St Neots	New Rowley Park	3,500
Wellingborough Town	Wellingborough	London Road	2,500
Yaxley	Yaxley	Leading Drove	1,000
^ home of Coventry Rugby Club (groundshare)

Division One

Division One featured 17 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with four new clubs:

Asfordby, promoted from the Leicestershire Senior League
Lutterworth Athletic, transferred from the Spartan South Midlands League
Sandiacre Town, promoted from the Nottinghamshire Senior League
Selston, relegated from the Premier Division North

Also, St Andrews changed name to Leicester St Andrews.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Bourne Town (C, P)	40	35	3	2	110	25	+85	108	Promoted to the Premier Division North
2	Clipstone	40	30	4	6	119	50	+69	94	Qualified for the play-offs
3	Newark Town (P)	40	21	11	8	108	65	+43	74
4	Dunkirk	40	22	6	12	85	60	+25	72
5	Harrowby United (O, P)	40	21	8	11	88	48	+40	71
6	Kirby Muxloe	40	21	6	13	99	71	+28	69	Transferred to the Midland League
7	Blackstones	40	20	8	12	75	47	+28	68
8	Radford	40	18	10	12	78	56	+22	64
9	Saffron Dynamo	40	18	10	12	60	44	+16	64	Transferred to the Midland League
10	Birstall United	40	17	9	14	73	60	+13	60
11	Leicester St Andrews	40	14	10	16	57	69	−12	52
12	Gedling Miners Welfare	40	15	6	19	79	75	+4	51
13	Clifton All Whites	40	14	8	18	61	77	−16	50
14	Selston	40	12	8	20	54	82	−28	44
15	Holwell Sports	40	12	5	23	59	109	−50	41
16	Southwell City	40	11	7	22	56	85	−29	40
17	Lutterworth Athletic	40	10	7	23	50	85	−35	37	Transferred to the Midland League
18	Rainworth Miners Welfare	40	10	7	23	61	101	−40	37
19	West Bridgford	40	8	9	23	51	84	−33	33
20	Sandiacre Town	40	9	3	28	44	108	−64	30
21	Asfordby (R)	40	7	5	28	40	106	−66	26	Relegation to the Leicestershire Senior League

Source: The FA Full-Time
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results^[3]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Play-offs

Semi-finals			Final

3	Newark Town	3

4	Dunkirk	2
			3	Newark Town	1

			5	Harrowby United	2
2	Clipstone	1

5	Harrowby United	4

Semifinals

27 April	Newark Town	3–2	Dunkirk	Newark-on-Trent
15:00	Lloyd 23' Lewis 36' Hales 55'	Report	Thatcher 65', 72' (pen.)	Stadium: YMCA Sports Village Attendance: 509 Referee: Lewis Saunders-Johnson

27 April	Clipstone	1–4	Harrowby United	Clipstone
15:00	Curtis 45'	Report	King 15', 33', 85' (pen.) Allcock 64'	Stadium: The Lido Ground Attendance: 298 Referee: Robert Pealing

Final

4 May	Newark Town	1–2	Harrowby United	Newark-on-Trent
15:00	Smith 84'	Report	Allcock 51'	Stadium: YMCA Sports Village Attendance: 983 Referee: Tim Eagles

Stadia and locations

Location of the clubs in the 2023–24 United Counties League Division One

Club	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Asfordby	Asfordby	Asfordby Acres
Birstall United	Birstall	Meadow Lane
Blackstones	Stamford	Lincoln Road	1,000
Bourne Town	Bourne	Abbey Lawn	2,000
Clifton All Whites	Nottingham (Clifton)	Green Lane
Clipstone	Clipstone	Lido Ground
Dunkirk	Nottingham (Dunkirk)	Lenton Lane
Gedling Miners Welfare	Gedling	Plains Road
Harrowby United	Grantham	Dickens Road
Holwell Sports	Asfordby Hill	Welby Road	1,000
Kirby Muxloe	Kirby Muxloe	Ratby Lane	3,000
Leicester St Andrews	Leicester	Canal Street	1,000
Lutterworth Athletic	Lutterworth	Hall Park
Newark Town	Newark-on-Trent	YMCA Sports Village
Radford	Nottingham (Radford)	Selhurst Street
Rainworth Miners Welfare	Rainworth	Welfare Ground
Saffron Dynamo	Cosby	Cambridge Road
Sandiacre Town	Sandiacre	St Giles Park
Selston	Selston	Mansfield Road
Southwell City	Southwell	Centenary Ground, Brinkley
West Bridgford	West Bridgford	Regatta Way

References

^ "The FA releases National League System club allocations for Steps 3-6 in 2023-24 term". The Football Association. 15 May 2023.
^ "Step 5 to 4 promotion/relegation update". The FA. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The FA Handbook 2022/2023 Part 29 Standardised Rules Section 12.2". The FA.

External links

United Counties League The FA Full-Time

[table_hth_HEA0.98558249463587-3] Heanor Town were deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player against Pinchbeck United on 4 November 2023.

[table_hth_NPT0.61481695557703-5] Newport Pagnell Town were deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player against Godmanchester Rovers on 18 November 2023.

[table_hth_EAS0.61481695557703-6] Easington Sports were deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player against Daventry Town on 31 January 2024.

[table_hth_EYN0.61481695557703-7] Eynesbury Rovers were deducted 1 point for fielding an ineligible player against St Neots Town on 26 December 2023.

[8] Coventry Rugby Club (groundshare)

[1] "The FA releases National League System club allocations for Steps 3-6 in 2023-24 term". The Football Association. 15 May 2023.

[2] "Step 5 to 4 promotion/relegation update". The FA. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.

[Steps_1_to_6_League_Tables-4] "The FA Handbook 2022/2023 Part 29 Standardised Rules Section 12.2". The FA.

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