 | |
| Founded | 1896 |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Divisions | 5 |
| Number of teams | 53 |
| Level on pyramid | Levels 12–16 |
| Feeder to | Southern Combination Football League Division Two |
| League cup(s) | East Sussex Challenge Cup Division 1 & 2 Cup Division 3 & 4 Cup Macron Store Hastings Challenge Cup |
| Current champions | Premier Division: Rye Town Division One: Jesters Town Division Two: Bexhill Rovers Division Three: Parkfield Division Four: Burwash (2023–2024) |
| Website | FA Fulltime |
The East Sussex Football League is an English association football competition for amateur teams based in East Sussex and south-west Kent. The league has a total of six divisions, headed by the Premier Division, which sits at level 12 of the national league system.
The league was formed in 1896 as the East Sussex Senior League, with the winners of the league competing for the Irish Rifle's Cup against the winners of the West Sussex League also founded in the same year. A second 'Junior' division was formed in 1899; however, by the 1908–09 season league membership was at an all-time low and the league went inactive for two seasons, reforming in 1911. The league was inactive during the First World War and Second World War, but has been running continuously since 1946.
In its early years the league was entered for by the most senior teams in East Sussex with the best sides from local leagues entering the competition. Over the course of its history the league has seen its geographical catchment area shrink due to the formation of the Mid-Sussex League and Brighton League, with the formation of the Sussex County League and additional divisions further up the pyramid affecting the standard of the league.
The league currently acts as a feeder to the Southern Combination Football League, with the top two teams who possess the required ground grading eligible to apply for promotion.