The Southern League was the top-flight ice hockey league for clubs in the majority of England from 1970. It was formed as the counterpart to the clubs in Scotland and the north of England called the Northern League.[1] In 1978, its southern-based clubs broke away and formed the Inter-City League and the remaining clubs continued as the Southern League, known also as the English League North in 1981-82. A Second or "B" Division and a junior league was also contested in most seasons.