 | |
| Organising body |  Durham County Football Association North Riding County Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1892 |
| Country | England |
| Divisions | 3 |
| Number of teams | 37 |
| Level on pyramid | Levels 11 to 13 |
| Feeder to | Northern League |
| Promotion to | Northern League Division Two |
| League cup(s) | Monkwearmouth Charity Cup Shipowners' Charity Cup League Challenge Cup |
| Website | official |
The Wearside Football League is a non-league football competition based in northern England. It consists of three divisions which sits at steps 7 to 9 of the National League System (levels 11 to 13 of the Football pyramid) and is a feeder to the Northern League Division Two.
Founded in 1892, the Wearside League's level has fluctuated in its history, though it has typically sat below the Northern League. The league's high point was probably during the 1960s and 70s after several teams from the defunct North Eastern League joined it; Wearside League teams won the FA Vase in 1978 and 1981. With the restructuring of the National League System in the early 2000s its place at step 7 became fully established, helped by a merger with the Durham Alliance Combination League in 2017.[1] The league has expanded and contracted its number of divisions over the years, and as of 2021-22 consists of three divisions.
Although centred on Wearside and County Durham, the league has contained teams from Tyneside as well, with some geographical overlap with the Northern Football Alliance at the leagues' borders. Teams from Northern Cumbria and North Yorkshire also compete in the league. The league also operates three cup competitions: the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup and the Shipowners' Charity Cup, both of which have been contested since the 1890s, and the League Challenge Cup, which came into being in the 1930s.
- ^ "Merger of leagues to build better future for Saturday adult football". Durham FA. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.