The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player registration as well as promoting development amongst those bodies and referees.
There are currently 50 county FAs. Most county FAs align roughly along historic county boundaries, although some cover more than one county, and some of the major cities, particularly those with a strong football tradition, have their own FAs. The Sheffield FA was the first to be created, in 1867. Additionally, the three branches of the British Armed Forces, as well as the Amateur Football Alliance, which has a strong presence in the south-east of England, are listed as having their own County FAs not corresponding to geography.
County football associations host 'county cups' – knockout cup competitions held at a sub-regional level, which are open to affiliated members of the county FA. Typically, county FAs will host cup competitions at the following levels: senior, intermediate, junior, women's, veterans, senior Sunday football, intermediate Sunday football and junior Sunday football.
List of county FAs
Association Area Founded Main county cup Amateur Football Alliance 1907 AFA Senior Cup Army 1888 Army FA Challenge Cup Bedfordshire 1894 Bedfordshire Senior Cup Berks & Bucks 1878 Berks & Bucks Senior Cup Birmingham (within 30 miles of Stevenson Place, Birmingham) 1875 Birmingham Senior Cup Cambridgeshire 1884 Cambridgeshire Invitation Cup Cheshire 1878 Cheshire Senior Cup Cornwall 1889 Cornwall Senior Cup Cumberland 1885 Cumberland Senior Cup Derbyshire 1883 Derbyshire Senior Cup Devon 1887 Devon St Lukes Cup Dorset 1887 Dorset Senior Cup Durham 1883 Durham Challenge Cup Essex 1882 Essex Senior Cup Gloucestershire 1886 Gloucestershire Senior Cup Guernsey 1893 Guernsey FA Cup Hampshire 1887 Hampshire Senior Cup Herefordshire 1893 Herefordshire Senior Cup Hertfordshire 1885 Herts Senior Cup Huntingdonshire 1894 Huntingdonshire Senior Cup Isle of Man 1890 Isle of Man FA Cup Jersey 1905 Le Riche Cup Kent 1881 Kent Senior Cup Lancashire 1878 Lancashire Senior Cup Leicestershire & Rutland 1887 Leicestershire and Rutland Senior Cup Lincolnshire 1881 Lincolnshire Senior Cup Liverpool18 mile radius / 8 miles on the Wirral from Liverpool Town Hall 1882 Liverpool Senior Cup London (within 12 miles of Charing Cross) 1882 London Senior Cup Manchester(within 12 miles of Manchester Town Hall in historic Lancashire) 1884 Manchester Senior Cup Middlesex 1883 Middlesex Senior Cup Norfolk 1881 Norfolk Senior Cup Northamptonshire 1887 Northamptonshire Senior Cup Northumberland 1882 Northumberland Senior Cup Nottinghamshire 1882 Nottinghamshire Senior Cup Oxfordshire 1884 Oxfordshire Senior Cup Royal Air Force 1920 RAF Challenge Cup Royal Navy 1904 Royal Navy Cup Shropshire 1877 Shropshire Senior Cup Somerset 1885 Somerset Premier Cup Staffordshire 1877 Staffordshire Senior Cup Suffolk 1885 Suffolk Senior Cup Surrey 1882 Surrey Senior Cup Sussex 1882 Sussex Senior Challenge Cup Westmorland 1897 Westmorland Senior Challenge Cup Wiltshire 1884 Wiltshire County FA Senior Cup Worcestershire 1893 Worcestershire Senior Cup East Riding 1902 East Riding Senior Cup North Riding 1881 North Riding Senior Cup Sheffield and Hallamshire 20 mile radius from Sheffield Cathedral 1867 Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior Cup West Riding (except within 20 miles of Sheffield Cathedral) 1896 West Riding County Cup
Other FAs with equivalent status There are an additional five recognised bodies that have representation on the FA Council on the same level as County FAs.
Association Founded Cambridge University 1856 English Schools 1904 Independent Schools 1960s Oxford University 1872 Women's Football Conference 1983
See also English football league system The Football Association The FA Council
References
External links The County FAs at The FA official website County FA contact details County Football Associations, page 5, Premier League (archived 11 June 2014).