Welcoming more new clubs to the NPL

The allocations of teams to the Northern Premier League has brought new outposts for the League. The NPL has had teams in the Eastern Hemisphere before, namely King’s Lynn and King’s Lynn Town, but this season that number will treble the number of clubs from East of the Greenwich Meridian all at once. In addition, whilst the NPL has the highest senior football ground in its midst, namely Silverlands, Buxton, one of the new members plays their home games at sea-level – that is 0 feet! As well as that, the Northern Premier we will now have the first three clubs to have played in ALL three Trident Leagues.

The first of those new members to transfer from the Isthmian League is Cambridge City, formed in 1908 as Cambridge Town, then playing in the Southern Amateur League. The Football League invited Town to apply for membership in 1935, to help expand into East Anglia, but they declined in order to keep their amateur status. After WWII the Lilywhites joined the Spartan League and later the Athenian League, as Cambridge was granted City status, they just beat Abbey United to the City name (Abbey United changing the Cambridge bit). City joined the Southern League in 1958 where they stayed until Conference South allowed a further rise up the Pyramid in 2004. After financial problems in 2008, City were demoted back to the Southern League. A transfer to the Isthmian League Division 1 North took place for the uncompleted 2019-20. City are constructing a new stadium at Sawston, which may be ready before the end of this season, but until then they will groundshare at nearby Histon.

Histon are another of the clubs from the East and formed in 1904 as Histon Institute, playing in the Cambridgeshire League for 44 years. 1948 saw the Stutes join the Spartan League, winning promotion to the Premier Division in 1951, when ’Institute’ was dropped. 1960 brought a move to the Delphian League, which three years later became part of the Athenian League set up, where Histon struggled. In 1965 they switched to the Eastern Counties League, where they were to play for the further 35 seasons. In 2000 the club gained promotion to the Southern League Eastern Division, rising again in 2004 to the Premier Division, in 2005 to Conference South and 2007 into Conference National. However, since 2009 there has been a steady decline back to the ECL. 2019 saw Histon unexpectedly winning promotion into the Isthmian for the first time in its 115-year history. Their transfer to the NPL completes their story. Their Bridge Road ground can hold 3,800 and is also home to Cambridge City, as well as the Cambridgeshire FA.

The third club from the ‘Far East’ is Soham Town Rangers. Formed by a merger of Soham Town and Soham Rangers in 1947, the merged club worked its way up through the Cambridgeshire League and then the Peterborough and District League before joining the Eastern Counties League in 1963. An ECL title win saw the Greens promoted to the Midland Division of the Southern League in 2008, but they were transferred to the Isthmian League in 2011, and finally transferred to the NPL ten years later. They play at the picturesque Julius Martin Lane which can hold 2,000.

Yaxley is a village just to the South of Peterborough and the football club was established in 1962, becoming Yaxley British Legion a year later, until 1971 when this moniker was dropped. They played in the Peterborough and District League throughout this time, becoming Coalite Yaxley in 1986, then joining the ECL in 1988, and becoming Clarksteel Yaxley in 1990, before being expelled from the Eastern Counties for ground grading reasons in 1992. The club subsequently dropped into the Huntingdonshire League, but two seasons later this league merged with the East Northants League to form the West Anglia League, with Yaxley becoming its inaugural champions. As WAL champions, and following the move to a new ground at Leading Drove, in 1995 the club were accepted into the United Counties League. The 2018 UCL Premier Division Championship win brought a move into Division One Central of the Southern League, where they stayed until their recent transfer into the new NPL Midlands Division. The Cuckoos’ Leading Grove Ground can hold 1,000 and now sports a 3G pitch. Its elevation is 0 feet or sea level, so they occupy the lowest NPL club spot!