The Anglian Combination (currently known as the Fosters Solicitors Anglian Combination for sponsorship reasons) is an English football league that operates in East Anglia. The league specifically covers Norfolk and northern Suffolk, with rules stating that clubs should be within a 50-mile radius from the centre of Norwich.
It consists of 96 teams and has seven divisions – the Premier Division, Division One to Four plus the two regionalised divisions, Division Five North and South.
CNSOBU (City of Norwich School Old Boys Union) were the first champions of the Anglian Combination in 1965, winning the Senior A Division in the league's transitional season. Blofield United is the most successful club in the Anglian Combination's history, with six top division league titles, while Acle United and Wroxham have won the most consecutive titles, with both clubs winning the Anglian Combination four times in succession.
History
The league was formed in 1964, as a merger of the East Anglian League and the Norfolk & Suffolk League (established 1897) and had a transitional season in 1964–65 before settling down to a regular format for the 1965–66 season of four divisions for first teams and three for reserves. A further division for first teams was added for 1966–67, and that format remained unchanged until the previously separate reserve divisions incorporated into the main structure for the 2003–04 season. The winners of the Premier Division are also known as the Sterry Cup winners and are eligible for promotion to the Eastern Counties League.
After a league meeting of the Anglian Combination clubs on 9 February 2011, it was decided the Anglian Combination would adopt the FA's Respect programme. This included the practice of all players on the two teams and match officials shaking hands before the game.
Sponsorship
From 1992 to 2006, the chartered accountants Lovewell Blake sponsored the league. Dolphin Autos took over sponsorship of the league from 2006 to 2010. Gleave & Associates sponsored the league for one year during 2010–11 season. This was followed by three seasons without sponsorship before the independent financial advisors, Almary Green, agreed to sponsor the league for three years from the 2014–15 to 2016–17 seasons. Hadley and Ottaway were the sponsors from the 2017–18 to the 2020–21 season. Fosters Solicitors announced a new sponsorship partnership in April 2021.
Format and regulations
No more than 80 clubs and 132 teams (first and reserve teams) are to be permitted to the league system. In theory this means that no more than 52 clubs can have both a first and reserve team competing in the league. No more than one team from a club can play in the same division. The Premier Division and Division One are "senior" divisions, while the rest of the divisions are "junior" divisions. There is a limit of sixteen teams for each division. Some divisions are reduced in size either at the start of the season or during the season because of teams withdrawing either for financial reasons or a lack of players.. Their places for the next season are taken by teams elected from the feeder leagues. Teams play each other twice, home and away, in a double round-robin format.
In Division One to Division Three, the top two clubs are promoted while the bottom two are relegated. In Division Four, the top two are promoted and the bottom four are relegated. In Division Five, the top two are promoted from each regional division. In the Premier Division, there is no automatic promotion as clubs need to meet the FA's ground grading guide for admission to the Eastern Senior League in order to do so. Only teams finishing in the top two of the Premier Division are eligible for promotion (the runners-up are eligible if the champions decide not to apply for promotion). The bottom two clubs are relegated to Division One. Clubs need to be elected from the feeder leagues below, in order for relegation to occur from the regional Division Fives, providing that there are no places in other divisions in the league to fill due to withdrawals.