Hastings Football History

Senior & Prominent Local Leagues

Southern League

Founded 1884

The first local club to join the Southern League was St Leonards United in 1906. Following the merger of St Leonards United with Hastings & St Leonards FC, the newly formed club took St Leonards’ place in the competition and remained members until folding in 1910. Hastings United joined the league in 1948 and competed until their demise in 1985, after which their place was taken by Hastings Town. St Leonards Stamcroft entered the Southern League in 1996 and remained until their relegation in 2003. Hastings Town—now Hastings United—left the league a year later to join the Isthmian League after an FA restructuring of the non‑league system, ending a long association between senior football in the area and the Southern League.

Isthmian League

Founded 1905

Hastings United are the only local club to have played in the Isthmian League, joining in 2004. Historically, the league enjoyed a reputation as one of the strongest amateur competitions in the country. However, with most senior clubs from the area traditionally entering the Southern League—and many earlier amateur sides competing elsewhere—Isthmian League football did not come to Hastings until the early 21st century.

Southern Combination League

Founded 1920 as Sussex County League

From Rock‑a‑Nore onwards, a strong number of clubs from the Hastings and Rother area have competed in this league throughout its history. The competition was rebranded as the Southern Combination Football League in 2015. Current representatives from the area include Little Common and Bexhill United. Other local clubs to have taken part include Battle Rangers, Hastings Rangers, Hastings Town, Rye United, Stamco, Sidley United and Westfield.

East Sussex League

Founded 1896

Established as the East Sussex Senior League, its champions originally competed against the winners of the West Sussex League for the Irish Rifles’ Cup (now the RUR Cup) to determine the overall champions of Sussex. The league has also been known as the East Sussex Border League due to the number of Kent‑based clubs that joined during its later history.

Southern Amateur League

Founded 1907

Hastings & St Leonards FC competed in this league between 1927 and 1946, enjoying the most successful era in the club’s history. They won Division One four times, as well as securing the Sussex Senior Cup twice and the Amateur Football Alliance Senior Cup. In the later years of their membership, the club sought stronger competition and left the SAL to join the Corinthian League in 1946.

Hastings & District League

1921 - 1971

Founded by the Hastings Football Association to introduce a formal league system, replacing the previous structure of independent cup competitions such as the Carlisle and Hillier Cups. The league merged with the Eastbourne League in 1971 to form the Eastbourne & Hastings League.

Hastings & East Sussex Sunday League

1965 - 2012

At its height, the league ran more than ten divisions and featured some of the strongest Sunday teams in the county. Membership declined sharply in the 2000s, leading the league to cease operations in 2012. Plans for an eight‑team summer league in 2020 appear to have been abandoned following the Covid‑19 pandemic.

Other local leagues

Ashburnham League

1921 - 1932 / 1946 - ????

Initially running for eleven seasons before folding in 1932 due to dwindling numbers, the league was revived in 1946 and continued into the late 1950s. Clubs such as Robertsbridge United, Magham Down and Hooe were regular participants.

Battle & District League

1934 - 1939

Formed after the demise of the Sedlescombe League, most of whose members moved across to compete for the Francis Cup (now awarded to the winners of the Robertsbridge Intermediate Cup). The league folded with the outbreak of the Second World War and never reformed despite proposals to do so.

Hastings, Eastbourne & District League

1896 - 1921

Founded as the East Sussex Junior League, its name was changed shortly before the first matches were played, though it was still widely referred to as the Junior League. It catered for teams not yet strong enough for the East Sussex League but who performed well in competitions such as the Carlisle Cup. After reforming in 1920, the competition consisted solely of clubs from Hastings and Bexhill. It was wound up after the 1921–22 season following the creation of the Hastings League.

Mid Sussex League

Founded 1900

Although the area historically lay outside the Mid Sussex League’s catchment, several local teams have joined in recent years. The introduction of Step 7 status for its Premier Division in 2017 encouraged clubs such as Hollington United and Sidley United to transfer from the East Sussex League.

Sedlescombe & District League

1909 - 1934

Established for village teams in the rural Battle area, with clubs competing for the Francis Cup. Strict eligibility rules required players to represent the village in which they lived; teams were penalised for fielding outsiders. Clubs such as Robertsbridge United and Herstmonceux were ever‑present. By 1934, membership was falling as stronger sides moved to the expanding Hastings League, and the competition was disbanded.

Southern Counties Combination

1972 - 1988

Little was known about this competition until recent years. It operated as an intermediate league featuring a mix of first teams and reserve sides from across Sussex, with some clubs also coming from Surrey and Kent. The SCC was a common stepping stone for ambitious clubs aiming to progress from local leagues to county‑level football. The introduction of Division Three of the Sussex County League eventually rendered the SCC obsolete.

Ticehurst & District League

1903 - ????

Early entrants included Burwash, Hawkhurst, Lamberhurst and Goudhurst. Other clubs to take part over the years included Mayfield, Punnetts Town and Wadhurst.

Cup Competitions

East Sussex Challenge Cup

Founded 1911

Originally an invitational cup organised by the East Sussex Football League for the area’s strongest teams. It later became restricted to ESFL members and is now an Intermediate Cup contested by clubs in the league’s top two divisions.

Hastings Senior Challenge Cup

1908 - 2014

Founded by the Hastings FA, with the winners awarded the Du Cros Cup, named after FA president Harvey Du Cros—an affluent businessman and short‑serving Conservative MP who may have donated the trophy. The competition was briefly known as the Du Cros Cup before reverting to the Hastings Challenge Cup in 1930.

Sussex Senior Challenge Cup

Founded 1882

Established shortly after the formation of the Sussex County FA. The first Hastings side to reach the final were Hastings & St Leonards FC, who lost to Eastbourne Swifts in 1898. Teams from Hastings have since reached the final on twenty occasions and have lifted the trophy seven times.