The2001–02Southern Football League season was the 99th in the history of the league, an Englishfootball competition.
Kettering Town won the Premier Division and earned promotion to theFootball Conference.Newport (Isle of Wight),King's Lynn,Merthyr Tydfil andSalisbury City were relegated from the Premier Division, whilstHastings Town,Halesowen Town,Grantham Town andChippenham Town were promoted from the Eastern and Western Divisions, the former two as champions.Wisbech Town were relegated to the eighth level andBilston Town resigned and dropped to the ninth level, whilstBloxwich United of the Western Division folded during the season and their record was expunged.
The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from theprevious season and six new clubs:
| Season | 2001–02 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Kettering Town |
| Promoted | Kettering Town |
| Relegated | Newport (Isle of Wight) King's Lynn Merthyr Tydfil Salisbury City |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,341 (2.9 per match) |
2002–03 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kettering Town | 42 | 27 | 6 | 9 | 80 | 41 | +39 | 87 | Promoted to theFootball Conference |
| 2 | Tamworth | 42 | 24 | 13 | 5 | 81 | 41 | +40 | 85 | |
| 3 | Havant & Waterlooville | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 74 | 50 | +24 | 75 | |
| 4 | Crawley Town | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 67 | 47 | +20 | 75 | |
| 5 | Newport County | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 61 | 48 | +13 | 66 | |
| 6 | Tiverton Town | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 70 | 63 | +7 | 61 | |
| 7 | Moor Green | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 64 | 62 | +2 | 61 | |
| 8 | Worcester City | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 65 | 54 | +11 | 60 | |
| 9 | Stafford Rangers | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 70 | 62 | +8 | 60 | |
| 10 | Ilkeston Town | 42 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 58 | 61 | −3 | 58 | |
| 11 | Weymouth | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 59 | 67 | −8 | 56 | |
| 12 | Hinckley United | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 64 | 62 | +2 | 55 | |
| 13 | Folkestone Invicta | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 51 | 61 | −10 | 54 | |
| 14 | Cambridge City | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 60 | 70 | −10 | 52 | |
| 15 | Welling United | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 69 | 66 | +3 | 51 | |
| 16 | Hednesford Town | 42 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 59 | 70 | −11 | 51 | |
| 17 | Bath City | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 56 | 65 | −9 | 50 | |
| 18 | Chelmsford City | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 63 | 75 | −12 | 50 | |
| 19 | Newport (Isle of Wight) | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 38 | 61 | −23 | 48 | Relegated to theEastern Division |
| 20 | King's Lynn | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 43 | 57 | −14 | 45 | |
| 21 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 53 | 71 | −18 | 44 | Relegated to theWestern Division |
| 22 | Salisbury City | 42 | 6 | 8 | 28 | 36 | 87 | −51 | 26 | Relegated to theEastern Division |
The Eastern Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from theprevious season and four new clubs:
Also, Langney Sports changed name toEastbourne Borough.
At the end of the seasonHastings Town changed name toHastings United.
| Season | 2001–02 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Hastings Town |
| Promoted | Hastings Town Grantham Town |
| Relegated | Wisbech Town |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,442 (3.12 per match) |
2002–03 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hastings Town | 42 | 29 | 8 | 5 | 85 | 38 | +47 | 95 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Grantham Town | 42 | 29 | 6 | 7 | 99 | 43 | +56 | 93 | |
| 3 | Dorchester Town | 42 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 81 | 36 | +45 | 88 | |
| 4 | Histon | 42 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 83 | 49 | +34 | 77 | |
| 5 | Stamford | 42 | 24 | 4 | 14 | 76 | 61 | +15 | 76 | |
| 6 | Fisher Athletic | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 83 | 56 | +27 | 70 | |
| 7 | Eastbourne Borough | 42 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 63 | 46 | +17 | 69 | |
| 8 | Dartford | 42 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 62 | 66 | −4 | 59 | |
| 9 | Erith & Belvedere | 42 | 18 | 3 | 21 | 75 | 79 | −4 | 57 | |
| 10 | Bashley | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 71 | 63 | +8 | 56 | |
| 11 | Burnham | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 52 | 54 | −2 | 55 | |
| 12 | Rugby United | 42 | 16 | 6 | 20 | 55 | 67 | −12 | 54 | Transferred to theWestern Division |
| 13 | Rothwell Town | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 45 | 66 | −21 | 50 | |
| 14 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 42 | 14 | 6 | 22 | 58 | 78 | −20 | 48 | |
| 15 | Banbury United | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 53 | 66 | −13 | 47[a] | |
| 16 | Chatham Town | 42 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 56 | 87 | −31 | 47 | |
| 17 | Sittingbourne | 42 | 14 | 4 | 24 | 46 | 69 | −23 | 46 | |
| 18 | Spalding United | 42 | 13 | 6 | 23 | 72 | 84 | −12 | 45 | |
| 19 | Tonbridge Angels | 42 | 13 | 6 | 23 | 65 | 80 | −15 | 45 | |
| 20 | St. Leonards | 42 | 14 | 3 | 25 | 52 | 88 | −36 | 45 | |
| 21 | Corby Town | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 54 | 82 | −28 | 43 | |
| 22 | Wisbech Town | 42 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 56 | 84 | −28 | 41 | Relegated to theEastern Counties League |
The Western Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from theprevious season and five new clubs:
| Season | 2001–02 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Halesowen Town |
| Promoted | Chippenham Town Halesowen Town |
| Matches | 420 |
| Goals | 1,237 (2.95 per match) |
2002–03 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Halesowen Town | 40 | 27 | 9 | 4 | 85 | 24 | +61 | 90 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Chippenham Town | 40 | 26 | 9 | 5 | 81 | 28 | +53 | 87 | |
| 3 | Weston-super-Mare | 40 | 22 | 10 | 8 | 70 | 38 | +32 | 76 | |
| 4 | Solihull Borough | 40 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 75 | 42 | +33 | 71 | |
| 5 | Gresley Rovers | 40 | 19 | 9 | 12 | 59 | 50 | +9 | 66 | |
| 6 | Sutton Coldfield Town | 40 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 62 | |
| 7 | Mangotsfield United | 40 | 17 | 10 | 13 | 74 | 54 | +20 | 61 | |
| 8 | Stourport Swifts | 40 | 18 | 6 | 16 | 59 | 59 | 0 | 60 | |
| 9 | Atherstone United | 40 | 16 | 8 | 16 | 61 | 59 | +2 | 56 | |
| 10 | Clevedon Town | 40 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 57 | 58 | −1 | 56 | |
| 11 | Bedworth United | 40 | 16 | 7 | 17 | 59 | 63 | −4 | 55 | |
| 12 | Evesham United | 40 | 16 | 7 | 17 | 54 | 70 | −16 | 55 | |
| 13 | Cirencester Town | 40 | 17 | 3 | 20 | 64 | 69 | −5 | 54 | |
| 14 | Gloucester City | 40 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 48 | 63 | −15 | 52 | |
| 15 | Cinderford Town | 40 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 54 | 67 | −13 | 51 | |
| 16 | Shepshed Dynamo | 40 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 64 | 84 | −20 | 40 | |
| 17 | Bilston Town | 40 | 11 | 7 | 22 | 50 | 72 | −22 | 40 | Resigned to theWest Midlands (Regional) League |
| 18 | Redditch United | 40 | 11 | 6 | 23 | 47 | 77 | −30 | 39 | |
| 19 | Swindon Supermarine | 40 | 11 | 4 | 25 | 52 | 76 | −24 | 37 | |
| 20 | Racing Club Warwick | 40 | 8 | 11 | 21 | 38 | 63 | −25 | 35 | |
| 21 | Rocester | 40 | 5 | 12 | 23 | 33 | 75 | −42 | 27 | |
| 22 | Bloxwich United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Club folded |