The1996–97Southern Football League season was the 94th in the history of the league, an Englishfootball competition.
Gresley Rovers won the Premier Division. However, as their ground failed to meet the required standard, second-placedCheltenham Town were promoted to theFootball Conference instead.Baldock Town,Chelmsford City andNewport were relegated to the Midland and Southern Divisions, whilstSudbury Town (who had finished in thirteenth place) resigned from the league and dropped into theEastern Counties League due to financial problems.
Tamworth,Forest Green Rovers,Rothwell Town andSt Leonards Stamcroft (in their first season in the Southern League) were promoted to the Premier Division, the former two as champions of their divisions. Meanwhile, Midland Division clubDudley Town resigned from the league at the end of the season and did not compete in any competitions the following season.Leicester United folded during the season, andBuckingham Town were relegated to theUnited Counties League.
The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from theprevious season and four new clubs:
| Season | 1996–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Gresley Rovers |
| Promoted | Cheltenham Town |
| Relegated | Baldock Town Chelmsford City Newport |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,351 (2.92 per match) |
1997–98 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gresley Rovers | 42 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 75 | 40 | +35 | 85 | |
| 2 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 76 | 44 | +32 | 74 | Promoted to theFootball Conference |
| 3 | Gloucester City | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 81 | 56 | +25 | 73 | |
| 4 | Halesowen Town | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 77 | 54 | +23 | 73 | |
| 5 | King's Lynn | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 65 | 61 | +4 | 68 | |
| 6 | Burton Albion | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 70 | 53 | +17 | 66 | |
| 7 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 61 | 52 | +9 | 66 | |
| 8 | Sittingbourne | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 76 | 65 | +11 | 64 | |
| 9 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 69 | 61 | +8 | 60 | |
| 10 | Worcester City | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 52 | 50 | +2 | 59 | |
| 11 | Atherstone United | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 46 | 47 | −1 | 58 | |
| 12 | Salisbury City | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 57 | 66 | −9 | 58 | |
| 13 | Sudbury Town | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 72 | 72 | 0 | 55 | Resigned to theEastern Counties League |
| 14 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 63 | 73 | −10 | 55 | Transferred to theIsthmian League |
| 15 | Dorchester Town | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 62 | 66 | −4 | 51 | |
| 16 | Hastings Town | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 49 | 60 | −11 | 51 | |
| 17 | Crawley Town | 42 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 49 | 67 | −18 | 47 | |
| 18 | Cambridge City | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 57 | 65 | −8 | 46 | |
| 19 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 42 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 53 | 79 | −26 | 45 | |
| 20 | Baldock Town | 42 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 52 | 90 | −38 | 41 | Relegated to theSouthern Division |
| 21 | Newport | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 40 | 60 | −20 | 40 | |
| 22 | Chelmsford City | 42 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 49 | 70 | −21 | 32 |
The Midland Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 17 clubs from theprevious season and five new clubs:
At the end of the seasonHinckley Town merged withMidland Alliance clubHinckley Athletic to formHinckley United.
| Season | 1996–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Tamworth |
| Promoted | Rothwell Town Tamworth |
| Matches | 420 |
| Goals | 1,348 (3.21 per match) |
1997–98 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tamworth | 40 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 90 | 28 | +62 | 97 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Rothwell Town | 40 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 82 | 54 | +28 | 71 | |
| 3 | Ilkeston Town | 40 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 76 | 50 | +26 | 70 | |
| 4 | Grantham Town | 40 | 22 | 4 | 14 | 65 | 46 | +19 | 70 | |
| 5 | Bedworth United | 40 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 77 | 41 | +36 | 65 | |
| 6 | Solihull Borough | 40 | 19 | 8 | 13 | 84 | 62 | +22 | 65 | |
| 7 | Bilston Town | 40 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 74 | 57 | +17 | 64 | |
| 8 | Moor Green | 40 | 18 | 7 | 15 | 88 | 68 | +20 | 61 | |
| 9 | Stafford Rangers | 40 | 17 | 9 | 14 | 68 | 62 | +6 | 60 | |
| 10 | Raunds Town | 40 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 61 | 65 | −4 | 59 | |
| 11 | Racing Club Warwick | 40 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 70 | 72 | −2 | 58 | |
| 12 | Shepshed Dynamo | 40 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 64 | 65 | −1 | 54 | |
| 13 | Redditch United | 40 | 15 | 8 | 17 | 56 | 59 | −3 | 53 | |
| 14 | Paget Rangers | 40 | 13 | 9 | 18 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 48 | |
| 15 | Dudley Town | 40 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 69 | 89 | −20 | 46 | Resigned from league |
| 16 | Hinckley Town | 40 | 11 | 11 | 18 | 39 | 63 | −24 | 44 | Merged withHinckley Athletic to formHinckley United |
| 17 | Stourbridge | 40 | 10 | 9 | 21 | 61 | 81 | −20 | 39 | |
| 18 | Evesham United | 40 | 9 | 12 | 19 | 55 | 77 | −22 | 39 | |
| 19 | VS Rugby | 40 | 9 | 9 | 22 | 49 | 81 | −32 | 36 | |
| 20 | Corby Town | 40 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 49 | 88 | −39 | 32 | |
| 21 | Sutton Coldfield Town | 40 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 29 | 85 | −56 | 30 | |
| 22 | Leicester United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Club folded, record expunged |
The Southern Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 18 clubs from theprevious season and four new clubs:
| Season | 1996–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Forest Green Rovers |
| Promoted | Forest Green Rovers St. Leonards Stamcroft |
| Relegated | Buckingham Town |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,444 (3.13 per match) |
1997–98 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forest Green Rovers | 42 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 87 | 40 | +47 | 91 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | St. Leonards Stamcroft | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 94 | 48 | +46 | 87 | |
| 3 | Havant Town | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 81 | 49 | +32 | 79 | |
| 4 | Weston-super-Mare | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 82 | 43 | +39 | 76 | |
| 5 | Margate | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 70 | 47 | +23 | 72 | |
| 6 | Witney Town | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 71 | 42 | +29 | 71 | |
| 7 | Weymouth | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 82 | 51 | +31 | 70 | |
| 8 | Tonbridge Angels | 42 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 56 | 44 | +12 | 66 | |
| 9 | Newport (Isle of Wight) | 42 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 73 | 58 | +15 | 60 | |
| 10 | Fisher Athletic | 42 | 18 | 6 | 18 | 77 | 77 | 0 | 60 | |
| 11 | Clevedon Town | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 75 | 76 | −1 | 60 | |
| 12 | Fareham Town | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 53 | 69 | −16 | 54 | |
| 13 | Bashley | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 73 | 84 | −11 | 53 | |
| 14 | Dartford | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 59 | 64 | −5 | 52 | |
| 15 | Waterlooville | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 58 | 67 | −9 | 51 | |
| 16 | Cirencester Town | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 50 | 68 | −18 | 48 | |
| 17 | Cinderford Town | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 64 | 76 | −12 | 46 | |
| 18 | Trowbridge Town | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 50 | 61 | −11 | 44 | |
| 19 | Yate Town | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 55 | 87 | −32 | 44 | |
| 20 | Fleet Town | 42 | 12 | 6 | 24 | 47 | 91 | −44 | 42 | |
| 21 | Erith & Belvedere | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 60 | 95 | −35 | 37 | |
| 22 | Buckingham Town | 42 | 2 | 8 | 32 | 27 | 107 | −80 | 14 | Relegated to theUnited Counties League |