The1997–98Southern Football League season was the 95th in the history of the league, an Englishfootball competition.
Forest Green Rovers won the Premier Division at the first attempt and earned promotion to theFootball Conference for the first time in their history.Sittingbourne,Ashford Town (Kent) andSt. Leonards Stamcroft were relegated to the Midland and Southern Divisions, whilstBromsgrove Rovers were reprieved after the Southern Division runners-upChelmsford City were denied in promotion due to ground grading.Ilkeston Town,Grantham Town andWeymouth were promoted to the Premier Division, the former two as champions.
No clubs were relegated to level eight leagues this season, though Southern Division clubsTrowbridge Town folded andFareham Town voluntary demoted to the Wessex League.
The Premier Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 16 clubs from theprevious season and six new clubs:
| Season | 1997–98 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Forest Green Rovers |
| Promoted | Forest Green Rovers |
| Relegated | Ashford Town (Kent) Sittingbourne St.Leonards Stamcroft |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,372 (2.97 per match) |
1998–99 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forest Green Rovers | 42 | 27 | 8 | 7 | 93 | 55 | +38 | 89 | Promoted to theFootball Conference |
| 2 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 24 | 12 | 6 | 80 | 42 | +38 | 84 | |
| 3 | Burton Albion | 42 | 21 | 8 | 13 | 64 | 43 | +21 | 71 | |
| 4 | Dorchester Town | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 63 | 38 | +25 | 70 | |
| 5 | Halesowen Town | 42 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 70 | 38 | +32 | 69 | |
| 6 | Bath City | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 72 | 51 | +21 | 69 | |
| 7 | Worcester City | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 53 | 44 | +9 | 68 | |
| 8 | King's Lynn | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 64 | 64 | 0 | 67 | |
| 9 | Atherstone United | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 55 | 49 | +6 | 63 | |
| 10 | Crawley Town | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 63 | 60 | +3 | 59 | |
| 11 | Gloucester City | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 59 | |
| 12 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 17 | 6 | 19 | 68 | 61 | +7 | 57 | |
| 13 | Cambridge City | 42 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 62 | 70 | −8 | 56 | |
| 14 | Hastings Town | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 67 | 70 | −3 | 54 | |
| 15 | Tamworth | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 68 | 65 | +3 | 53 | |
| 16 | Rothwell Town | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 55 | 73 | −18 | 49 | |
| 17 | Gresley Rovers | 42 | 14 | 6 | 22 | 59 | 77 | −18 | 48 | |
| 18 | Salisbury City | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 53 | 72 | −19 | 48 | |
| 19 | Bromsgrove Rovers | 42 | 13 | 6 | 23 | 67 | 85 | −18 | 45 | Reprieved from relegation |
| 20 | Sittingbourne | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 47 | 66 | −19 | 44 | Relegated to theSouthern Division |
| 21 | Ashford Town (Kent) | 42 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 34 | 85 | −51 | 29 | |
| 22 | St. Leonards Stamcroft | 42 | 5 | 10 | 27 | 48 | 97 | −49 | 25 |
The Midland Division consisted of 21 clubs, including 18 clubs from theprevious season and three new clubs:
Also, at the end of the previous seasonHinckley Town merged withMidland Alliance clubHinckley Athletic to formHinckley United.
| Season | 1997–98 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Grantham Town |
| Promoted | Grantham Town Ilkeston Town |
| Matches | 420 |
| Goals | 1,302 (3.1 per match) |
1998–99 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grantham Town | 40 | 30 | 4 | 6 | 87 | 39 | +48 | 94 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Ilkeston Town | 40 | 29 | 6 | 5 | 123 | 39 | +84 | 93 | |
| 3 | Solihull Borough | 40 | 22 | 9 | 9 | 81 | 48 | +33 | 75 | |
| 4 | Raunds Town | 40 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 73 | 44 | +29 | 68 | Transferred to theSouthern Division |
| 5 | Wisbech Town | 40 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 79 | 56 | +23 | 67 | |
| 6 | Moor Green | 40 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 72 | 55 | +17 | 67 | |
| 7 | Bilston Town | 40 | 20 | 5 | 15 | 69 | 57 | +12 | 65 | |
| 8 | Blakenall | 40 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 66 | 56 | +10 | 64 | |
| 9 | Stafford Rangers | 40 | 18 | 6 | 16 | 57 | 56 | +1 | 60 | |
| 10 | Redditch United | 40 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 58 | 40 | +18 | 59 | |
| 11 | Stourbridge | 40 | 16 | 9 | 15 | 56 | 55 | +1 | 57 | |
| 12 | Hinckley United | 40 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 59 | 56 | +3 | 56 | |
| 13 | Brackley Town | 40 | 15 | 7 | 18 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 52 | Transferred to theSouthern Division |
| 14 | Bedworth United | 40 | 15 | 5 | 20 | 50 | 73 | −23 | 50 | |
| 15 | Racing Club Warwick | 40 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 49 | 56 | −7 | 42 | |
| 16 | Shepshed Dynamo | 40 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 55 | 74 | −19 | 41 | |
| 17 | Sutton Coldfield Town | 40 | 9 | 12 | 19 | 42 | 68 | −26 | 39 | |
| 18 | Paget Rangers | 40 | 9 | 12 | 19 | 40 | 75 | −35 | 39 | |
| 19 | VS Rugby | 40 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 53 | 93 | −40 | 36 | |
| 20 | Evesham United | 40 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 48 | 94 | −46 | 30 | |
| 21 | Corby Town | 40 | 2 | 8 | 30 | 41 | 111 | −70 | 14 | Transferred to theSouthern Division |
The Southern Division consisted of 22 clubs, including 19 clubs from theprevious season and three new clubs, relegated from the Premier Division:
At the end of the season Havant Town and Waterlooville merged to form a new clubHavant & Waterlooville.
| Season | 1997–98 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Weymouth |
| Promoted | Weymouth |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,470 (3.18 per match) |
1998–99 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weymouth | 42 | 32 | 2 | 8 | 107 | 48 | +59 | 98 | Promoted to thePremier Division |
| 2 | Chelmsford City | 42 | 29 | 8 | 5 | 86 | 39 | +47 | 95 | Denied promotion |
| 3 | Bashley | 42 | 29 | 4 | 9 | 101 | 59 | +42 | 91 | |
| 4 | Newport (Isle of Wight) | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 72 | 34 | +38 | 84 | |
| 5 | Fisher Athletic | 42 | 25 | 5 | 12 | 87 | 50 | +37 | 80 | |
| 6 | Margate | 42 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 71 | 42 | +29 | 77 | |
| 7 | Newport | 42 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 83 | 65 | +18 | 69 | Transferred to theMidland Division |
| 8 | Witney Town | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 74 | 58 | +16 | 69 | |
| 9 | Clevedon Town | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 57 | 55 | +2 | 67 | Transferred to theMidland Division |
| 10 | Waterlooville | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 69 | 64 | +5 | 58 | Merged intoHavant & Waterlooville |
| 11 | Dartford | 42 | 17 | 7 | 18 | 60 | 60 | 0 | 58 | |
| 12 | Havant Town | 42 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 65 | 70 | −5 | 53 | Merged intoHavant & Waterlooville |
| 13 | Fleet Town | 42 | 16 | 5 | 21 | 63 | 83 | −20 | 53 | |
| 14 | Tonbridge Angels | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 52 | |
| 15 | Trowbridge Town | 42 | 14 | 6 | 22 | 55 | 69 | −14 | 48 | Club folded |
| 16 | Erith & Belvedere | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 47 | 68 | −21 | 46 | |
| 17 | Fareham Town | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 75 | 87 | −12 | 45 | Resigned to theWessex League |
| 18 | Cirencester Town | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 63 | 88 | −25 | 43 | |
| 19 | Weston-super-Mare | 42 | 12 | 5 | 25 | 49 | 86 | −37 | 41 | Transferred to theMidland Division |
| 20 | Baldock Town | 42 | 10 | 5 | 27 | 53 | 81 | −28 | 35 | |
| 21 | Cinderford Town | 42 | 6 | 5 | 31 | 40 | 112 | −72 | 23 | Transferred to theMidland Division |
| 22 | Yate Town | 42 | 5 | 7 | 30 | 44 | 97 | −53 | 22 |