Southern League Champions
Southern League Division 1 1894-1920
The old Division 1 was founded in 1894 and incorporated into the Football League in 1920.
| Champions | Runners-up | |
| 1894-95 | Millwall Athletic | Luton Town |
| 1895-96 | Millwall Athletic | Luton Town |
| 1896-97 | Southampton St Mary | Millwall Athletic |
| 1897-98 | Southampton | Bristol City |
| 1898-99 | Southampton | Bristol City |
| 1899-00 | Tottenham Hotspur | Portsmouth |
| 1900-01 | Southampton | Bristol City |
| 1901-02 | Portsmouth | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 1902-03 | Southampton | READING |
| 1903-04 | Southampton | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 1904-05 | Bristol Rovers | READING |
| 1905-06 | Fulham | Southampton |
| 1906-07 | Fulham | Portsmouth |
| 1907-08 | Queens Park Rangers | Plymouth Argyle |
| 1908-09 | Northampton Town | Swindon Town |
| 1909-10 | Brighton & Hove A | Swindon Town |
| 1910-11 | Swindon Town | Northampton Town |
| 1911-12 | Queens Park Rangers | Plymouth Argyle |
| 1912-13 | Plymouth Argyle | Swindon Town |
| 1913-14 | Swindon Town | Crystal Palace |
| 1914-15 | Watford | READING |
| 1915-19 | no competition | |
| 1919-20 | Portsmouth | Watford |
The loss of the old Division 1 left the Southern League with a rump of Welsh teams from the old Division 2, a handful of English teams, and the reserve elevens of its old members. It organised these into two regional sections (English and Welsh) with the top two teams playing off for the championship. When an economic depression decimated the Welsh section in 1923, the two sections were reorganised as East and West.
| Champions | Runners-up | |||
| 1920-21 | Brighton & HA ResEn | 1/2 | BarryWa | 1/1 |
| 1921-22 | Plymouth Arg ResEn | 3 | Ebbw ValeWa | 0 |
| 1922-23 | Ebbw ValeWa | 2 | Bristol City ResEn | 1 |
| 1923-24 | Yeovil & Petters UW | 3 | Peterborough & FUE | 1 |
| 1924-25 | Southampton ResE | 2 | Swansea Town ResW | 1 |
| 1925-26 | Plymouth Arg ResW | 1 | Millwall ResE | 0 |
| 1926-27 | Brighton & HA ResE | 4 | Torquay UnitedW | 0 |
| 1927-28 | Kettering TownE | 5 | Bristol City ResW | 0 |
| 1928-29 | Plymouth Arg ResW | 4 | Kettering TownE | 2 |
| 1929-30 | Aldershot TownE | 3 | Bath CityW | 2 |
| 1930-31 | DartfordE | 7 | Exeter City ResW | 2 |
| 1931-32 | DartfordE | 2 | Yeovil & Petters UW | 1 |
| 1932-33 | Norwich City ResE | 2 | Bath CityW | 1 |
| 1933-34 | Plymouth Arg ResW | 2/3 | Norwich City ResE | 2/0 |
| 1934-35 | Norwich City ResE | 2/7 | Yeovil & Petters UW | 2/2 |
| 1935-36 | MargateE | 3 | Plymouth Arg ResW | 1 |
Central Section 1933-36
There was also a supplementary tournament called the Central Section uniting teams from the Eastern and Western Sections held between 1933 and 1936.
| Champions | Runners-up | |
| 1933-34 | Plymouth Arg Res | Clapton Orient Res |
| 1934-35 | Folkestone | Guildford City |
| 1935-36 | Margate | Bristol Rovers Res |
A unified First Division was reintroduced in 1936 and continued with the exception of the truncated 1939-40 season until 1958-59, when plans for a second division necessitated a transitional season with two sections (South East and North West), the top half of each section qualifying for the new Premier Division and the rest for the First Division.
| Champions | Runners-up | |
| 1936-37 | Ipswich Town | Norwich City Res |
| 1937-38 | Guildford City | Plymouth Arg Res |
| 1938-39 | Colchester United | Guildford City |
| 1939-401 | Chelmsford CityE | Lovells AthleticW |
| 1940-45 | no competition | |
| 1945-46 | Chelmsford City | Hereford United |
| 1946-47 | Gillingham | Guildford City |
| 1947-48 | Merthyr Tydfil | Gillingham |
| 1948-49 | Gillingham | Chelmsford City |
| 1949-50 | Merthyr Tydfil | Colchester United |
| 1950-51 | Merthyr Tydfil | Hereford United |
| 1951-52 | Merthyr Tydfil | Weymouth |
| 1952-53 | Headington United | Merthyr Tydfil |
| 1953-54 | Merthyr Tydfil | Headington United |
| 1954-55 | Yeovil Town | Weymouth |
| 1955-56 | Guildford City | Cheltenham Town |
| 1956-57 | Kettering Town | Bedford Town |
| 1957-58 | Gravesend & N'fleet | Bedford Town |
| 1958-592 | Bedford TownSE | Hereford UnitedNW |
|
1 title shared following 3-3 draw in play-off 2 Bedford beat Hereford 2-1 in play-off | ||
Midweek Section 1936-39
There was also a supplementary tournament called the Midweek Section held between 1936 and 1939.
| Champions | Runners-up | |
| 1936-37 | Margate | Bath City |
| 1937-38 | Millwall Res | Colchester United |
| 1938-39 | Tunbridge Wells R | Colchester United |
Southern League Premier Division 1959-79
The Southern League Premier Division continued from 1959 until 1979 when the top teams again broke away, together with those from the Northern Premier League, to form the Alliance Premier League. The top teams from the Isthmian League only joined later, as the Alliance Premier League became the Conference in 1986.
| Champions | Runners-up | |
| 1959-60 | Bath City | Headington United |
| 1960-61 | Oxford United | Chelmsford City |
| 1961-62 | Oxford United | Bath City |
| 1962-63 | Cambridge City | Cambridge United |
| 1963-64 | Yeovil Town | Chelmsford City |
| 1964-65 | Weymouth | Guildford City |
| 1965-66 | Weymouth | Chelmsford City |
| 1966-67 | Romford | Nuneaton Borough |
| 1967-68 | Chelmsford City | Wimbledon |
| 1968-69 | Cambridge United | Hillingdon Borough |
| 1969-70 | Cambridge United | Yeovil Town |
| 1970-71 | Yeovil Town | Cambridge City |
| 1971-72 | Chelmsford City | Hereford United |
| 1972-73 | Kettering Town | Yeovil Town |
| 1973-74 | Dartford | Grantham |
| 1974-75 | Wimbledon | Nuneaton Borough |
| 1975-76 | Wimbledon | Yeovil Town |
| 1976-77 | Wimbledon | Minehead |
| 1977-78 | Bath City | Weymouth |
| 1978-79 | Worcester City | Kettering Town |
The loss of teams to the Alliance Premier League led to the remaining Premier Division and First Division teams being re-organised into two sections (Midlands and South) for a couple of seasons with the overall champions being decided by a play-off.
| Champions | Runners-up | |||
| 1979-80 | Bridgend TownM | 3/2 | Dorchester TownS | 0/0 |
| 1980-81 | AlvechurchM | 1/21 | DartfordS | 0/31 |
| 1981-82 | WealdstoneS | 0/22 | Nuneaton BoroughM | 1/12 |
|
1 Alvechurch won 4-3 on penalties 2 Wealdstone won 3-2 on penalties |
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Southern League Premier Division 1982-2018
A unified Premier Division was re-introduced in 1982. There was a further exodus of teams in 2004 as the Conference added Southern and Northern divisions below the National section, becoming the National League in 2015. This left the Southern League Premier Division at Level VII of the Football Pyramid.
| Champions | Runners-up | |
| 1982-83 | AP Leamington | Kidderminster Harriers |
| 1983-84 | Dartford | Fisher Athletic |
| 1984-85 | Cheltenham Town | King's Lynn |
| 1985-86 | Welling United | Chelmsford City |
| 1986-87 | Fisher Athletic | Bromsgrove Rovers |
| 1987-88 | Aylesbury United | Dartford |
| 1988-89 | Merthyr Tydfil | Dartford |
| 1989-90 | Dover Athletic | Bath City |
| 1990-91 | Farnborough Town | Gloucester City |
| 1991-92 | Bromsgrove Rovers | Dover Athletic |
| 1992-93 | Dover Athletic | Cheltenham Town |
| 1993-94 | Farnborough Town | Cheltenham Town |
| 1994-95 | Hednesford Town | Cheltenham Town |
| 1995-96 | Rushden & Diamonds | Halesowen Town |
| 1996-97 | Gresley Rovers | Cheltenham Town |
| 1997-98 | Forest Green Rovers | Merthyr Tydfil |
| 1998-99 | Nuneaton Borough | Boston United |
| 1999-00 | Boston United | Burton Albion |
| 2000-01 | Margate | Burton Albion |
| 2001-02 | Kettering Town | Tamworth |
| 2002-03 | Tamworth | Stafford Rangers |
| 2003-04 | Crawley Town | Weymouth |
| 2004-05 | Histon | Chippenham Town |
| 2005-06 | Salisbury City | Bath City |
| 2006-07 | Bath City | Team Bath |
| 2007-08 | King's Lynn | Team Bath |
| 2008-09 | Corby Town | Farnborough Town |
| 2009-10 | Farnborough Town | Nuneaton Town |
| 2010-11 | Truro City | Hednesford Town |
| 2011-12 | Brackley Town | Oxford City |
| 2012-13 | Leamington | Stourbridge |
| 2013-14 | Hemel Hempstead | Chesham United |
| 2014-15 | Corby Town | Poole Town |
| 2015-16 | Poole Town | Redditch United |
| 2016-17 | Chippenham Town | Leamington |
| 2017-18 | Hereford FC | King's Lynn Town |
Southern League Premier Division 2018-24
The Premier Division was once again split into regional sections (Central and South) in 2018 with the overall champions being decided by a play-off.
| Champions | Runners-up | |||
| 2018-19 | WeymouthS | 11 | Kettering TownC | 11 |
| 2019-21 | no competition | |||
| 2021-22 | Banbury UnitedC | P2 | Taunton TownS | P2 |
| 2022-23 | Weston-super-MareS | P3 | TamworthC | P3 |
| 2023-24 | Chesham UnitedS | − | Needham MarketC | − |
|
1 Weymouth won 5-3 on penalties 2 Taunton withdrew from Championship play-off 3 Tamworth withdrew from Championship play-off |
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