St. John's Football League

Organized football, also called soccer, began in Newfoundland in the mid-nineteenth century, but it was not until 1896 that a permanent League was formed for the promotion of what one enthusiast repeatedly referred to as "our national game". The Newfoundland Football League was established on 15 March 1896 with a roster of seven St. John's teams including the Star of the Sea, the CLB, the CEI, the Methodist Institute, the Saints, the Rovers and the KAC. Games were originally played on the Llewellyn Grounds: after 1899 the League shifted its operations to St. George's Field. The League operated continuously until 1940, when activities were suspended for the duration of the war. In 1945 the League was reactivated, playing on the Ayre Athletic Grounds. A junior league of the Newfoundland Football League was formed in 1923. It was active from 1923-1928, again from 1932-1940 and, like its parent League, was reactivated in 1945.

In 1949, recognizing that their activities were confined to St. John's and that active football clubs were developing elsewhere in the province, the League adopted a new constitution, changing its name at that time to the St. John's Football League. At that time the League affiliated itself with the newly-formed Newfoundland Amateur Football Association (later the Newfoundland Minor Soccer Association). Further revision of the constitution in 1960 gave authority over League activities to the League executive, eliminating the need for extensive consultations on policy, scheduling and planning with representatives of every member team.

By 1977 the League was referred to as the St. John's Amateur Soccer League and appears to have had junior and senior divisions. In 2000 the Newfoundland Soccer Association lists the St. John's Minor Soccer Association as a member organization.

Created - May 9, 2013

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