If you fancied something a little bit different on Saturday afternoon, the Thames Valley Premier League representative side kick off their FA Inter League Cup campaign at Scours Lane in Reading (KO 3pm).
The Thames Valley Premier League team, made up of players from the leagues step 7 sides will face the Southern Amateur Football League from South London in the first round of the competition that ends with the winners representing England in a UEFA organised competition.
The second round draw of the competition has already been made and the winners of the fixture will travel to either Essex & Suffolk Border League or Southern Combination League.
Last season, the TVPL team, which is managed by current Newbury and former Reading YMCA boss Karl Curtis, reached the Quarter Finals of the competition, losing to the Amateur Combination League.
I’ve never heard of the FA Inter League Cup, what is it?
According to the FA.com website, the competition was setup by the Football Association in 2003 and was previously known as the NLS Cup (either the National League System or Non League System, not sure) to find a representative for the UEFA Regions Cup which was established in 1999 to provide an opportunity for amateurs playing at the lower levels of the game to take part in a European competition.
The round dates are:
- First Round Saturday 28 September 2019
- Second Round Saturday 30 November 2019
- Third Round Saturday 29 February 2020
- Semi Final Saturday 28 March 2020
- Final Saturday 2 May 2020 (prov)
FA Inter League Cup First Round draw
- Yorkshire Amateur League v North Riding Football League
- Wearside League v West Cheshire Football League
- Isle of Man League v Cheshire Football League
- West Yorkshire Football League v Manchester Football League
- Liverpool County Premier League v York Football League
- Anglian Combination League v Cambridgeshire County League
- Lincolnshire League v Northants Combination League
- Bedfordshire County Football League v Staffordshire County Senior League
- Suffolk & Ipswich Football League v Peterborough & District Football League
- Amateur Football Combination League v Essex Olympian Football League
- Herts Senior County League v Kent County Football League
- Essex & Suffolk Border Football League v Southern Combination Football League
- Thames Valley Premier League v Southern Amateur Football League
- Dorset Premier Football League v Mid Sussex Football League
- Hampshire Premier Football League v Guernsey Football League
- Jersey Football Combination League v Somerset County League
