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The 2021–22 North West Counties Football League season was the 40th in the history of the North West Counties Football League, a football competition in England, and the fourth season following the split of the lower level into two geographically separated divisions. Teams are divided into three divisions: Premier Division, at Step 5, and Divisions One North and South, at Step 6.
The allocations for Steps 5 and 6 this season were announced by The Football Association on 18 May 2021,[1] and were subject to appeal. On 8 April, it was announced at the league's Management Committee meeting that the season would start no earlier than Saturday 31 July.[2] The league constitution was adopted on 12 June.[3]
After the abandonment of the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, numerous promotions were decided on a points per game basis over the previous two seasons.[4][5][6]
Premier Division
| Season | 2021–22 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Macclesfield |
| Promoted | Macclesfield Skelmersdale United |
| Relegated | Runcorn Town |
| Biggest home win | Charnock Richard 9-1 Ashton Athletic (August 14) |
| Biggest away win | Winsford United 1-7 Irlam (August 30), Vauxhall Motors 0-6 Macclesfield (February 22) |
| Highest scoring | Charnock Richard 9-1 Ashton Athletic (August 14) AFC Liverpool 4-6 Burscough (October 9) |
← 2020–21 2022–23 → | |
The Premier Division comprises 21 teams, 15 of which competed in the previous season's aborted competition.
The following five clubs left the Premier Division before the season:
- 1874 Northwich – promoted to the Northern Premier League
- Bootle – promoted to the Northern Premier League
- Hanley Town – transferred to the Midland League
- Warrington Rylands – promoted to the Northern Premier League
- Whitchurch Alport – transferred to the Midland League
The following six clubs joined the Premier Division before the season:
- AFC Liverpool – promoted from Division One North
- Lower Breck – promoted from Division One North
- Macclesfield – a newly formed phoenix club
- Prestwich Heys – promoted from Division One North
- Vauxhall Motors – promoted from Division One South
- Wythenshawe Town – promoted from Division One South
Congleton Town's initial transfer laterally to the Midland League was successfully appealed and this move was reversed.[7]
Premier Division table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macclesfield (C, P) | 40 | 29 | 7 | 4 | 94 | 38 | +56 | 94 | Promotion to the NPL Division One West |
| 2 | Skelmersdale United (O, P) | 40 | 24 | 7 | 9 | 94 | 51 | +43 | 79 | Qualification for an inter-step play-off[a] |
| 3 | Wythenshawe Town | 40 | 23 | 9 | 8 | 83 | 43 | +40 | 78 | |
| 4 | Charnock Richard | 40 | 24 | 6 | 10 | 106 | 69 | +37 | 78 | |
| 5 | Northwich Victoria | 40 | 19 | 6 | 15 | 74 | 64 | +10 | 63 | |
| 6 | Avro | 40 | 18 | 8 | 14 | 68 | 62 | +6 | 62 | |
| 7 | Burscough | 40 | 17 | 8 | 15 | 69 | 62 | +7 | 59 | |
| 8 | Vauxhall Motors | 40 | 18 | 5 | 17 | 63 | 77 | −14 | 59 | |
| 9 | Congleton Town | 40 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 67 | 54 | +13 | 58 | |
| 10 | Irlam | 40 | 17 | 6 | 17 | 62 | 68 | −6 | 57 | |
| 11 | Winsford United | 40 | 15 | 9 | 16 | 73 | 73 | 0 | 54 | |
| 12 | Longridge Town | 40 | 15 | 7 | 18 | 74 | 83 | −9 | 52 | |
| 13 | Padiham | 40 | 13 | 11 | 16 | 57 | 65 | −8 | 50 | |
| 14 | AFC Liverpool | 40 | 13 | 10 | 17 | 80 | 80 | 0 | 49 | |
| 15 | Barnoldswick Town | 40 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 63 | 72 | −9 | 47 | |
| 16 | Prestwich Heys | 40 | 13 | 6 | 21 | 59 | 79 | −20 | 45 | |
| 17 | Squires Gate | 40 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 52 | 65 | −13 | 44 | |
| 18 | Ashton Athletic | 40 | 11 | 10 | 19 | 65 | 97 | −32 | 43 | |
| 19 | Lower Breck | 40 | 12 | 6 | 22 | 63 | 89 | −26 | 42 | |
| 20 | Litherland REMYCA | 40 | 10 | 3 | 27 | 54 | 89 | −35 | 33 | Reprieve from relegation[b] |
| 21 | Runcorn Town (R) | 40 | 5 | 12 | 23 | 53 | 93 | −40 | 27 | Relegation to Division One North |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results[11]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Contested a one-off inter-step play-off match as one of the bottom six runners-up from Step 5 with the most points per game (PPG) against a third-from-bottom club out of six from Step 4 with the fewest PPG. The winner rose to Step 4 for the 2022–23 season, while the loser dropped to Step 5.[8] If a runner-up did not meet the minimum participation criteria, a club in the next eligible position between second and seventh would have played instead.[9]
- ^ Reprieved as one of twelve clubs with the most PPG out of 16 that were second-from-bottom at Step 5.[10]
Inter-step play-offs
| 30 April 2022 | Cinderford Town | 1–5 | Skelmersdale United | Causeway Ground, Cinderford |
| 15:00 (UTC+01:00) | Drew  80' |
Howard 33', 47', 88', 90+3' Conteh 65' |
Attendance: 360 |
Stadia and locations
| Team | Location | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
| AFC Liverpool | Crosby | Rossett Park |
| Ashton Athletic | Ashton-in-Makerfield | Brockstedes Park |
| Avro | Oldham | Whitebank Stadium |
| Barnoldswick Town | Barnoldswick | Greenberfield Lane |
| Burscough | Burscough | Victoria Park |
| Charnock Richard | Charnock Richard | Mossie Park |
| Congleton Town | Congleton | Ivy Gardens |
| Irlam | Irlam | Silver Street |
| Litherland REMYCA | Litherland | Litherland Sports Park |
| Longridge Town | Longridge | Mike Riding Ground |
| Lower Breck | Liverpool | Anfield Sports and Community Centre |
| Macclesfield | Macclesfield | Moss Rose |
| Northwich Victoria | Wincham | Wincham Park |
| Padiham | Padiham | Arbories Memorial Sports Ground |
| Prestwich Heys | Prestwich | Adie Moran Park |
| Runcorn Town | Runcorn | Pavilions Sports Complex |
| Skelmersdale United | Skelmersdale | Valerie Park |
| Squires Gate | Squires Gate | School Road |
| Warrington Rylands | Warrington | Gorsey Lane |
| Vauxhall Motors | Ellesmere Port | Rivacre Park |
| Winsford United | Winsford | St Luke's Barton Stadium |
| Wythenshawe Town | Wythenshawe | Ericstan Stadium |
Division One North
| Season | 2021–22 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Bury AFC |
| Promoted | Bury AFC Golcar United |
| Relegated | St Helens Town |
← 2020–21 2022–23 → | |
Division One North comprises 19 clubs, 16 of which were in the division the previous season.
The following three clubs left Division One North before the season, three promoted to the Premier Division:
The following three clubs joined Division One North before the season:
- Campion – transferred from the Northern Counties East League
- Ilkley Town – promoted from the West Yorkshire League
- South Liverpool – promoted from the West Cheshire League
FC Isle of Man appealed for a move to Division One South for logistical reasons after the initial allocation to this division and the club's request was granted.[3]
Division One North table