Ridgeons League: the run-in of spring 2006

The Ridgeons League was the sponsored name of the Eastern Counties Football League. It ran Senior, Reserve and Youth Divisions across East Anglia, and its General Secretary at the time was Nigel Spurling.

April 2006 was the busiest month of the season. On 16 April, Saturday's results confirmed that Stanway Rovers had been promoted to the Premier Division. Three days later the club was presented with its Ridgeons Team of the Month Award on Easter Monday.

Easter Monday also brought the crowds. Five clubs recorded their highest league attendances of the season that day, a good sign for grassroots football in the region.

The youth sides had their own story. Wroxham and Mildenhall Town each won their Youth Division, and the Ridgeons Youth Cup Final, between Woodbridge Town and either Stotfold or Buntingford Town, was set for Braintree Town FC.

The cup calendar filled up fast. The League Challenge Cup Final between AFC Sudbury and Lowestoft Town was fixed for Diss Town FC on Wednesday 10 May, kick-off 7.45pm. Mildenhall Town hosted the First Division KO Cup Final on Bank Holiday Monday 1 May, and Hadleigh United staged the Reserve Teams Division KO Cup Final on 19 April. Whitton United were chosen to host the Reserve Teams Championship play-off between the North and South Division winners.

County football ran alongside. The Norfolk Senior Cup Final between Dereham Town and Norwich United was played at Carrow Road on 19 April, and Suffolk FA confirmed dates for the Club Colours Premier Cup and Alliance Outsourcing Senior Cup Finals.

Off the pitch, AFC Sudbury and Bury Town both passed ground inspections and earned Grade E certificates. Cornard United's Chris Symes won first prize in the FA Groundsman of the Year Awards for the East Midlands and East Anglian Region. The league also kept its Supply League status for 2006-07, and historian Mick Blakeman asked for player and personality details for his History of the Eastern Counties League book.

The original news page is preserved on the Wayback Machine, and the league's old address is ridgeonsleague.co.uk.

This is a sports note, not programme news, and this fan site is not the programme.