The Orpington and Bromley District Sunday Football League (OBDSFL) was founded in 1948 by the late Charlie Gibbons at a time when Sunday morning football was still in its infancy and I believe, unrecognised by the FA.

The League really got into action in 1949/50 season and expanded in the 1950/51 season to 3 divisions. The late Jack Standen of Petts Wood F.C. was heavily involved in the early years and was a Vice President of the OBDSFL.

The 1950's and 1960's saw the OBDSFL moving from strength to strength with the emphasis on good football and a strong Management Committee realising high standards for the clubs involved. This ethos is still present today.

Great teams of this era were Oakley Rovers, Bideford Rovers and Southborough (who won the old Premier Division for 7 consecutive seasons, which has still not been matched by the teams of today). The 1960s also saw the addition of Division's Three, Four and Five. In the 1970s the League grew still further. Red Barrel, Billet Villa, Partridge and Spartak won the majority of the trophies.

The addition of a Senior Division in 1975/76 saw stronger sides attracted to the OBDSFL due to the new private facilities required. Billet Villa themselves set a record in the President's Charity Cup where they won it from 1968/69 to 1976/77 only losing to Partridge in the 1971/72 season (yet another record still unsurpassed by current clubs), our current Chairman, Roger Pester being involved with Billet Villa at this time.

The 1980s saw the OBDSFL creating Divisions 5A and 5B for 2 seasons before settling with a 6th Division in the 1982/83 season. Eight divisions continued in the heyday of Sunday morning football in the 1980s until 1994/95 season when the League settled to its current format of seven Divisions.

Our clubs compete for several Cups. The main trophy is the Presidents' Charity Cup which is now open to all teams. Like the FA Cup, the Senior and Premier teams only become involved in Round 3 onwards. The Smales' Trophy has taken over from the former Smales' Combination Cup and is for those teams knocked out from the Presidents' Charity Cup in the very early rounds. The Paul Picard Cup (named after a long and loyal member of the OBDSFL) is for teams in Divisions Premier, One and Two whilst the Jack Standen (previously Howard) Cup is for teams in Divisions Three, Four and Five. All in all this gives all sides a sufficient cup interest together with League involvement to have meaningful competitive football from mid September through to the 1st Sunday in May.

Several "additional" cups can also be arranged in case of particularly good weather in a season - the Senior, Intermediate and Junior League Cups and the Reg Logan Invitation Cup and Fairweather Trophy, the latter aptly named!! The League has been proud of its emphasis on good sportsmanship and excellent football to be available to all its Member Clubs. In recognition of efforts made by clubs in this respect the league awards the Jim Harris Sportsman Cup to the team who attracts the highest sportsman marks each season from Referees.

The Referees Panel of the OBDSFL is also honoured in a similar way where the referee with the seasons highest average marks from clubs is also given a trophy. Referees have always been highly involved with the running of our League. The current Referees Secretary, Ken Chappell, has been doing the job for 25 years. The OBDSFL benefits from having a Management Committee that have many, many years of Sunday football experience each - from the Club angle or the Referee's viewpoint. This unique blend of club/referee interaction ensures that with the best part of 300 man years experience the member clubs are all treated exactly the same and benefit from a knowledge pool second to none in local football. Moreover, the excellent football attracts a panel of referees that ensures that on most Sundays we are able to cover each match with at least one qualified referee.

The OBDSFL is always willing to hear from good and well organised new clubs or existing clubs with a new side wanting to join the League. You must first apply and then be invited to attend a New Clubs Evening which is held in April each year, the next such meeting being on Monday April 16th 2007. To obtain an application form and the relevant documentation please contact the General Secretary, Phil Cheverton, on 020 8249 3205 or via email on obdsflgensec@ntlworld.com.