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League and cup action continued this weekend and in the Rhodes Cup, AFC Stockport once again sprang a shock, defeating promotion-chasing Didsbury FC in an all-Division One affair. Having dispatched Bedians in the last round, AFC Stockport’s run looked to be at an end after Didsbury went three up early in the second half, but AFC fought back in style, netting five times without reply to march into the next round. Joining them are Premier Division high-flyers Rushford Park who

After Saturday's fixtures had been completed, the draw for the Semi-Finals of the League's three domestic cups were made at South West Manchester Cricket Club with Mike Yates and Keith Marsden drawing the balls. RHODES CUP - ties to be played on Saturday 11th April 2026 Rochdalians or East Manchester Galaxy v AFC Stockport Sats Grappenhall Sports or Manchester Rose v Rushford Park There will be at least one Division One club in the Final this season after a series of eye-catc

There was a flood of goals to match the torrential rain conditions on yet another inclement weekend in the L&C which saw arguably the shock of the L&C season. In the Keith Marsden Cup, three games were completed which included an almighty upset as Santos U23s – midtable in Division B – shocked Division Three Stoconians 3-2 to record a famous win. Elsewhere, Fitton Hill All-Stars triumphed at Spurley Hey by the odd goal in five. There were five goals in the other game, but all

With the season fast approaching the 'business end' of the season, the L&C is inviting applications for membership for 2026-27 season. The L&C is an open-age Saturday afternoon mens league, serving clubs across Greater Manchester, North Cheshire and surrounding districts close to the motorway network. We are a progressive, club-centred league offering ongoing support and flexibility to meet club needs, with affordable fees that have been unchanged since 2012. If you are a new

Cup action continued over the weekend and the Rhodes Cup saw an eye-catching display from Grappenhall Sports Club who belied their Division One status to put Premier Division Boothstown to the sword 6-2 thanks to a clinic of ruthless finishing. Their reward is a home tie with Manchester Rose. There were no such problems for Premier Division high-flyers Chadderton Cott who comfortably saw off Mellor 5-2. In the Geoff Garnett Cup , there was a tense encounter at Manchester Sout

East Manchester Galaxy, AFC Stockport and Didsbury FC all delivered Rhodes Cup shocks to reach the quarter finals. Galaxy, second and unbeaten in Division One, illustrated their quality by defeating Premier Division leaders Bollington United on penalties. The underdogs took the lead through a well-worked set piece which the outstanding Muhamed Jatta converted, only for Bollington – who have dropped just three league points all season – to level at the break. A few tactical ad

The L&C AFL and other football organisations in the area were saddened to hear of the recent passing away of two significant figures of amateur football in Greater Manchester. Mark Wilson (Rochdalians) and Chris Carney (Salford Victoria) had been involved with their clubs for a combined total of nearly 100 years. They guided their respective clubs to many honours – both team and individual – over the years. To recognise their great contribution to their clubs and amateur foot

There was an upset in the Rhodes Cup  as RFAITS Premier Division Abacus Media were sent packing by Division One’s Didsbury. The game was one of a series that completed the domestic cup preliminary rounds, saw Didsbury saunter to a convincing 5-0 victory. Rushford Park showed why they are flying high in the RFAITS Premier Division with a big 8-1 win over Richmond Rovers. Rochdalians were also impressive in a 3-1 win at Division One leaders Oldham Hulmeians. The Wray Cup  saw f

The League is deeply saddened to report the passing of Mark Wilson, the much respected Club Secretary of Rochdalians AFC. Alexander Drew joined the L&C in 1994 with Mark at the helm, the club reverting back to it's original name of Rochdalians in 1999. Mark was instrumental in the club securing it's own home at Springhill Playing Fields in 1997, and success came quickly with the League Championship being secured in the same year with further triumphs in 2000, 2003, 2015, 2016

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Chris CARNEY on Tuesday after a long and brave fight with cancer. Chris's dedication to his football club and community is legend, Salford Victoria providing football to generations of Salfordians whilst his many decades of service to the 53rd Boys Brigade since joining the organisation as a boy is incalculable. His work for young people and single-mindedness in creating opportunities for their development and wellbe

This weekend saw attention primarily shift to the domestic cup competitions and in the Rhodes Cup,  featuring Premier Division and Division One sides, saw two pulsating preliminary round games. In the first, Division One Mellor edged out Premier Division Trafford United in a seven-goal thriller while in the other all-Division One game, East Manchester Galaxy came out on top 5-3 against Stretford Paddock Reserves. The Wray Cup for Division Two and Three teams, saw Division Thr

The eagerly awaited start of the second half of the season was disrupted by a stiff frost following on a snowy week casing the bulk of the matches on grass to be called off by frozen pitches. A new pair of domestic cup competitions (the Geoff Garnett Cup ) for teams in the Premier division and Division One and Two and (the Keith Marsden Cup ) for teams in Divisions Three, A and B were set for inaugural preliminary rounds. Only two games in the Geoff Garnett Cup were able to g

As we enter 2026, the L&C’s oldest member club South Manchester are looking to complete their ninety-eighth season, only one short of Aldermere’s record of ninety-nine, and are also now fast approaching one thousand league fixtures played.   Formed in 1914, South didn’t actually start playing until in 1921 due to the Great War and joined the L&C a year later and played on a number of grounds around Withington before becoming a fixture at Christie Playing Fields in 1934 until

The L&C will be running it's three main internal cup knock-out competitions this season: 1 The Rhodes Cup for teams in the Premier Division and Division One, 2 The Wray Cup for teams in Division Two and Division Three and 3 The Whitehead Cup for teams in Division A and Division B. The Preliminary Rounds will be played in late January, and all cups will finish in April and May with semi-finals played on neutral grounds and the finals at non-league grounds, supporting the Leagu

In an effort to keep as many of our teams playing throughout the second half of the season as possible, the L&C has organised two new invitational knock-out cup competitions to run to the end of the season. Restricted to teams with eleven or less league fixtures to play, and at least six free home slots, the draws have been made and the inaugural competitions have been named in honour of our two longest-serving committee members, Geoff Garnett and Keith Marsden. The Geoff Gar

The L&C took it’s traditional mid-season break and it was preceded by the Autumn AGM where chairman Mike Yates gave a warm welcome to representatives of member clubs and special guest Mark Harris. Mike said: “Mark Harris is helping the League with our new Commercial and Communication Strategy . “e is a consultant in the FA leagues programme , he has a wealth of experience in football and marketing and is currently the Chair of the Northern Premier League  “As the weather is c

In the final round of fixtures before the mid-season break, RFAITS sponsored Premier Division leaders Bollington United consolidated their position at the summit with an efficient 2-0 victory over hard-working Manchester South End. It means that, in their first season at this level, Bollington hold a six-point lead over AFC Oldham who have two games in hand. In effect, Bollington’s superior goal difference means the lead is seven points. The other game in division saw Bedians

A better week of weather saw a bigger number of games completed to hot up the title challenges across the six divisions. It’s hot at the top of the  Premier Division  as AFC Oldham ended the 100% record of Rushford Park with a 2-0 win to leapfrog them into second place three points behind long-time leaders Bollington United with a game in hand. Oldham showed plenty of determination in an exciting and close contest which was settled by two clinical finishes and gritty defendin

Moorside took the total of L&C teams through to quarter-finals of the Manchester Amateur Cup  to three with a demolition 7-0 win over Heywood St James Reserves thanks to a brace apiece from Joe FAGAN and Jason EVANS, along with strikes by Ryan BEECH, Rhys ROBERTS and Liam MAHER. Their reward in the last eight is a meeting with Heywood St James Development, and this latest victory extends their unbeaten run to eight games in all competitions. Just one game completed in the RFA

Heavy showers on the previous day followed by steady rain on match day produced a lot of postponed games on what was to be a busy league programme across the divisions. This was despite the excellent efforts of league and club officials to try and find alternative venues at late notice. There was just one cup game, and it saw Bedians lose to the only goal of the game in their Northern Cup clash with Daten FC Reserves. The top game in the RFAITS Premier Division  between the t