About ILFL

The Inner London Football League (ILFL) was forged in a moment of unity and solidarity amongst a group of local teams from Tower Hamlets that were keen to setup and manage a league catering for all members of the community and not just a select few.

The founding ethos of the ILFL was fairness, openness and transparency for ALL whether they are new to the league, already part of the league or part of the management committee. This still remains the case today and it is this unbiased equal treatment of all concerned has allowed the league to progress very quickly and become recognised as a key provider of community services in the borough.

For the reasons above and it's services to the local community, the league has been recognised as the "Official Tower Hamlets League" by the local council since 2008. It is also why so many private and public organisations have sponsored and supported the ILFL over the years.

Over the years the league has evolved from a purely Sunday based winter league and now runs a Summer league as well as a mid-week Veterans league and various Cup competitions.

Where ILFL leads others follow, or at least try to. Here are some of the examples where ILFL has led the way,

  • Within a couple of seasons the ILFL moved with the technology and abandoned almost all paper based forms and moved to email and electronic communication. This seems quaint by today's standard but it was revolutionary in the beginning of the millennium and many leagues are still paper based.
  • Bespoke football management system and web site designed and developed by football lovers for footballers. From day one, the ILFL has used the latest technologies to make life easier for everyone. The ILFL web site has allowed managers to register players online and keep a track of all their expenses long before other leagues had barely started using email.

    The ILFL IT infrastructure is now advanced enough that over 90% of all administration is performed automatically allowing us to manage all the various projects purely voluntarily without any paid staff or additional cost to the teams! Hence the unbeatable prices for all the various competitions. No other amateur league in the country can claim the same.

  • The ILFL's very own "Match of the Day". A unique live TV show highlighting the big matches of the week along with other football news. The programme aims to publicise and highlight the work that all the member teams put in for their community.
  • Setting the veterans scene ablaze! Before ILFL introduced the veterans league to the borough, most football was played over the weekends and it was for the young and the fit. Now the elder generation has something to look forward to as well.
  • Partnership with other leagues. The ILFL has always been a true believer in partnership work with other organisations instead of a domineering control of everything. The Inter League Champions Cup and the Veterans League are a couple of such examples.

We understand that funding a team is by means an easy task. Our aim is to develop and nurture new teams that can sustain themselves for the long term and that is why we design all our competitions to be cost effective and sustainable for the long term. We never have and never will boast about providing everything but with hidden charges that are all lumped together. Everything we provide is either provided at cost or subsidised with funding that the league undertakes to secure from private sponsors.

The ILFL is and has always been run 100% by volunteers that are passionate about football and who still actively play football. It is that passion which keeps the ILFL fresh bringing new and the excitement alive.