2002–03 Kent Football League

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2002–03 Kent Football League (Go Travel Kent League) – quick guide

Overview
- The 2002–03 season was the 37th season of the Kent Football League in England. It was sponsored as the Go Travel Kent League.
- The league had three divisions: Premier Division, and Division One North and Division One South. There was also a Reserves Section, with its own Cup.

Structure and key changes
- Premier Division: 16 clubs competed. No new clubs joined the Premier Division this season.
- Reserves Section: divided into Division One North and Division One South. The top team in each division played a playoff to decide Division One Champion. Promotion from the Reserves into the Premier Division was not allowed. There was a single League Cup for reserves teams.
- Division One North and Division One South each started with 12 clubs. At the end of the season, the top six teams from each division were moved to a newly formed Division One, and the bottom six were moved to Division Two, as part of a reorganization.

Premier Division highlights
- Champions: Cray Wanderers were crowned Premier Division champions on a points-per-game basis after Faversham Town resigned late in the season (eight games remaining). The resignation meant final standings were decided by points per game rather than total points.
- Faversham Town resigned with eight games left; their results were not expunged, but the league used points-per-game to determine final positions.
- The season featured 232 matches in the Premier Division.

Division One North highlights
- Champions (Reserves): Cray Wanderers Reserves (Cray Wanderers R) won Division One North.
- New/renamed clubs: Danson Furness was the renamed Swanley Furness.
- End-of-season change: the top six teams moved to the new Division One, and the bottom six moved to Division Two.

Division One South highlights
- Champions (Reserves): Deal Town Reserves (Deal Town R) won Division One South.
- Renamed club: Hastings Town became Hastings United.
- Margate resigned from the league during the season.
- End-of-season change: the top six teams moved to the new Division One, and the remaining clubs moved to Division Two.

Division One Cup
- Winners: Cray Wanderers Reserves captured the Division One Cup.

Cup and notable achievements
- The season saw Cray Wanderers achieve a League and Cup double by winning the Premier Division (league) and the Challenge Cup (the Kent League Challenge Cup).

Play-off results (Division One Champion Play-off)
- The Division One Champion Play-off was won by Deal Town Reserves, who defeated Cray Wanderers Reserves 3–2 in a match held at Herne Bay.

Season context
- The season continued to showcase the Kent League’s structure of a Premier Division plus geographically split Division One North and South, with a Reserves Section feeding into the lower divisions.
- The restructuring at season’s end created a new League setup for 2003–04, with promotion and relegation between the new divisions.