Southern Football League Tables
1995/96 Tables◄ 1996/97 Tables ►1997/98 Tables
Southern Football League Premier Division 1996/97
- Gresley Rovers were denied Promotion due to ground grading
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Gresley Rovers | 42 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 75 | 40 | +35 | 85 | Champions |
| 2nd | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 76 | 44 | +32 | 74 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Gloucester City | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 81 | 56 | +25 | 73 | - |
| 4th | Halesowen Town | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 77 | 54 | +23 | 73 | - |
| 5th | King's Lynn | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 65 | 61 | +4 | 68 | - |
| 6th | Burton Albion | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 70 | 53 | +17 | 66 | - |
| 7th | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 61 | 52 | +9 | 66 | - |
| 8th | Sittingbourne | 42 | 19 | 7 | 16 | 76 | 65 | +11 | 64 | - |
| 9th | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 69 | 61 | +8 | 60 | - |
| 10th | Worcester City | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 52 | 50 | +2 | 59 | - |
| 11th | Atherstone United | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 46 | 47 | -1 | 58 | - |
| 12th | Salisbury City | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 57 | 66 | -9 | 58 | - |
| 13th | Sudbury Town | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 72 | 72 | 0 | 55 | ▼Resigned |
| 14th | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 63 | 73 | -10 | 55 | ►ISL Premier |
| 15th | Dorchester Town | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 62 | 66 | -4 | 51 | - |
| 16th | Hastings Town | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 49 | 60 | -11 | 51 | - |
| 17th | Crawley Town | 42 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 49 | 67 | -18 | 47 | - |
| 18th | Cambridge City | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 57 | 65 | -8 | 46 | - |
| 19th | Ashford Town (Kent) | 42 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 53 | 79 | -26 | 45 | - |
| 20th | Baldock Town | 42 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 52 | 90 | -38 | 41 | ▼South Div |
| 21st | Newport | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 40 | 60 | -20 | 40 | ▼South Div |
| 22nd | Chelmsford City | 42 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 49 | 70 | -21 | 32 | ▼South Div |
Southern Football League Midland Division 1996/97
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Tamworth | 40 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 90 | 28 | +62 | 97 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | Rothwell Town | 40 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 82 | 54 | +28 | 71 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Ilkeston Town | 40 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 76 | 50 | +26 | 70 | - |
| 4th | Grantham Town | 40 | 22 | 4 | 14 | 65 | 46 | +19 | 70 | - |
| 5th | Bedworth United | 40 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 77 | 41 | +36 | 65 | - |
| 6th | Solihull Borough | 40 | 19 | 8 | 13 | 84 | 62 | +22 | 65 | - |
| 7th | Bilston Town | 40 | 18 | 10 | 12 | 74 | 57 | +17 | 64 | - |
| 8th | Moor Green | 40 | 18 | 7 | 15 | 88 | 68 | +20 | 61 | - |
| 9th | Stafford Rangers | 40 | 17 | 9 | 14 | 68 | 62 | +6 | 60 | - |
| 10th | Raunds Town | 40 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 61 | 65 | -4 | 59 | - |
| 11th | Racing Club Warwick | 40 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 70 | 72 | -2 | 58 | - |
| 12th | Shepshed Dynamo | 40 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 64 | 65 | -1 | 54 | - |
| 13th | Redditch United | 40 | 15 | 8 | 17 | 56 | 59 | -3 | 53 | - |
| 14th | Paget Rangers | 40 | 13 | 9 | 18 | 42 | 55 | -13 | 48 | - |
| 15th | Dudley Town | 40 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 69 | 89 | -20 | 46 | ▼Resigned |
| 16th | Hinckley Town | 40 | 11 | 11 | 18 | 39 | 63 | -24 | 44 | Merged |
| 17th | Stourbridge | 40 | 10 | 9 | 21 | 61 | 81 | -20 | 39 | - |
| 18th | Evesham United | 40 | 9 | 12 | 19 | 55 | 77 | -22 | 39 | - |
| 19th | VS Rugby | 40 | 9 | 9 | 22 | 49 | 81 | -32 | 36 | - |
| 20th | Corby Town | 40 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 49 | 88 | -39 | 32 | - |
| 21st | Sutton Coldfield Town | 40 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 29 | 85 | -56 | 30 | - |
| 22nd | Leicester United | Folded Mid-Season, Record Expunged | Folded | |||||||
Southern Football League Southern Division 1996/97
- Before the Season started, Fisher renamed back to Fisher Athletic
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Forest Green Rovers | 42 | 27 | 10 | 5 | 87 | 40 | +47 | 91 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | St Leonards Stamcroft | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 94 | 48 | +46 | 87 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Havant Town | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 81 | 49 | +32 | 79 | - |
| 4th | Weston-super-Mare | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 82 | 43 | +39 | 76 | - |
| 5th | Margate | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 70 | 47 | +23 | 72 | - |
| 6th | Witney Town | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 71 | 42 | +29 | 71 | - |
| 7th | Weymouth | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 82 | 51 | +31 | 70 | - |
| 8th | Tonbridge Angels | 42 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 56 | 44 | +12 | 66 | - |
| 9th | Newport (Isle of Wight) | 42 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 73 | 58 | +15 | 60 | - |
| 10th | Fisher Athletic | 42 | 18 | 6 | 18 | 77 | 77 | 0 | 60 | - |
| 11th | Clevedon Town | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 75 | 76 | -1 | 60 | - |
| 12th | Fareham Town | 42 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 53 | 69 | -16 | 54 | - |
| 13th | Bashley | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 73 | 84 | -11 | 53 | - |
| 14th | Dartford | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 59 | 64 | -5 | 52 | - |
| 15th | Waterlooville | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 58 | 67 | -9 | 51 | - |
| 16th | Cirencester Town | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 50 | 68 | -18 | 48 | - |
| 17th | Cinderford Town | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 64 | 76 | -12 | 46 | - |
| 18th | Trowbridge Town | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 50 | 61 | -11 | 44 | - |
| 19th | Yate Town | 42 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 55 | 87 | -32 | 44 | - |
| 20th | Fleet Town | 42 | 12 | 6 | 24 | 47 | 91 | -44 | 42 | - |
| 21st | Erith & Belvedere | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 60 | 95 | -35 | 37 | - |
| 22nd | Buckingham Town | 42 | 2 | 8 | 32 | 27 | 107 | -80 | 14 | ▼Relegated |
Southern Football League - End of Season Notes
|
Teams Leaving the Southern Football League |
| ▲Cheltenham Town were Promoted to the 1997/98 Football Conference |
| ►Gravesend & Northfleet Transferred to the Isthmian League Premier Division |
| - Hinckley Town Merged with Hinckley Athletic |
| ▼Buckingham Town were Relegated to the United Counties League |
| ▼Dudley Town Resigned from the League and didn't compete in the 1997/98 Season |
| ▼Leicester United Folded Mid-Season and Resigned from the League |
| ▼Sudbury Town Resigned from the League and joined the Eastern Counties League |
-
|
Teams Joining the Southern Football League |
| ▼Bath City were Relegated from the 1996/97 Football Conference |
| ▼Bromsgrove Rovers were Relegated from the 1996/97 Football Conference |
| ▲Blakenall were Promoted from the Midland Alliance |
| ▲Brackley Town were Promoted from the Hellenic League |
| ▲Hinckley United - formed following the merger of Hinckley Town and Hinckley Athletic |
| ▲Wisbech Town were Promoted from the Eastern Counties League |
1995/96 Tables◄ 1996/97 Tables ►1997/98 Tables