Community & Education Football Alliance League

About Community & Education Football Alliance League

About the Community & Education Football Alliance League

The Community & Education Football Alliance League, usually known as CEFA, is a football competition connected with the English Football League’s community and education network. It gives students on post-16 courses delivered by club community organisations the chance to represent a professional club or its charity in organised football alongside their studies.

Read the full league overview

Football alongside post-16 study

CEFA is for young men and women enrolled on a post-16 education course with a participating club community organisation. The EFL in the Community explains that football-club education programmes can combine recognised academic qualifications with regular football, and that CEFA participation is offered through many of those courses. It is therefore a competition accessed through an education provider or club community programme, rather than a conventional open-entry local league.

A national club-community competition

Teams represent Premier League and EFL clubs through their community organisations, with regional competition bringing together programmes from different parts of England and Wales. The league has operated since 2018 and has included both men’s and women’s teams. Current sections and participating programmes can change from year to year, so prospective students should check the course offered by their local club or community organisation.

Official information

Find out about EFL in the Community post-16 education programmes and use FA Full-Time for current fixtures, results and tables. TeamStats is an independent football directory. It is not the league or The Football Association.

Reviewed August 2026.

Last updated: Friday, 21 August 2026