[1] A sixth club, Sutton United, is also located in South London but currently do not compete in the Football League.

It is sometimes more specifically called the South East London derby when played between Charlton and Millwall.

Millwall's main rivalry is with East London club West Ham United, with Palace placed second and Charlton third.

AFC Wimbledon's main rivalry is with Milton Keynes Dons, with their fans considering Crawley Town as their second biggest rival.

Wimbledon were founded in 1889 and spent the majority of their history as an amateur club, until joining the Football League in the 1977–78 season.

Sutton United were founded in 1898 but only played their first competitive derby in 2017, an FA Cup game against AFC Wimbeldon.

Bromley were founded in 1892 and played their entire history in non-league, until winning promotion from the National League in the Play-off Final in 2024.

[4][5] Soon after Crystal Palace were formed, they joined the Southern Football League, of which Millwall were founding members.

Up until that point the most successful team based in South London was Woolwich Arsenal, who were the first Southern member elected to the Football League in 1893.

Charlton Athletic's early years were somewhat hindered by the presence of Woolwich Arsenal, who were the closest team in locality and were well supported.

Wimbledon became a Football League club five decades later in the 1977–78 season, playing their first South London derby against Millwall in 1980.

In the 1985–86 season, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Millwall and Wimbledon all competed in the Second Division.

The 1989–90 season signifies the only time all four teams competed in the First Division together, the top tier of English football.

During World War II Millwall's ground The Den was severely damaged by a German bomb and a fire destroyed a stand a few days later.

For a brief time the club was invited by their neighbours to play their games at The Valley and Selhurst Park.

The club were forced to leave The Valley just after the start of the 1985–86 season after its safety was criticised by league officials.

After another year groundsharing at West Ham United's Upton Park, Charlton moved back into The Valley in 1992.

Charlton and Crystal Palace first met in 1925 in the Third Division (South), with the match ending in a 1–1 draw.

Palace's longest unbeaten run in the fixture is nine games between 1993 and 1996, where they won six and drew three, including knocking their rivals out of the 1996 First Division Play-offs.

[21] They won the return fixture at The Valley 2–1, completing the first Football League double over their local rivals.

Millwall are currently on a twelve-game unbeaten streak against Charlton (their joint-second longest), with seven wins and five draws spanning 26 years (1996–2022).

[22] The Lions have won 37 (50%) of the 74 league fixtures between the teams spanning 101 years, with the Addicks only winning 11 games (14%).

They also won the reverse fixture which was held a week later; 3–2, to complete the first Football League double over their South London neighbours.

Alan Mullery was in charge of Charlton from 1981 to 1982 and left to take the helm at Crystal Palace, where he remained manager until 1984.

Iain Dowie was in charge of Crystal Palace between 21 December 2003 and 22 May 2006, when he was allowed to resign from his post, apparently to return to northern England because his wife was homesick.

The case was heard in the High Court in the summer of 2007 where a judge ruled that Dowie had lied when negotiating his way out of his contract.

[citation needed] On 6 January 2014, Holloway signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Millwall, taking over from Steve Lomas.

[34] He guided the club to Championship safety for the 2013–14 season as Millwall finished 19th, four points above the relegation places.

[39] Steve Morison, Millwall's third all-time top scorer with 92 goals, became Sutton's manager in January 2024.

[41] The non-League club started in the Combined Counties League, and played their first competitive South London derby on 9 November 2009, losing 4–1 away at Millwall in an FA Cup first-round match.