The Combination

The clubs in attendance were Small Heath Alliance, Walsall Town Swifts, Derby Midland, Notts Rangers, Burslem Port Vale, Leek, Crewe Alexandra, Newton Heath, Witton, and Blackburn Olympic; three other clubs, Mitchell St George's, Halliwell, and Derby Junction, all wrote to pledge acceptance of all decisions, and Northwich Victoria also wrote requesting membership.

However, while the Football League quickly proved a success, the Combination lacked central organisation, with poor planning and unfulfilled fixtures; as early as October the media were complaining about the difficulties in following the competition[3] and by January 1889 the media were commenting that "it is becoming the exception rather than the rule to keep a Combination fixture".

The twelve founder members were:[8] Five of the founding teams would eventually go on to play in the Football League, although in the case of Macclesfield, this would not happen until 1997–98.

Glossop North End, who joined in 1894, were also elected to the League (in 1898), as were another later member team, Tranmere Rovers.

By the time the competition folded in 1911 none of the original members still participated, with the exception of Wrexham, who fielded their reserve team.