The South Coast League was formed in 1969, comprising Albatross, Creswell, Nowra and Wollongong. In 1970 the Bomaderry club was formed and in 1972 Dapto joined the competition. In 1974 Wollongong and Dapto became the nucleus of the Illawarra Association with four other former junior clubs.

East Nowra and Bateman's Bay and finally Milton/Ulladulla joined the SCAFL competition. Nowra, Albatross and latterly Bateman's Bay share the majority of premierships in First and Reserve Grades.

The League's golden years were from 1974 to 1984 during which time South Coast won 5 Country Championships and was Runner-up twice. One highlight was the trip to Alice Springs in 1975 when SCAFL lost by 11 points to the Central Australia representative side. Since 1978 reciprocal matches have been played with the Monaro League and the honours have been fairly even to date.

Four of the League's players, Glen Taylor, Graham Charles, Bill McBride and Adam Harris have represented the state and many others have graduated to the Sydney competition in recent years.

Administratively, the SCAFL has played a leading role in the development of Australian Football in NSW and several of its former members have held senior positions on the country and state controlling bodies.