The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
league in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
consisting of three divisions, the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
,
National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
, and
National League South. It was called the "Alliance Premier League" from 1979 until 1986. Between 1986 and 2015, the league was known as the "Football Conference".
["]
Most National League clubs are fully professional (only three are not in the 2022/23 lineup), while a growing number of National League North and National League South clubs are also
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...
. Some professional clubs were previously in the
English Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...
(EFL), as opposed to clubs that have always been
non-League. The National League is the lowest of the five nationwide professional football divisions in England, below the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
and the three divisions of the EFL, and is the top tier of the
National League System of non-League football. The National League North and National League South form the sixth tier of professional English football. The National League consisted of only one division until 2004, but expanded as part of an extensive restructuring of the National League System beginning with the 2004–05 season.
Organisation
The National League stands at the top of the
National League System (NLS), a comprehensive structure linking together over 50 different leagues under the auspices of
The Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world ...
(FA). The National League is at ''Step 1'' of the NLS, and National League North and National League South make up ''Step 2''. Above the National League are the 92
clubs that together make up the highest levels of English football, the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
and the EFL; below the National League are the ''Step 3'' and lower leagues of the NLS.
The National League has 24 clubs and the North and South divisions have 22 clubs each. Each club plays the others in its division twice during a season, once at home and once away. Clubs earn three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat.
At the end of each season two clubs are promoted from the National League to
EFL League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football L ...
and two teams from League Two are relegated to the National League to take their place. The two promotion places are awarded to the National League champions and to the winners of the National League Promotion Final, which is played between the two teams who were successful in playoff games, contested by those clubs finishing second to seventh in the final divisional standings.
At the other end of the table, the bottom four clubs in National League are relegated to either National League North or National League South. The decision as to which division the relegated club joins is made by the FA's NLS Committee, but is largely determined by geography. The four relegated teams are replaced by four promoted teams, two from National League North and two from National League South. For each of these two leagues, this is the champions and the winners of their respective Promotion Finals between their second to seventh place clubs in those divisions.
At the bottom of National League North and National League South, three clubs from each division are relegated and these six clubs are divided among the ''Step 3'' leagues of the NLS, the
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division ...
, the
Southern League, and the
Isthmian League
The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs.
Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...
. Each of these ''Step 3'' leagues promotes their respective champions and second- to fifth-place playoff winners. The NLS Committee determines which ''Step 3'' leagues the relegated clubs join, and whether the promoted clubs join National League North or National League South.
Clubs relegated from the national division are not always geographically balanced. Thus, should it be deemed necessary, the NLS Committee may order one or more clubs from northern counties bordering the south and vice versa or from
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
in the sixth tier to switch divisions (to move "horizontally" between the leagues, so to speak) so as to maintain numerical balance between North and South.
Due to financial constraints at this level of football, some clubs have escaped relegation despite finishing in a relegation position, due to the misfortune of others. For promotion to proceed, whether from the National League to the EFL, within the National League, or between the various leagues of the NLS, certain conditions concerning finances and facilities must be met. Failure to meet the requirements of the league concerned prevents the eligible club from being promoted.
The National League North and South expanded to 24 teams each in the 2022–23 season. Expansion was scheduled at first for 2020–21
until its implementation was postponed because of the
COVID-19 pandemic in England.
It was fulfilled at the end of 2021–22.
History
The National League was formed in 1979 from leading teams in the Northern Premier League and Southern League and was originally known as the ''Alliance Premier Football League'' and subsequently the ''Football Conference''. Support for such a league came from
Alan Hardaker, the long serving
Secretary of the Football League. He suggested that an amalgamation of the two strongest lower leagues in England, the
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division ...
and the
Southern League would reduce the number of candidates applying to join the Football League under the
re-election system then in use. It was also thought it would enable the strongest non-league candidate to emerge. In 1977 the Northern Premier and Southern Leagues agreed to only put forward one candidate each for election to the League and this proved successful with
Wimbledon and
Wigan Athletic gaining election to the League in 1977 and 1978.
It was then agreed that a new league would be set up comprising 13 Southern League teams and 7 sides from the Northern Premier.
The founder members were:
Several Northern Premier sides who might have taken part in the new competition did not do so.
Goole Town,
Lancaster City, and
Mossley all did not apply to enter the Alliance.
Matlock Town and
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey ...
were not admitted as their grounds did not meet the criteria required for the new league.
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
, who had been voted out of the Football League in 1978, were accepted as members of the new league, but eventually chose not to join it due to concerns over travelling costs.
Barrow and Northwich had previously been members of the EFL. Barrow failed re-election in
1972, while Northwich resigned from the league in
1894
Events January–March
* January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire.
* January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...
. Barnet, Boston, Maidstone, Scarborough and Yeovil have also tasted EFL football since the formation of the National League, but are now back in the National League or its feeder leagues (Scarborough and Maidstone now in new incarnations).
Of the 20 founder members, the last to leave the fifth level were Northwich. They were relegated in 2005, a year after the demise of Telford. Barnet are the only founder member who have remained in the top five levels continuously since 1979.
Bangor City have since moved to the
Welsh football league system, while AP Leamington, Maidstone, Nuneaton, Scarborough, and Telford later collapsed and were reconstituted in lower English leagues. Gravesend & Northfleet changed its name to
Ebbsfleet United in 2007.
The National League had a single division for the first 25 years of its existence, but since the 2004–05 season has consisted of three divisions. The original division was renamed ''Conference National'' (currently ''National League'') and two new regional divisions one level down were introduced, ''Conference North'' and ''Conference South'' (currently National League North and South). The new clubs to form this larger competition were drawn from the Northern Premier League, Southern League, and Isthmian League according to guidelines developed by the NLS Committee.
Two teams have won the National League three times:
Barnet (1991, 2005, 2015) and
Macclesfield Town (1995, 1997, 2018). Prior to Barnet's and Macclesfield's third title wins, five other clubs had also become champions twice:
Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
(1980, 1981),
Enfield (1983, 1986),
Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed ...
(1994, 2000),
Maidstone United
Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The current club filled the void left by the ol ...
, (1984, 1989), and
Stevenage Borough (1996, 2010). Kidderminster also finished second in 1997 and 2013.
Lincoln City became the seventh club to win the National League twice (1988, 2017), but subsequent to Barnet's third title. Only Barnet were promoted to the EFL on all three occasions; Maidstone's first title came before the era of automatic promotion, while Kidderminster Harriers, Macclesfield Town and Stevenage Borough were denied promotion because their grounds were not up to the required standard at the time of their first win. However, all three were promoted when they took their second title. Altrincham are the only team in history to retain the title, as at the time there was no automatic promotion to the EFL.
No former National League club has yet reached the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, although six such clubs did compete in the top tier of football prior to the Premier League, in the
Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First D ...
:
Carlisle United,
Leyton Orient,
Oxford United,
Luton Town,
Grimsby Town, and
Notts County. The first five of them have since returned to the League, Luton and Orient by winning the title, and the other three by winning the playoff finals. Additionally Luton Town and Oxford United and also Grimsby Town and Notts County are the only clubs to have played league matches against each other in all top five tiers of English football.
Bradford (Park Avenue)
Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...
also played in the First Division in its previous incarnation, however their current incarnation has only reached as high as the National North division.
The highest league tier a club promoted from the National League has reached is the second-tier
EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
, which (as of August 2021) has been reached by six clubs:
Colchester United,
Doncaster Rovers, Yeovil Town, Luton Town,
Burton Albion and
Wycombe Wanderers. Colchester, Doncaster and Luton were EFL members before competing in the National League, while Yeovil, Burton and Wycombe were entirely new to EFL football.
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
became the first former Premier League side to compete in the National League and by extension, any non-League competition, following a home defeat by Salford City, in 2022.
Promotion and relegation
Prior to 1987, for National League clubs to enter the EFL, they had to be elected by League members. As a consequence, there was no guarantee that winning the National League would result in promotion, and none of the league's first eight champions were promoted. This changed in 1987, when automatic promotion and relegation between the
Football League Fourth Division
The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name i ...
and the National League was agreed. The first clubs affected by the new system were Lincoln City, who were relegated and replaced by
Scarborough. However, although the champions of the National League are entitled to a place in the EFL, this was dependent on their stadium meeting the set criteria for membership. This meant that
Northampton Town,
Exeter City, and
Torquay United all avoided relegation from the EFL, although Exeter and Torquay were both relegated to the National League at a later date.
For three successive years in the 1990s, the National League champions were denied promotion to the EFL on these grounds. Since 1997, when
Macclesfield Town won the title for the second time in three years, every champion has been promoted.
Since 2003, the National League has been awarded a second promotion place. Through 2017, this was decided by a play-off system similar to that of the EFL. The four teams below the National League champions played against each other in semi-finals over two legs, with second playing fifth and third playing fourth. The winners of these ties then played a single final game known as the Promotion Final, with the winners gaining the second promotion place.
Doncaster Rovers were the first team to win the Promotion Final.
Prior to 2004, relegation from the National League meant dropping to one of the three feeder leagues below. After
Chester City failed to avoid expulsion in 2010, three teams were relegated instead of four, to either the
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division ...
,
Southern League or
Isthmian League
The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs.
Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...
, based on geographical criteria. In turn, the champions of these three leagues would be promoted to the National League. The closure of Chester City during the later stages of the 2009–10 season was the first mid-season closure of a club in the division since
Newport County in the second half of the 1988–89 season; on both occasions, the records of both clubs were expunged.
In 2004, a restructuring of the National League System saw the creation of a new level immediately below the National League; two regional divisions now named National League North and National League South were created, with the feeder leagues dropping below them. There are two promotion places to the National League's top division from each regional division – the champions are promoted automatically, while the remaining place is again decided by semi final play-offs and a Promotion Final. The four teams relegated from the National League (i.e. the highest division) are then allocated to one or other of the regional divisions dependent on their geographical location.
In May 2017, the National League proposed a revamp in the play-offs for all three divisions. Under the new system, the number of teams playing for promotion was increased to six. The clubs finishing second and third automatically proceed to a semi-final at their home ground, while the clubs in fourth and fifth stage compete in qualifying round ties against the teams finishing seventh and sixth. The winners of those matches then complete the semi-finals. These proposals were approved at the National League's annual general meeting on 10 June.
In 2019, plans were discussed for the gradual restructuring of the NLS so that the North and South divisions were expected to expand to 24 teams each in 2021–22.
[ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2020–21 National League North and South seasons were curtailed and voided after written resolutions were put to a vote. No teams were relegated.] Expansion was therefore delayed and it was implemented before the 2022–23 season with eight-team relegations from tier six at the end of that season. To expand, two clubs in Step 2 were relegated and eight promoted from all four Step 3 divisions: the division champions and play-off winners. Four teams in both North and South are to be relegated starting in 2023.[
]
Current members
National League
* Aldershot Town
*Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
* Barnet
* Boreham Wood
*Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...
* Chesterfield
* Dagenham & Redbridge
*Dorking Wanderers
Dorking Wanderers Football Club is a professional football club based in Dorking, Surrey, England. Affiliated to the Surrey County Football Association, they are currently members of and play at Meadowbank.
History
The club was formed in 1999 ...
*Eastleigh
Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census.
The town lies on the River Itchen, ...
* FC Halifax Town
* Gateshead
* Maidenhead United
*Maidstone United
Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The current club filled the void left by the ol ...
* Notts County
*Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The history of Oldham Athletic be ...
*Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...
*Solihull Moors
Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the National Lea ...
* Southend United
* Torquay United
* Wealdstone
*Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
*Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county ...
* Yeovil Town
* York City
National League North
* AFC Fylde
* AFC Telford United
* Alfreton Town
* Banbury United
* Blyth Spartans
*Boston United
Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is know ...
*Brackley Town
Brackley Town Football Club is a Association football, football club in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at St. James Park. The club won the FA Trophy in 2018.
History
Established in 1890, the club sp ...
*Bradford (Park Avenue)
Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...
*Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.[Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...]
*Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came p ...
*Curzon Ashton
Curzon Ashton Football Club is an association football club based in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1963 and nicknamed "The Nash", the club is affiliated to the Manchester Football Association and currently com ...
*Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington under ...
*Farsley Celtic
Farsley Celtic Football Club is a football club based in Farsley, West Yorkshire, England. The club was founded in 1908, but folded in 2010 and were reformed as Farsley AFC before returning to the name Farsley Celtic in 2015.
* Gloucester City
*Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a populatio ...
*Kettering Town
Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts ...
* King's Lynn Town
*Kidderminster Harriers
Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed ...
* Leamington
* Peterborough Sports
* Scarborough Athletic
*Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
*Spennymoor Town
Spennymoor Town Football Club is a football club based in Spennymoor, County Durham, in the North East of England. They currently compete in and currently play their home matches at The Brewery Field.
The club began playing in the Northern L ...
National League South
* Bath City
* Braintree Town
* Chelmsford City
*Cheshunt
Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, Waltha ...
*Chippenham Town
Chippenham Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club club based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. They are currently members of and play their games at Hardenhuish Park.
History
The club states it was established in 1873,
*Concord Rangers
Concord Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Canvey Island in Essex, England. The club currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Thames Road ...
*Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock ...
* Dover Athletic
*Dulwich Hamlet
Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill.
History
The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. ...
*Eastbourne Borough
Eastbourne Borough Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association and is a registered Commun ...
* Ebbsfleet United
*Farnborough Farnborough may refer to:
Australia
* Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone
United Kingdom
* Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England
** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...
* Hampton & Richmond Borough
* Havant & Waterlooville
* Hemel Hempstead Town
* Hungerford Town
* Oxford City
* Slough Town
* St Albans City
* Taunton Town
*Tonbridge Angels
Tonbridge Angels Football Club is a professional football club based in Tonbridge, Kent, England. The club was founded as Tonbridge Football Club in 1947 and became known as "The Angels" in 1949 when they started playing at the Angel Ground. S ...
* Welling United
* Weymouth
*Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and H ...
Former National League clubs now in the EFL
Former EFL clubs now in the National League
Phoenix or reformed clubs are not included unless they competed in the League in their own right, and are counted separately from the original club. Highest English Football League tier is the tier's standing within the EFL and may not correspond to its overall standing on today's system.
Phoenix clubs
Several clubs formed as phoenix clubs after the dissolution of former EFL teams currently compete in the National League. These include:
* AFC Telford United (founded in 2004 following the winding-up of Telford United in 2004)
* Aldershot Town (founded in 1992 following the winding-up of Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alde ...
in 1992)
* Bradford (Park Avenue)
Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...
(founded in 1987 following the winding-up of the original Bradford (Park Avenue) in 1974)
* Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
(founded in 2010 following the winding-up of Chester City in 2010)
* Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington under ...
(founded in 2012 following the winding-up of the original Darlington in 2012)
* FC Halifax Town (founded in 2008 following the winding-up of Halifax Town in 2008)
* Gateshead (founded in 1977 following the winding-up of Gateshead in 1973)
* Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a populatio ...
(founded in 2014 following the winding up of Hereford United in 2014)
* Maidstone United
Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The current club filled the void left by the ol ...
(founded in 1992 following the winding-up of Maidstone United
Maidstone United Football Club is a professional football club based in Maidstone, Kent, England. The team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league system.
The current club filled the void left by the ol ...
in 1992)
* Scarborough Athletic (founded in 2007 following the winding-up of Scarborough in 2007)
Past National League winners
* Promoted to the EFL (Fourth Division
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
until 1992, Third Division
In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below.
Association football
*Belgian Thir ...
from 1992 until 2004 and League Two from 2004)
** Not promoted
** Not promoted. In 2004–05 only three promotion places were available to the Conference Premier. The third place was decided in a Promotion Final at Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Sto ...
's Britannia Stadium
The Bet365 Stadium (stylised as ''bet365 Stadium'') is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was re ...
, which Eastbourne Borough
Eastbourne Borough Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association and is a registered Commun ...
lost 2–1 to the Conference North Playoff winners, Altrincham
Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...
.
League Cup
The Alliance Premier/Conference organised a cup competition from 1979 until 2009, with occasional breaks when sponsors were not available. Known initially as the Bob Lord Trophy and then the Spalding Cup from 1995–96 until 2000–01, the cup competition was reinstated in 2007–08 as the Conference League Cup, sponsored by Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...
. Very much like the EFL Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by th ...
and EFL Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL ...
at the higher levels, it has not always proved popular with fans and was generally viewed as of secondary importance to the FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
. The cup was put in abeyance when Setanta Sports' British service ceased.
Winners
Sponsorship
Since 1984, the National League has been publicly known by the names of a succession of official title sponsors. The name was officially changed from Alliance Premier to the Football Conference in 1986, and to the National League in 2015. Below is a list of sponsors and what they chose to call the league.
Media coverage
The National League's first major TV coverage was available on Setanta Sports. The channel showed 79 matches each season. It also showed the Conference League Cup. The FA Trophy Final was also shown on Setanta Sports (after being shown on Sky Sports until 2008). The channel's British operations went under in June 2009.
On 19 August 2010, Premier Sports announced that it had bought the live and exclusive UK television rights to thirty matches per season from the Conference Premier for a total of three seasons. The thirty matches selected for broadcast included all five Conference Premier matches culminating in the Promotion Final itself. The deal with the then-Football Conference was a revenue sharing arrangement whereby clubs received 50% of revenue from subscriptions, on top of the normal rights fee paid by the broadcaster, once the costs of production were met. The Conference also earned 50% from all internet revenue associated with the deal and allowed them to retain advertising rights allied to those adverts shown with their matches. During the 2010–11 season, Premier Sports failed to attract enough viewers to its Conference football broadcasts to share any revenue with the clubs beyond the £5,000 broadcast fee paid to home clubs and £1,000 to away clubs.
BT Sport
BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Broad ...
are now one of the television broadcast partners and commenced a contract in 2013–14 to cover again up to 30 National league matches including the end of season semi finals and the Promotion Final. The deal worth £300,000, sees the fee to each home clubs as £7,000 and the away club £1,000. The National League also launched its own channel called NLTV, which focuses on all 68 member clubs across the three divisions.[
]
See also
* National League (division)
*National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
* National League South
References
External links
*
{{Football in England table cells
5
Sports leagues established in 1979
1979 establishments in England
Professional sports leagues in the United Kingdom