The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of 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 s ...

in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

, it is at the second level of the

National League System The National League System comprises the six levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the English Football League. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association. The National League System has a h ...

, and at the sixth tier overall of the

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...

. It consists of teams located in Northern England,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

and the English Midlands. Since the start of the 2015–16 season, the league has been known as the National League North (Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons). The longest tenured team currently competing in the National League North is Gloucester City, having been in the National League North since the 2009–10 season.

History

The Conference North was introduced in 2004 as part of a major restructuring of English

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

. The champions are automatically promoted to the National League. A second promotion place goes to the winners of play-offs involving the teams finishing in second to seventh place (expanded from four to six teams in the 2017–18 season). The three bottom clubs are relegated to Step 3 leagues. Teams from this division, as well as from the National League South, enter the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

at the Second Qualifying Round. For sponsorship reasons, the division was known as the Nationwide North from its formation in 2004 until 2007, when it was renamed the Blue Square North. In 2010 it was renamed the Blue Square Bet North. When the Blue Square sponsorship ended in 2013, it was renamed the Skrill North until the 2014–15 season, when it was renamed the Vanarama North. A further name change followed in 2015, when the division was renamed the Vanarama National League North. The National League North was scheduled to expand to 24 teams in 2021. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England are NHS England and Public ...

, the 2020–21 National League North season was curtailed and voided after written resolutions were put to a vote. No teams were relegated. Expansion would be at last implemented before the 2022–23 season when the bottom club was relegated and four promoted from Step 3.

Member clubs for 2022–23

The member clubs for the 2022–23 season are as follows:

League champions

The winners of the league title and the winners of the play-off final since the league's formation in 2004 are as follows:

League stadiums for 2022–23

The home stadiums for all of the teams in the league for the 2022–23 season are listed below:

League records

References

External links

The National League official site
{{UEFA sixth level leagues 6 2 2004 establishments in England Sports leagues established in 2004 Northern England Eng