Founded | 1979 | (as Alliance Premier League)
---|---|
Country | England (24 teams) |
Number of teams | 24 |
Level on pyramid | 5 Step 1 (National League System) |
Promotion to | EFL League Two |
Relegation to | |
Domestic cup(s) | |
League cup(s) | National League Cup |
International cup(s) |
|
Current champions | Chesterfield (1st title) |
Most championships |
|
TV partners | DAZN |
Website | National League |
Current: 2024–25 National League |
The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League [1] for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. Through the National League, clubs get promoted to the EFL League Two, one of the divisions of the English Football League. [2]
Notable former English Football League clubs that compete in the National League include: Oldham Athletic, Rochdale, York City, Yeovil Town, Hartlepool United and Southend United. The longest tenured team currently competing in the National League is Aldershot Town, who have been competing in the National League since 2013–14. The National League is the lowest division in the English football pyramid organised on a nationwide basis. Formerly the Conference National, the league was renamed the National League from the 2015–16 season. [3]
The league was formed as the Alliance Premier League in 1979, coming into force for the 1979–80 season. The league drew its clubs from the Northern Premier League and the Southern League.
It greatly improved the quality of football at this lower level, as well as improving the financial status of the top clubs. This was reflected in 1986–87, when the Football League began accepting direct promotion and relegation between the Conference and the bottom division of the Football League, which at that time was known as the Football League Fourth Division and is now EFL League Two. The first team to be promoted by this method was Scarborough, and the first team relegated was Lincoln City, who regained their Football League status a year later as Conference champions.
Since 2002–03, the league has been granted a second promotion place, with a play-off deciding who joins the champions in League Two. Previously, no promotion from the Conference would occur if the winners did not have adequate stadium facilities. If a club wins the division, but does not qualify for promotion, the next highest eligible club will be promoted in its place. If a club finishes in the play-off places but does not have an adequate stadium they will unable to take part in the play-off competition. In that event such club shall not be replaced and the play-off structure and draw shall be adjusted as necessary by the National League Board on the basis of the remaining clubs’ final league positions. [4]
In 2004–05, the Conference increased its size by adding two lower divisions, the Conference North and Conference South respectively, with the original division being renamed Conference National. For the 2006–07 season, the Conference National expanded from 22 to 24 teams by promoting four teams while relegating two teams and introduced a "four up and four down" system between itself and the Conference North and Conference South.
The league's first sponsor was Gola during the 1984–85 and 1985–86 seasons. When Gola's sponsorship ceased, carmaker Vauxhall Motors—then the British subsidiary of General Motors—took over and sponsored the league until the end of the 1997–98 season.
The 1998–99 Conference campaign began without sponsors for the Conference, but just before the end of the season a sponsorship was agreed with Nationwide Building Society. This lasted until the end of the 2006–07 season, after which Blue Square took over. This would also prompt the leagues being renamed, with the Conference National becoming the Blue Square Premier, the Conference North becoming Blue Square North and the Conference South becoming Blue Square South. [5] In April 2010, Blue Square announced a further three-year sponsorship deal. From the start of the 2010–11 season the names were changed slightly, with "Blue Square" becoming "Blue Square Bet".
In July 2013 the Conference agreed another sponsorship deal with online payment firm Skrill. [6] This lasted for only one year and the following July the Conference announced a brand-new three-year deal with Vanarama, [7] later extended by two more years.
In 2015, the Football Conference was renamed the National League. The top division was also officially renamed the National League and the lower divisions renamed as National League North and National League South. In January 2019 the League signed a three-year deal with Motorama, [8] Vanarama's sister company. It was extended to three more years in March 2021. [9]
Period | Sponsor | Name |
---|---|---|
1984–1986 | Gola | Gola League |
1986–1998 | General Motors | GM Vauxhall Conference |
1998–2007 | Nationwide Building Society | Nationwide Conference |
2007–2010 | Blue Square | Blue Square Premier |
2010–2013 | Blue Square Bet | Blue Square Bet Premier |
2013–2014 | Skrill | Skrill Premier |
2014–2015 | Vanarama | Vanarama Conference |
2015–2025 | Vanarama | Vanarama National League |
Coverage of this league began in the mid-1990s when cable channels Wire TV, and later L!VE TV, broadcast weekly highlights and live matches. However, the closure of L!VE TV in 1999 saw coverage switch to Sky Sports. In August 2006, Setanta Sports signed a five-year deal with the Conference and Setanta Sports began showing live matches in the 2007–08 season, with 79 live games each season. Included in the deal were the annual play-off matches as well as the Conference League Cup, a cup competition for the three Football Conference divisions. [10] Setanta showed two live matches a week, with one on Thursday evening and one at the weekend. [11] In Australia the Conference National was broadcast by Setanta Sports Australia. Setanta Sports suffered financial problems and ceased broadcasting in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2009. [12] Sky Sports broadcast the Conference play-off final 2010 at Wembley Stadium.
On 19 August 2010, Premier Sports announced that it bought the live and exclusive UK television rights to 30 matches per season from the Conference Premier for a total of three seasons. [13] The 30 matches selected for broadcast included all five Conference Premier play-offs. [14] The deal with the 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, which 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.
In July 2013, BT Sport announced a two-year deal to broadcast 30 live games per season including all five play-off matches. [15] In 2015 the National League announced that it renewed a three-year deal with BT Sport. [3]
The following 24 clubs compete in the National League during the 2024–25 season.
Numbers in parentheses indicate wins up to that date.
The highest average league attendance was in the 2022–23 season, when 1.7 million fans attended National League matches, at an average of 3,378 per game. The lowest average league attendance came in the 2014–15 season, when 1 million spectators watched at an average of 1,853 per game. The highest seasonal average for a club was 9,973 for Wrexham in the 2022–23 season. [16]
Season | League average attendance | Highest average | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Club | Attendance | |||
2010–11 | 2,146 | Unknown | ||
2011–12 | 2,034 | Unknown | ||
2012–13 | 1,885 | Luton Town | 5,882 [17] | |
2013–14 | 1,864 | Luton Town | 7,387 [18] | |
2014–15 | 1,853 | Bristol Rovers | 8,402 [19] | |
2015–16 | 1,901 | Tranmere Rovers | 5,229 [20] | |
2016–17 | 1,872 | Tranmere Rovers | 5,741 [21] | |
2017–18 | 2,045 | Tranmere Rovers | 5,293 [22] | |
2018–19 | 1,971 | Leyton Orient | 5,444 [23] | |
2019–20 | 1,971 | Notts County | 5,210 [24] | |
2020–21 | No attendances due to pandemic | |||
2021–22 | 3,084 | Wrexham | 8,692 [25] | |
2022–23 | 3,378 | Wrexham | 9,973 [26] | |
2023–24 | 2,774 | Chesterfield | 7,893 [27] |
Most wins in a season | 34 | Wrexham (2022–23) |
Fewest defeats in a season | 3 | |
Most consecutive wins | 12 | |
Longest unbeaten run in a season | 30 | Crawley Town (2010–11) |
Most goals in a season | 117 | Notts County (2022-23) |
Fewest goals conceded in a season | 24 | |
Highest goal difference | 75 | Notts County (2022–23) |
Most points in a season | 111 | Wrexham (2022–23) |
Fewest points in a season | 1 | Dover Athletic (2021–22) [a] |
Smallest points gap between champions and 2nd place | 0 | Colchester United (1991-92) (94 points) over Wycombe Wanderers by +9 goal difference |
Largest points gap between champions and 2nd place | 19 | Luton Town (2013–14) (101 points) over Cambridge United (82 points) |
Biggest win | 9–0 |
|
Record attendance (play-offs) | 47,029 | Bristol Rovers vs Grimsby Town at Wembley Stadium (play-off final, 17 May 2015) [28] |
Record attendance (league game) | 16,511 | Notts County vs Yeovil Town at Meadow Lane (19 November 2022) [29] |
The Scottish Premier League was the top-level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when the SPL and SFL merged to form the new Scottish Professional Football League, with its top division being known as the Scottish Premiership. A total of 19 clubs competed in the SPL, but only the Old Firm clubs of Glasgow—Celtic and Rangers—won the league championship.
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
The National League is a professional Association football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South. The National League is one of the major professional sports leagues in England.
Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the Isthmian League Premier Division, the seventh tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1983 after the dissolution of the town's previous club, Dover F.C., whose place in the Southern League was taken by the new club.
The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, 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 System, and at the sixth tier overall of the English football league system. It consists of teams mostly located in Northern England, the English Midlands and East Anglia. In addition, it can include a small number of teams from the northern-most parts of the South West and South East. Since the start of the 2015–16 season, the league has been known as the National League North.
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the two 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 National League System, and is the sixth tier overall of the English football league system, and includes teams from the South East, London, and the South West, as well as teams from Essex.
The English Football League Two, simply known as League Two in England and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet League Two, is the third and lowest division of the English Football League (EFL) and fourth-highest tier overall in the English football league system.
The Rugby Football League Championship, is the second highest division of rugby league in Britain after the Super League.
Corporate sponsorship of major English football competitions dates back to the early 1980s, although minor competitions such as the Watney Cup and Texaco Cup were sponsored during the early 1970s.
The Football Conference consists of the top two levels of Non-League football in England. The Conference Premier is the fifth highest level of the overall pyramid, whilst the Conference North and Conference South exist at the sixth level. The top team and the winner of the playoff of the National division will be promoted to Football League Two, while the bottom four will be relegated to the North or South divisions. The champions of the North and South divisions will be promoted to the National division, alongside the play-off winners from each division. The bottom three in each of the North and South divisions will be relegated to the premier divisions of the Northern Premier League, Isthmian League or Southern League For sponsorship reasons, the league is frequently referred to as the Blue Square Premier.
The National League Cup is an annual association football competition in England. National League Cup open to clubs playing in the National League and, since its revival in 2024, professional under-21 teams playing in the Premier League 2.
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from its foundation until 1992, when the top 22 clubs split from it to form the Premier League. The Football League was rebranded as the "English Football League" (EFL) from the 2016–17 season.
The 2013–14 Football Conference season was the tenth season with the Conference consisting of three divisions and the thirty-fourth season overall. The Conference covers the top two levels of Non-League football in England. The Conference Premier is the fifth highest level of the overall pyramid, whilst the Conference North and Conference South exist at the sixth level. The top team and the winner of the playoff of the Premier division will be promoted to Football League Two, while the bottom four are relegated to the North or South divisions. The champions of the North and South divisions will be promoted to the Premier division, alongside the play-off winners from each division. The bottom three in each of the North and South divisions are relegated to the premier divisions of the Northern Premier League, Isthmian League or Southern League.
The 2015–16 National League season was the first season under the new title of National League, the twelfth season consisting of three divisions and the thirty-seventh season overall.
The Women's Super League (WSL), known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features twelve fully professional teams. The league replaced the FA Women's Premier League National Division as the highest level of women's football in England, with eight teams competing in the inaugural 2011 season. In the WSL's first two seasons, there was no relegation from the division.
The 2017–18 National League season, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, was the third season under English football's new title of National League, 14th season consisting of three divisions and the 39th season overall.
Elliott James Durrell is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Southern League Premier Division Central club Stourbridge.
The 2020–21 National League season, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, was the sixth season under English football's new title of the National League, the eighteenth season consisting of three divisions, and the forty-second season overall.
Daniele James Collinge is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for National League club Barnet.