National League (division)
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The National League is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National Leagues and step 1 of the National League System and fifth-highest tier overall in the English football league system, after the Premier League and the EFL leagues, and is contested by 24 clubs. Through the National League, clubs get promoted to the EFL League Two, one of the divisions of the English Football League. Formerly the Conference National, the league was renamed the National League from the 2015–16 season.
Former English Football League clubs that currently compete in the National League include: Forest Green Rovers, Morecambe, Carlisle United, Rochdale, Yeovil Town, Hartlepool United, Southend United, Scunthorpe United, Boston United, Sutton United and York City.
History
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 not be able 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.
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.
Trophy
The current National League trophy is designed and made by Thomas Lyte, the makers of FA Cup.
The trophy is made from silver plate with 24 carat gold plating and stands at 60cm tall. It was first handed to the winners of the competition at the end of the 2015/16 season and was created as part of a trio of trophies alongside the silverware handed to the winners of the National League South and North.
Sponsorship
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. 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. This lasted for only one year and the following July the Conference announced a brand-new three-year deal with Vanarama, 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, Vanarama's sister company. It was extended to three more years in March 2021.
On 23 June 2025, vehicle rental company Enterprise Rent-A-Car paid to become the title sponsor of the National League.
| 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 Premier | |
| 2013–2014 | Skrill | Skrill Premier |
| 2014–2015 | Vanarama | Vanarama Conference |
| 2015–2025 | Vanarama National League | |
| 2025–present | Enterprise Rent-A-Car | Enterprise National League |
Media coverage
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. Setanta showed two live matches a week, with one on Thursday evening and one at the weekend. 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. 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. The 30 matches selected for broadcast included all five Conference Premier play-offs. 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. In 2015 the National League announced that it renewed a three-year deal with BT Sport.
In December 2022, the National League announced a new streaming service, named National League TV, to stream all games that BT Sport was not showing, on a two week trial phase. Two weeks later, the National League announced that National League TV would make a full launch on boxing day of 2022 (26/12/22).
In July 2024, DAZN had acquired the rights of National League for 7 years until 2031 and it will broadcast the league in The UK & Ireland & Rest of the World. With the affection of the blackout rule on Saturday 3pm matches in the UK.
Current membership
The following 24 clubs compete in the National League during the 2025–26 season.
Stadia and locations
Past winners
Numbers in parentheses indicate wins up to that date.
- ^1 No promotion to the Football League until 1987.
- ^2 No promotion due to the club's stadium not being adequate for the Football League.
- ^3 Boston United were allowed to retain their championship title and subsequent promotion to the Football League despite having been found guilty of serious financial misconduct during their title winning season. Following their later relegation at the end of the 2006–07 season, due to entering into a Company Voluntary Arrangement and having restrictions placed on paying football creditors by HMRC, Boston were relegated a further division and placed in the Conference North.
- ^4 Clubs voted to end the 2019–20 National League season using points per game after the season was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Play-off results
Attendances
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.
| 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 |
| 2013–14 | 1,864 | Luton Town | 7,387 |
| 2014–15 | 1,853 | Bristol Rovers | 8,402 |
| 2015–16 | 1,901 | Tranmere Rovers | 5,229 |
| 2016–17 | 1,872 | Tranmere Rovers | 5,741 |
| 2017–18 | 2,045 | Tranmere Rovers | 5,293 |
| 2018–19 | 1,971 | Leyton Orient | 5,444 |
| 2019–20 | 1,971 | Notts County | 5,210 |
| 2020–21 | No attendances due to pandemic | ||
| 2021–22 | 3,084 | Wrexham | 8,692 |
| 2022–23 | 3,378 | Wrexham | 9,973 |
| 2023–24 | 2,774 | Chesterfield | 7,893 |
| 2024–25 | 2,568 | Southend United | 7,339 |
Records
| Most wins in a season | 34 | Wrexham (2022–23) |
| Fewest defeats in a season | 3 | Yeovil Town (2002–03)Crawley Town (2010–11)Notts County & Wrexham (2022–23) |
| Most consecutive wins | 12 | Burton Albion (2008–09)Mansfield Town (2012–13) |
| Longest unbeaten run in a season | 30 | Crawley Town (2010–11) |
| Most points in a season | 111 | Wrexham (2022–23) |
| Fewest points in a season | 1 | Dover Athletic (2021–22) |
| 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) |
| Most goals in a season | 117 | Notts County (2022-23) |
| Fewest goals conceded in a season | 24 | Kettering Town (1993–94)Stevenage Borough (2009–10) |
| Highest goal difference | 75 | Notts County (2022–23) |
| Biggest win | 9–0 | Runcorn beat Enfield (3 March 1990)Sutton United beat Gateshead (22 September 1990)Hereford United beat Dagenham & Redbridge (27 February 2004)Rushden & Diamonds beat Weymouth (21 February 2009)Tranmere Rovers beat Solihull Moors (8 April 2017) |
| Record attendance (play-offs) | 52,115 | Oldham Athletic vs Southend United at Wembley Stadium (play-off final, 1 June 2025) |
| Record attendance (league game) | 16,511 | Notts County vs Yeovil Town at Meadow Lane (19 November 2022) |