Everything about The English Football League System totally explained
The
English football league system, also known as the
football pyramid, is a series of
interconnected leagues for club
football in
England (although for historical reasons a small number of
Welsh clubs also compete). The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, and allows even the smallest club to dream of rising to the very top of the system. There are over 140 leagues, containing over 480 divisions. The exact number of clubs varies from year to year as clubs join and leave leagues or fold altogether, but an estimated average of 15 clubs per division implies that over 7,000 clubs are members of a league in the English football league system.
About the system
The system consists of a hierarchy of leagues, bound together by the principle of
promotion and relegation. Clubs that are successful in their league can rise higher in the pyramid, whilst those that finish at the bottom can find themselves sinking further down. In theory it's possible for a lowly local amateur club to rise to the pinnacle of the English game and become champions of the
Premier League. While this may be unlikely in practice (at the very least, not in the short run), there certainly is significant movement within the pyramid. The number of teams promoted between leagues or divisions varies, and promotion is usually contingent on meeting criteria set by the higher league, especially concerning appropriate facilities and finances.
The top five levels contain one division each. Below this, the levels have progressively more parallel leagues, which each cover progressively smaller geographic areas. Many leagues have more than one division. At the lower levels the existence of leagues becomes intermittent, although in some areas there are as many as twenty layers. There are also leagues in various parts of the country which are not officially part of the system as they don't have formal agreements with other leagues, but are recognised at various levels by county football associations. Clubs from these leagues may, if they feel they meet the appropriate standard of play and have suitable facilities, apply to join a league which does form part of the system.
The seven levels immediately below the
Premier League and
Football League are known as the
National League System and come under the jurisdiction of
The Football Association. Under the direction of
The Football Association, the National League System evolved over many years. Recent re-organisation saw the formation of a
Conference North and
Conference South immediately below the
Football Conference, renamed
Conference National, forcing the top divisions of the
Southern League,
Isthmian League and
Northern Premier League down one level.
The English football league system doesn't include the amateur version of the game often called
Sunday league football. These leagues are independent entities with no promotion or relegation involving the football pyramid. However, some Sunday League clubs have been known to join pyramid leagues if they desire to progress higher.
Structure
At the top is the single division of the
Premier League (which is sometimes referred to as Level 1 of the league 'pyramid'), containing 20 clubs. Below the Premier League is
The Football League, which is divided into three divisions of 24 clubs each:
The Championship (Level 2),
League One (Level 3) and
League Two (Level 4). The 92 clubs in the Premier League and Football League are all full-time professional clubs. Confusingly, all are often referred to as 'League' clubs because, before the establishment of the Premier League in
1992, the Football League included all 92 clubs, in four divisions. Clubs outside this group are referred to as 'non-League' clubs, although they too play most of their football in league competitions.
The top tier of
non-League football is the
Football Conference, which contains a national division of 24 clubs (Level 5), followed by two divisions at Level 6, covering the north (
Conference North) and south (
Conference South), with 22 clubs each. Some of these clubs are full-time professional and the others are semi-professional. Below the Conference some of the stronger clubs are semi-professional, but continuing down the tiers, soon all the clubs are amateur.
Next down from the Football Conference are three regional leagues, each associated with different geographical areas, although some overlap exists. They are the
Northern Premier League (which covers the north of England),
Southern League (which covers southern England, the Midlands and parts of Wales) and the
Isthmian League (which covers the south east). All of the leagues have a Premier Division (Level 7) with two parallel divisions below (Level 8).
Level 9 contains the top divisions of a large group of sub-regional leagues. Each of these leagues has a different divisional set up, but they all have one thing in common: there are yet more leagues below them, each covering smaller and smaller geographical levels.
Promotion and relegation rules for the top few levels
For example, here are the promotion and relegation rules for the top few levels of the
English football league system:
- Premier League (level 1, 20 teams): Bottom three teams relegated.
- Football League Championship (level 2, 24 teams): Top two automatically promoted; next four compete in the playoffs, with the winner gaining the third promotion spot. Bottom three relegated.
- Football League One (level 3, 24 teams): Top two automatically promoted; next four compete in playoffs, with the winner gaining the third promotion spot. Bottom four relegated.
- Football League Two (level 4, 24 teams): Top three automatically promoted; next four compete in playoffs, with the winner gaining the fourth promotion spot. Bottom two relegated.
- Conference National (level 5, 24 teams): Top team promoted; next four compete in playoffs, with the winner gaining the second promotion spot. Bottom four relegated, to either North or South division as appropriate.
- Conference North and Conference South (level 6, 22 teams each, running in parallel): Top team in each division automatically promoted; next four teams in each compete in playoffs, with playoff winner in each division getting the second promotion spot. Bottom three in each division relegated, to either Northern Premier League, Southern League, or Isthmian League as appropriate. If, after promotion and relegation, the number of teams in the North and South divisions are not equal, one or more teams are transferred between the two divisions to even them up again.
Cup eligibility
Being members of a league at a particular level also affects eligibility for Cup, or single-elimination, competitions.
FA Cup: All levels (in theory; in practice restricted to Levels 1-11)
Football League Cup: Levels 1-4
Football League Trophy: Levels 3-4
FA Trophy: Levels 5-8
Conference League Cup: Levels 5-6
FA Vase: Levels 9-11
FA National League System Cup: Level 11 (contested by representative teams from each league)
Beyond Level 11 the pyramid becomes regional and the cups become accordingly regional. Further down the pyramid is split on a county basis, counties having their own cups accordingly.
The system
For details of the changes made for the 2006-07 season, see History of the English football league system.
The table below shows the current structure of the system. For each division, its official name, sponsorship name (which differs from its historic name) and number of clubs is given. At levels 1-8, each division promotes to the division(s) that lie directly above it and relegates to the division(s) that lie directly below it. Below that level, individual league articles detail promotion and relegation arrangements.
The leagues at levels five to eleven comprise the National League System (NLS), and come under the direct jurisdiction of The Football Association. The top level (level 5) of the NLS is known as "Step 1" by the FA, the next (level 6) as "step 2", and so on.
Further Information
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