ENGLAND'S FOOTBALL LEAGUE SYSTEM STRUCTURE
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 six teams from Wales and one from Guernsey also competing. The system has a hierarchical format
with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels. This page includes the "Top NINE" Levels of the English system.

BRIEF EXPLANATION of the ENGLISH FOOTBALL STRUCTURE (reproduced from 'Wikipedia' pages) The system consists of a pyramid of leagues, bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. A certain number of the most successful clubs in each league can rise to a higher league, whilst those that finish at the bottom of their league can find themselves sinking down a level. In addition to sporting performance, promotion is usually contingent on meeting criteria set by the higher league, especially concerning appropriate facilities and finances. In theory it is 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, in the short run), there certainly is significant movement within the pyramid. 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 of the more densely populated 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 do not 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. It evolved over many years. In the most recent major re-organisation, two new leagues were entered at level six – the Conference North and Conference South – shifting the top divisions of the Southern League, Isthmian League and Northern Premier League down to level seven. At the top is the single division of the Premier League, containing 20 clubs, all of which, up to the 2010–11 season, were based in England. However, two Welsh teams (Swansea City and Cardiff City). 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. They 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-type competitions. The top tier of non-League football is the National League formerly known as the Football Conference, which contains a national division of 24 clubs (Level 5), this is the lowest level with a single national league. There are two divisions at Level 6, covering the north (National League North) and south (National League South), with 22 clubs each. Some of these clubs are full-time professional and the others are semi-professional. Below the National League are some of the stronger clubs which are semi-professional, but continuing down the tiers, soon all the clubs are amateur. Lower-level leagues also tend to cater for progressively smaller geographic regions. Next down from the National League 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 and north Wales), Southern Football League (which covers the Midlands, south and southwest of England, and south Wales) and the Isthmian League (which covers the south east of England). All of the leagues have a Premier Division of 24 teams (Level 7). Below these, and split by region, the Northern Premier League and Southern Football League each have two parallel divisions of 22 teams (Level 8). The Isthmian League has two parallel level 8 divisions of 24 teams each. Level 9 contains the top divisions of a large group of fourteen 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.

ENGLISH FOOTBALL STRUCTURE in CHART FORMAT

Level

Football League (NAME) / Divisions / Sub-Divisions / Promotions & Relegations

1	PREMIER LEAGUE (Barclay's Premier League) 20 Total Clubs ~ "3" Relegations to the League Championship

2	FOOTBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP (Sky Bet Championship) 24 Total Clubs ~ "3" Promotions to Premier League / "3" Relegations to League One

3	FOOTBALL LEAGUE ONE (Sky Bet League 1) 24 Total Clubs ~ "3" Promotions to the Championship / "4" Relegations to League Two

4	FOOTBALL LEAGUE TWO (Sky Bet League 2) 24 Total Clubs ~ "4" Promotions to League One / "2" Relegations to the National League

5	NATIONAL LEAGUE (Vanarama National League) 24 Total Clubs ~ "2" Promotions to League Two / "4" Relegations to National League North/South

6

NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH (Vanarama National League North) 22 Total Clubs with "2" Promotions to the National League "3" Relegations to Northern Premier League/Isthmian League

NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH (Vanarama National League South) 22 Total Clubs with "2" Promotions to the National League "3" Relegations to Southern League/Isthmian League

7

NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE (Premier Division) (Evo-Stik League Northern Premier Div.) 24 Total Clubs with "2" Promotions to National League North "4" Relegations to Northern Premier League (First Division North/South)

SOUTHERN LEAGUE (Premier Division) (Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Div.) 24 Total Clubs with "2" Promotions to National League South "4" Relegations to Southern League (Division One Central/South & West)

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE (Premier Division) (Ryman Football League Premier Div.) 24 Total Clubs with "2" Promotions to National League North/South "4" Relegations to Isthmian League (Division One North/South)

8

NORTHERN PREM. LEAGUE (Division One North) 22 Total Clubs with "2" Promotions "2" Relegations

NORTHERN PREM. LEAGUE (Division One South) 22 Total Clubs with "2" Promotions "2" Relegations

SOUTHERN LEAGUE (Division 1 Central) 22 Total Clubs with "2" Promotions "2" Relegations

SOUTHERN LEAGUE (Div. 1 South/West) 22 Total Clubs with "2" Promotions "2" Relegations

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE (Division One North) 24 Total Clubs with "2" Promotions "3" Relegations

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE (Division One South) 24 Total Clubs with "2" Promotions "3" Relegations

9

(All Divisions Run In Parallel) "1" Promotion from Each of the Listed Divisions Below Combined Counties League (Premier Division) ~ 22 Clubs Eastern Counties League (Premier Division) ~ 20 Clubs Essex Senior League ~ 20 Clubs Hellenic League (Premier Division) ~ 20 Clubs Midland Football League (Premier Division) ~ 22 Clubs Northern Counties East League (Premier Division) ~ 23 Clubs Northern League (Division One) ~ 23 Clubs North West Counties League (Premier Division) ~ 22 Clubs Southern Counties East League ~ 17 Clubs Spartan South Midlands League (Premier Division) ~ 22 Clubs Sussex County League (Division One) ~ 20 Clubs United Counties League (Premier Division) ~ 19 Clubs Wessex League (Premier Division) ~ 22 Clubs Western League (Premier Division) ~ 21 Clubs

10

(All Divisions Run In Parallel) Combined Counties League (Division One) ~ 16 Clubs Eastern Counties League (Division One) ~ 19 Clubs Eastern Midlands Counties League ~ 19 Clubs Hellenic League (Division One East) ~ 14 Clubs Hellenic League (Division One West) ~ 15 Clubs Kent Invicta League ~ 15 Clubs Midland Football League (Division One) ~ 20 Clubs Northern Counties East League (Division One) ~ 22 Clubs Northern League (Division Two) ~ 22 Clubs North West Counties League (Division One) ~ 19 Clubs South West Pennisula League (Premier Division) ~ 20 Clubs Spartan South Midlands League (Division One) ~ 20 Clubs Sussex County League (Division Two) ~ 17 Clubs United Counties League (Division One) ~ 22 Clubs Wessex League (Division One) ~ 17 Clubs Western League (Division One) ~ 22 Clubs West Midlands (Regional) League (Premier Division) ~ 22 Clubs

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