National League (division)
association football division in England
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, Barrow, Carlisle United, Harrogate Town, Yeovil Town, Hartlepool United, Southend United, Scunthorpe United, Boston United, Sutton United, Kidderminster Harriers and Aldershot Town.
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.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “National League (division)” is association football division in England. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through National, League and division, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “association football division in England” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q58916. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2015, 1979 and 1986.
Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “National League (division)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.