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National League North

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Conference North" redirects here. For other topics, see North Conference (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with the National League's (MLB) divisions.

National League North
Founded2004
CountryEngland
Number of clubs24
Level on pyramid6
Step 2 (National League System)
Promotion toNational League
Relegation toNorthern Premier League Premier Division
Southern Football League Premier Division Central
Domestic cup(s)FA Cup
FA Trophy
International cup(s)Europa League
(via FA Cup)
Current championsTamworth (2nd title)
(2023–24)
Most championships
WebsiteNational League
Current: 2024–25 National League North

The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons,[1] is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest tier overall in the English football league system, after the Premier League, the EFL leagues and the National League and is contested by 24 clubs.


National league North 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.[1]

History

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The Conference North was introduced in 2004 as part of a major restructuring of English non-League football.[2] The champions are automatically promoted to the National League. A second promotion place goes to the winners of play-offs involving the teams finishing in second to seventh place (expanded from four to six teams in the 2017–18 season).[3] The three bottom clubs are relegated to Step 3 leagues. Teams from this division, as well as from the National League South, enter the FA Cup at the Second Qualifying Round.

For sponsorship reasons, the division was known as the Nationwide North from its formation in 2004 until 2007, when it was renamed the Blue Square North. In 2010 it was renamed the Blue Square Bet North. When the Blue Square sponsorship ended in 2013, it was renamed the Skrill North until the 2014–15 season, when it was renamed the Vanarama North. A further name change followed in 2015, when the division was renamed the Vanarama National League North.

The National League North was scheduled to expand to 24 teams in 2021.[4][5] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2020–21 National League North season was curtailed and voided after written resolutions were put to a vote. No teams were relegated.[6] Expansion would be at last implemented before the 2022–23 season when the bottom club was relegated and four promoted from Step 3.[7]

Member clubs for 2024–25

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The member clubs for the 2024–25 season are as follows:

Division of Level 6 teams by English Counties (2022–23)
Club Finishing position 2023–24
Alfreton Town 5th
Brackley Town 3rd
Buxton 14th
Chester 10th
Chorley 4th
Curzon Ashton 7th
Darlington 16th
Farsley Celtic 20th
Hereford 11th
Kidderminster Harriers 22nd (National League)
King's Lynn Town 18th
Leamington 3rd (Southern League)
Marine 3rd (Northern Premier League)
Needham Market 1st (Southern League)
Oxford City 24th (National League)
Peterborough Sports 15th
Radcliffe 1st (Northern Premier League)
Rushall Olympic 19th
Scarborough Athletic 13th
Scunthorpe United 2nd
Southport 17th
South Shields 8th
Spennymoor Town 9th
Warrington Town 12th

League champions

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Conference North Trophy awarded to Southport, 2009–10 season.

The winners of the league title and the winners of the play-off final since the league's formation in 2004 are as follows:

Season Winner Play-off winner
2004–05 Southport Altrincham
2005–06 Northwich Victoria Stafford Rangers
2006–07 Droylsden Farsley Celtic
2007–08 Kettering Town Barrow
2008–09 Tamworth Gateshead
2009–10 Southport (2) Fleetwood Town
2010–11 Alfreton Town AFC Telford United
2011–12 Hyde United Nuneaton Town
2012–13 Chester FC Halifax Town
2013–14 AFC Telford United Altrincham
2014–15 Barrow Guiseley
2015–16 Solihull Moors North Ferriby United
2016–17 AFC Fylde FC Halifax Town
2017–18 Salford City Harrogate Town
2018–19 Stockport County Chorley
2019–20 King's Lynn Town Altrincham
2020–21 None, season curtailed and voided
2021–22 Gateshead York City
2022–23 AFC Fylde (2) Kidderminster Harriers
2023–24 Tamworth (2) Boston United

League stadiums for 2024–25

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The home stadiums for all of the teams in the league for the 2024–25 season are listed below:

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Locations of the National League North 2024–25 teams
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Alfreton Town Alfreton Impact Arena 3,600
Brackley Town Brackley St. James Park 3,500
Buxton Buxton The Silverlands 5,200
Chester Chester Deva Stadium 6,500
Chorley Chorley Victory Park 4,100
Curzon Ashton Ashton-under-Lyne Tameside Stadium 4,000
Darlington Darlington Blackwell Meadows 3,300
Farsley Celtic Farsley The Citadel 3,900
Hereford Hereford Edgar Street 5,250
Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Aggborough 6,238
King's Lynn Town King's Lynn The Walks 8,200
Leamington Leamington Your Co-Op Community Stadium 3,050
Marine Crosby Marine Travel Arena 2,200
Needham Market Needham Market Bloomfields 4,000
Oxford City Oxford (Marston) RAW Charging Stadium 3,500
Peterborough Sports Peterborough Lincoln Road 2,300
Radcliffe Radcliffe Stainton Park 3,500
Rushall Olympic Walsall (Rushall) Dales Lane 2,000
Scarborough Athletic Scarborough Flamingo Land Stadium 2,833
Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe Glanford Park 9,088
South Shields South Shields 1st Cloud Arena 4,000
Southport Southport Haig Avenue 6,008
Spennymoor Town Spennymoor The Brewery Field 4,300
Warrington Town Warrington Cantilever Park 3,500


League records

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Record home win Chorley 9-0 Gloucester City, 4 September 2021
Record away win Redditch United 0–9 Boston United, 21 August 2010[8]
Highest-scoring game AFC Fylde 9–2 Boston United, 19 November 2016[9]
Most points in a season 107 points – Chester (2012–13)
Most wins in a season 34 – Chester (2012–13)
Fewest defeats in a season 3 – Chester (2012–13)
Most goals scored in a season 109 – AFC Fylde (2016–17)
Largest positive goal difference 71 – Chester (2012–13)
Most league titles 2 – AFC Fylde (2016–17, 2022–23) and Southport (2004–05, 2009–10)
Most consecutive wins 15 games (21 February 2006 to 22 April 2006) – Northwich Victoria
Most consecutive clean sheets 10 games (30 August 2010 to 9 November 2010) – Boston United
Longest unbeaten run 30 games (15 September 2012 to 6 April 2013) – Chester
Largest attendance 8,036 (27 April 2024) – Scunthorpe United (vs Boston)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Football Conference to be renamed as National League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Football Conference – History". Football Conference. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  3. ^ "National League North 2017-18 Season Preview". Vanarama National League. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  4. ^ Edkins, Matt (17 April 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: FA outline second phase of Non-League restructuring". The Non-League Football Paper (Interview).
  5. ^ "Update on non-League, women's & grassroots football seasons". The Football Association. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  6. ^ Osborn, Oliver (18 February 2021). "National League Statement | Outcome Of Written Resolutions". Vanarama National League. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  7. ^ "National League: Football Association confirms promotion and relegation for 2021-22". BBC Sport. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Redditch United 0-9 Boston United". BBC Sport. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  9. ^ "AFC Fylde: 10 Things". FC Halifax Town. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
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