The System
This table includes the seven steps of the National League System (NLS). Above the NLS are the Premier League and The Football League. Two teams from the Football Conference can be promoted to Football League Two at the end of each season. This structure was the result of changes made after the 2005–06 season.
The official name is given for all the leagues listed, and the sponsorship name is also provided for the leagues in the top four steps. All divisions in the top four steps have 22 clubs each, except the Northern Premier League Division One North and Division One South which have 20 or 21 teams each, and Conference National, with 24 teams. The FA's National League System Committee determine promotion and relegation between leagues shown, mainly based on location. The NLS Committee also has the power to transfer clubs between divisions and even leagues at the same level of the pyramid should this be deemed necessary in order to maintain geographically practical and numerically balanced divisions and leagues at every level.
All clubs in the NLS are eligible to compete in the FA Cup, but are seeded into it according to tier standing. Tiers 1 to 4 clubs are eligible for the FA Trophy and tiers 5 to 7 for the FA Vase, as well as their respective regional and county cups. With the arrival of the new sponsors for the Football Conference starting in the 2007–08 season, the administrators of the Conference announced the reintroduction of the short-lived Football Conference Challenge Cup, now to be known as the Setanta Shield. This competition, as its predecessor, will be open to clubs in tiers 1 and 2 of the NLS.
| Step | League/Division | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conference National (Blue Square BET Premier) |
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| 2 | Conference North (Blue Square BET North) |
Conference South (Blue Square BET South) |
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| 3 | Northern Premier League (Evo-stik League) Premier Division |
Southern League (Evo-stik League Southern) Premier Division |
Isthmian League (Ryman League) Premier Division |
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| 4 | Northern Premier League (Evo-stik League) Division One North |
Northern Premier League (Evo-stik League) Division One South |
Southern Football League (Evo-stik League Southern) Division One Central |
Southern Football League (Evo-stik League Southern) Division One South & West |
Isthmian League (Ryman League) Division One South |
Isthmian League (Ryman League) Division One North |
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| 5 | |||||||
| 6 | |||||||
| 7 | |||||||
| 7A | |||||||
| 7B | |||||||
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