League Structure
The league structure has changed several times over the years, and currently consists of a Premier Division at step 3 of the pyramid, with Division One South & West and Division One Midlands at step 4. The winners of the Premier Division, together with the winners of a playoff, are promoted to the Conference North or Conference South, depending on their location.
Clubs relegated from the Southern League can be placed in any of fourteen lower level leagues, but in practice it is likely to be one of the following (based on geography):
- Combined Counties League
- Hellenic League
- Midland Football Alliance
- Spartan South Midlands League
- United Counties League
- Wessex League
- Western League
From time to time, clubs outside the promotion and relegation positions based at the geographical edges of the Southern League will be compelled to leave the League by the NLS Committee, should it be necessary for them to compete in the Northern Premier or Isthmian Leagues so as to correct any imbalances brought on by the geographical distribution of the teams promoted and relegated to this level. Teams in the Northern Premier or Isthmian Leagues have also been entered into the Southern League for the same reason.
Read more about this topic: Southern Premier League
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