National League North

Football league

"Conference North" redirects here. For other topics, see North Conference (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with the National League's (MLB) divisions.

Football league

National League North

Founded| 2004
Country| England
Number of clubs| 24
Level on pyramid| 6
Step 2 (National League System)
Promotion to| National League
Relegation to| Northern 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 champions| Tamworth (2nd title)
(2023–24)
Most championships|

* AFC Fylde
* Southport
* Tamworth
* (2 titles each)

Website| National 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

Alfreton Town

Brackley Town

Buxton

Chester

Chorley

Curzon Ashton

Darlington

Farsley Celtic

Hereford

Kidderminster Harriers

King's Lynn Town

Leamington

Marine

Needham Market

Oxford City

Peterborough Sports

Radcliffe

Rushall Olympic

Scarborough Athletic

Scunthorpe United

South Shields

Southport

Spennymoor Town

Warrington Town

class=notpageimage|

Locations of the National League North 2024–25 teams

Team  | Location  | Stadium  | Capacity

|
|
|

Alfreton Town | Alfreton | North Street | 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 | New Windmill Ground | 3,050
Marine | Crosby | Rossett Park | 2,200
Needham Market | Needham Market | Bloomfields | 4,000
Oxford City | Oxford (Marston) | Marsh Lane | 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 | Scarborough Sports Village | 2,833
Scunthorpe United | Scunthorpe | Glanford Park | 9,088
South Shields | South Shields | Mariners Park | 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

[edit]

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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  | 8,274 (22 March 2025) – Scunthorpe United (vs Chester)

## See also

[edit]

* National League
* National League South

## References

[edit]

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.

## External links

[edit]

* The National League official site

* v
* t
* e

National League

2024–25
Clubs|

| National|

| Clubs|

* AFC Fylde
* Aldershot Town
* Altrincham
* Barnet
* Boston United
* Braintree Town
* Dagenham & Redbridge
* Eastleigh
* Ebbsfleet United
* Forest Green Rovers
* Gateshead
* FC Halifax Town
* Hartlepool United
* Maidenhead United
* Oldham Athletic
* Rochdale
* Solihull Moors
* Southend United
* Sutton United
* Tamworth
* Wealdstone
* Woking
* Yeovil Town
* York City

|

Grounds|

* The Bolt New Lawn
* Boston Community Stadium
* Boundary Park
* Chigwell Construction Stadium
* Cressing Road
* Crown Oil Arena
* Damson Park
* Gateshead International Stadium
* Grosvenor Vale
* The Hive
* Huish Park
* Laithwaite Community Stadium
* The Lamb Ground
* Mill Farm
* Moss Lane
* Recreation Ground
* Roots Hall
* The Shay
* Silverlake Stadium
* Stonebridge Road
* VBS Community Stadium
* Victoria Park
* York Community Stadium
* York Road

North|

* Alfreton Town
* Brackley Town
* Buxton
* Chester
* Chorley
* Curzon Ashton
* Darlington
* Farsley Celtic
* Hereford
* Kidderminster Harriers
* King's Lynn Town
* Leamington
* Marine
* Needham Market
* Peterborough Sports
* Oxford City
* Radcliffe
* Rushall Olympic
* Scarborough Athletic
* Scunthorpe United
* South Shields
* Southport
* Spennymoor Town
* Warrington Town

South|

* Aveley
* Bath City
* Boreham Wood
* Chelmsford City
* Chesham United
* Chippenham Town
* Dorking Wanderers
* Eastbourne Borough
* Enfield Town
* Farnborough
* Hampton & Richmond Borough
* Hemel Hempstead Town
* Hornchurch
* Maidstone United
* Salisbury
* Slough Town
* St Albans City
* Tonbridge Angels
* Torquay United
* Truro City
* Welling United
* Weston-super-Mare
* Weymouth
* Worthing

Seasons|

* 1979–80
* 1980–81
* 1981–82
* 1982–83
* 1983–84
* 1984–85
* 1985–86
* 1986–87
* 1987–88
* 1988–89
* 1989–90
* 1990–91
* 1991–92
* 1992–93
* 1993–94
* 1994–95
* 1995–96
* 1996–97
* 1997–98
* 1998–99
* 1999–2000
* 2000–01
* 2001–02
* 2002–03
* 2003–04
* 2004–05
* 2005–06
* 2006–07
* 2007–08
* 2008–09
* 2009–10
* 2010–11
* 2011–12
* 2012–13
* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24
* 2024–25
* 2025–26

See also: National League Cup

* v
* t
* e

Football in England

The Football Association

National teams|

* England
* B
* C
* U-21
* U-20
* U-19
* U-18
* U-17
* U-16

League competitions|

| Level 1|

* Premier League

|

Levels 2–4|

* English Football League
* EFL Championship
* EFL League One
* EFL League Two

Levels 5–6|

* National League
* National League (division)
* National League North
* National League South

Levels 7–8|

* Isthmian League
* Northern Premier League
* Southern League

Levels 9–10|

* Combined Counties League
* Eastern Counties League
* Essex Senior League (level 9 only)
* Hellenic League
* Midland League
* Northern Counties East League
* Northern League
* North West Counties League
* Southern Combination League
* Southern Counties East League
* South West Peninsula League (level 10 only)
* Spartan South Midlands League
* United Counties League
* Wessex League
* Western League

Cup competitions|

| FA cups|

* FA Cup
* FA Community Shield
* FA Trophy
* FA Vase
* FA Sunday Cup
* FA Inter-League Cup

|

League cups|

* EFL Cup
* EFL Trophy
* National League Cup
* Northern Premier League Cup
* Isthmian League Cup
* Southern League Cup

County cups|

* List of county cups

Others|

* National League System
* Reserve and youth football
* Defunct leagues
* Defunct cups

Lists|

* Appearances (500+)
* Clubs
* Honours won
* Current managers
* Clubs in international competitions
* Goals (200+)
* Record home attendances
* Stadiums by capacity

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* Competitions
* Trophies and awards
* History
* Records

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