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National League North

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National League North
Founded2004
CountryEngland
Other club fromWales
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 or South
Domestic cup(s)FA Cup
FA Trophy
International cup(s)Europa League
(via FA Cup)
Current championsAFC Fylde (3rd title)
(2025–26)
Most championships
WebsiteNational League
Current: 2025–26 National League North

The National League North 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, as well as currently containing a team from Wales. 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.

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 was implemented before the 2022–23 season, when the bottom club was relegated and four promoted from Step 3.[7]

Member clubs for 2026–27

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The member clubs for the 2026–27 season are as follows:

Division of Level 6 teams by English Counties (2022–23)
Club Finishing position 2025–26
AFC Telford United11th
Bedford Town18th
Brackley Town21st (National League)
Buxton5th
Chester7th
Chorley15th
Darlington9th
Harborough Town1st (Southern League Central)
Hebburn Town1st (Northern Premier League)
Hednesford Town2nd (Northern Premier League)
Hereford20th
King's Lynn Town19th
Macclesfield4th
Marine12th
Merthyr Town8th
Morecambe22nd (National League)
Oxford City17th
Radcliffe13th
Scarborough Athletic6th
Southport14th
South Shields2nd
Spalding United2nd (Southern League Central)
Spennymoor Town10th
Worksop Town16th

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:

SeasonWinnerPlay-off winner
2004–05SouthportAltrincham
2005–06Northwich VictoriaStafford Rangers
2006–07DroylsdenFarsley Celtic
2007–08Kettering TownBarrow
2008–09TamworthGateshead
2009–10Southport (2)Fleetwood Town
2010–11Alfreton TownAFC Telford United
2011–12Hyde UnitedNuneaton Town
2012–13ChesterFC Halifax Town
2013–14AFC Telford UnitedAltrincham
2014–15BarrowGuiseley
2015–16Solihull MoorsNorth Ferriby United
2016–17AFC FyldeFC Halifax Town
2017–18Salford CityHarrogate Town
2018–19Stockport CountyChorley
2019–20King's Lynn TownAltrincham
2020–21None, season curtailed and voided
2021–22GatesheadYork City
2022–23AFC Fylde (2)Kidderminster Harriers
2023–24Tamworth (2)Boston United
2024–25Brackley TownScunthorpe United
2025–26AFC Fylde (3)Kidderminster Harriers

League stadiums for 2025–26

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The home stadiums for all of the teams in the league for the 2025–26 season are listed below:

Team Location Stadium Capacity
AFC Fylde WeshamMill Farm Sports Village6,000
AFC Telford United TelfordNew Bucks Head6,300
Alfreton Town AlfretonNorth Street3,600
Bedford Town BedfordThe Eyrie3,000
BuxtonBuxton The Silverlands5,200
Chester ChesterDeva Stadium6,500
Chorley ChorleyVictory Park4,100
Curzon Ashton Ashton-under-LyneTameside Stadium4,000
Darlington DarlingtonBlackwell Meadows3,300
Hereford HerefordEdgar Street5,250
Kidderminster Harriers KidderminsterAggborough6,238
King's Lynn Town King's LynnThe Walks8,200
Leamington LeamingtonNew Windmill Ground3,050
Macclesfield MacclesfieldMoss Rose5,350
Marine CrosbyRossett Park2,300
Merthyr Town Merthyr TydfilPenydarren Park4,000
Oxford City Oxford (Marston)Marsh Lane3,500
Peterborough Sports PeterboroughLincoln Road2,300
Radcliffe RadcliffeStainton Park3,500
Scarborough Athletic ScarboroughScarborough Sports Village2,833
South Shields South ShieldsMariners Park4,000
Southport SouthportHaig Avenue6,008
Spennymoor Town SpennymoorThe Brewery Field4,300
Worksop Town WorksopSandy Lane2,500


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 112 – AFC Fylde (2025–26)
Largest positive goal difference 71 – Chester (2012–13)
Most league titles 3 – AFC Fylde (2016–17, 2022–23, 2025-26)
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
Most clean sheets in a season 28 (2021/22) - Brackley Town
Longest unbeaten run 30 games (15 September 2012 to 6 April 2013) – Chester
Largest attendance 9,086 (18 May 2025) – Scunthorpe United (vs Chester)[10]

Sponsorship

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In June 2025, the league was renamed to the Enterprise National League North after the sponsorship deal with Vanarama ended upon completion of the 2024–25 season.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ @SUFCOfficial (19 May 2025). "👏 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 ✅ 𝗔 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 ✅ 𝘼 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙑𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙖 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  11. ↑ "Enterprise becomes new sponsor of National League". BBC Sport. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
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