The English football league system consists of a pyramid of leagues, bound together by the principle of
promotion and relegation. A certain number of the most successful clubs in each league can rise to a higher league, whilst those that finish the
season at the bottom of their league can be sent down a level. In addition to sporting performance, promotion is usually contingent on meeting criteria set by the higher league, especially concerning appropriate facilities and finances. The top five levels contain one division each and are nationwide in scope. Below this, the levels have progressively more parallel leagues, with each covering progressively smaller geographic areas. Many leagues have more than one division. At the lower levels the existence of leagues becomes intermittent, although in some of the more densely populated areas there are leagues more than twenty layers below the Premier League. There are also leagues in various parts of the country which are not officially part of the system as they do not have formal agreements with other leagues, but are recognised at various levels by county football associations. Clubs from these leagues may, if they feel they meet the appropriate standard of play and have suitable facilities, apply to join a league which does form part of the system.
Pyramid structure The top of the pyramid is the
Premier League (level 1, which is often referred to as the "top flight"), containing 20 clubs. Below the Premier League is the
English Football League (EFL) (formerly 'the Football League'), which is divided into three divisions of 24 clubs each:
The Championship (level 2),
League One (level 3), and
League Two (level 4). The 20 clubs in the Premier League and 72 clubs in the English Football League are all full-time professional clubs. Before the establishment of the Premier League in 1992, the Football League, as it was called then, included all 92 clubs, in four divisions. Clubs outside the Football League were referred to as non-League clubs, and this naming continues for clubs below the four professional divisions. Levels 1 to 4 are known as "League Football." The top tier of
non-League football is the
National League. It contains a nationwide division (also called the
National League) (level 5; step 1) of 24 clubs, and is the lowest level with a single nationwide league. This division, like the four above, is a full-time professional competition, although some promoted clubs retain part-time status. There are two divisions at level 6 (step 2), covering the north (
National League North) and south (
National League South), with 24 clubs each. Some of these clubs are full-time professional and the others are semi-professional. Below level 6, some of the stronger clubs are semi-professional, but continuing down the tiers, soon all the clubs are amateur. Below the National League are three regional leagues at levels 7 and 8 (steps 3 and 4), each covering different parts of England, though with some geographical overlap. These are the
Northern Premier League (covering northern England), the
Southern Football League (serving the Midlands, southern, and southwestern England, with
one club from South Wales) and the
Isthmian League (including clubs from southeastern England as well as
Guernsey in the
Channel Islands). The Southern League manages two parallel Premier Divisions at level 7 and two lower divisions at level 8. The Northern Premier League and Isthmian League each administer one Premier Division at level 7 and three level 8 divisions. All divisions typically consist of 22 teams. Level 9 (step 5) contains the top divisions of a large group of 16 sub-regional leagues. Each of these leagues has a different divisional setup, but they all have one thing in common: there are yet more leagues below them, each covering smaller and smaller geographical levels. The six levels immediately below League Two are known as the
National League System and come under the jurisdiction of
The Football Association. The English football league system does not include the amateur version of the game often called
Sunday league football. These leagues are independent entities with no promotion or relegation involving the football pyramid. However, some Sunday league clubs have been known to join pyramid leagues if they desire to progress higher. There are also some Saturday leagues which are not officially part of the pyramid, although teams frequently leave these for pyramid leagues. ==Promotion and relegation rules for the top eight levels==