Football Conference
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Football Conference logo |
The
Football Conference is a
football league at the top of the
National League System of so-called
non-league football in
England.
Conference National is the highest of the three divisions within the Football Conference, with
Conference North and
Conference South serving as regional feeders one step down. The Football Conference consisted of only one division up until 2004, but expanded as part of an extensive restructuring of the National League System which took effect beginning with the 2004-05 season.
The Football Conference stands at the top of the
National League System (NLS), a comprehensive structure linking together over 50 different leagues under the auspices of
The Football Association (FA). Conference National is at
Step 1 of the NLS, and Conference North and Conference South make up
Step 2. Above the Conference are the 92
clubs which together make up the highest levels of English football, the
FA Premier League and
The Football League; below the Conference are the
Step 3 and lower leagues of the NLS.
From 2006/2007 The Conference National will have 24 clubs and the North and South divisions will have 22 clubs each. Each club plays the others in its division twice during a season, once at home and once away. Clubs earn three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss.
At the end of each season two clubs are promoted from Conference National to
Football League Two and two teams from League Two are relegated to Conference National to take their place. The two promotion places are awarded to the Conference National champions and to the winners of a playoff between those clubs finishing second to fifth in the standings.
At the other end of the table, the bottom four clubs in Conference National are relegated to either Conference North or Conference South. The decision as to which division the relegated club joins is made by the FA's NLS Committee, but is largely determined by geography. Due to financial contraints at this level of football, some clubs have escaped relegation despite finishing in a relegation position, due to the misfortune of others. The four relegated teams are replaced by four promoted teams, two from Conference North and two from Conference South. For each of these two leagues this will be the champions and the winners of playoffs between the second to fifth place clubs.
This system has now been put in place for future seasons, starting with 2006/2007. Prior to this, three different systems were used. In 2005/06, there were only two relegated clubs from Conference National. They were replaced by four promoted teams, two from each of the two
Step 2 leagues. This was to increase the number of teams in Conference National from 22 to 24. In 2004/2005, three relegated clubs were replaced by three clubs from Conference North and Conference South. These clubs were the champions of their respective divisions, plus the winner of a match between the winners of a playoff between the second to fifth place clubs in Conference North and their counterparts in Conference South. Prior to 2004/2005, three relegated clubs were replaced by the champion clubs from the
Northern Premier League, the
Southern League, and the
Isthmian League, as Conference North and South had not yet been formed.
At the bottom of Conference North and Conference South, three clubs from each division are relegated and these six clubs are divided among the
Step 3 leagues of the NLS, the
Northern Premier League, the
Southern League, and the
Isthmian League. Each of these
Step 3 leagues promotes their respective champions and second to fifth place playoff winners. The NLS Committee determines which
Step 3 leagues the relegated clubs will join, and whether the promoted clubs will join Conference North or Conference South.
For promotion to proceed, whether from The Football Conference to The Football League, within the Conference, or between the various leagues of the NLS, certain conditions concerning finances and facilities must be met. Failure to meet the requirements of the league concerned will prevent the eligible club from being promoted.
The Football Conference was formed in
1979 from teams in the Northern Premier League and Southern League and was originally known as the
Alliance Premier League. Since
1984 it has been publicly known by the names of a succession of official title sponsors. The name was officially changed to the
Football Conference in
1986. Below is a list of sponsors and what they chose to call the league:
*1984-1986:
Gola (Gola League)
*1986-1998:
General Motors (GM Vauxhall Conference)
*1998-2007:
Nationwide Building Society (Nationwide Conference)
Automatic promotion and relegation between the Conference and The Football League was first introduced for one club in 1987, and increased to two in 2003.
The Football Conference had a single division for the first 25 years of its existence, but beginning with the 2004-05 season expanded to three divisions. The original division was renamed
Conference National and two new regional divisions one level down were introduced,
Conference North and
Conference South. The new clubs were drawn from the Northern Premier League, Southern League, and Isthmian League according to guidelines developed by the NLS Committee.
Only six teams have had the honour of winning the Conference on two occasions; Altrincham (1980, 1981), Barnet (1991, 2005), Enfield (1983, 1986), Kidderminster Harriers (1994, 2000) Macclesfield Town (1995, 1997) and Maidstone United (1984, 1989). Kidderminster also finished 2nd in 1997. Of those sides to have won it twice, only two were promoted to the football league: Macclesfield Town in 1997 and Kidderminster Harriers in 2000. The previous occasions neither of the clubs' grounds were up to standard, so they were both denied promotion. Altrincham are the only team in history to retain the title, mainly due to the fact that in the era of the first success in 1980, there was no automatic promotion to the Football League.
Teams in
bold have played in the Football League.
Notes
*
1 As a previous incarnation —
Aldershot F.C.*
2 As a previous incarnation.
* Promoted to The Football League (Fourth Division until 1991, Third Division from 1992 until 2003 and League Two from 2004)*
Sports league attendances*
Official site*
The Conference Guide*
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