England National League

The Conference National, also known as the English Football League Two, is the highest level of the English Football League System and the fifth tier in the English football league pyramid. The predecessor to the Conference National was the Alliance Premier League, established in 1979 with the aim of creating a national football league beneath the English Football League, bringing teams together from both the Northern Premier League and the Southern League to significantly improve the quality and financial revenue of lower-tier clubs. In 1986, the English Football League recognized the Conference National, allowing clubs from its lowest division—then the Fourth Division—to join the Conference National, where they were now eligible for direct promotion or relegation. Starting with the 2002/03 season, the Conference National added an additional promotion spot, allowing teams to move up to the Football League through a playoff system alongside the league champions. Previously, if a promoted team’s stadium facilities did not meet the required standards, their promotion would be revoked; starting that same year, if such a situation arose, the promotion spot could be transferred to a suitable team. In the 2004/05 season, the Conference National expanded to include two new lower divisions—the Conference North League and the Conference South League—and the bottom three teams in the Conference National table were relegated to either the Conference North League or the Conference South League. However, in 2006, the Conference National was expanded from 22 teams to 24. The team ranked first in the league will directly qualify for the next season’s EFL League Two, while the four teams ranked fourth through seventh will compete in promotion play-offs. The two winners of these play-offs will face each other in the promotion semi-finals and final, respectively. All matches are single-leg fixtures, with the goal of securing qualification for the next season’s EFL League Two. The bottom four teams in the league will be relegated to lower-level competitions.