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Football Conference

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, and Conference North and Conference South serve 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.

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Organisation

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.

Each division in The Football Conference has 22 clubs. Each club plays the others in its division twice during a season, once at home and once away, for a total of 42 games played. 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 the 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 three 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.

The three relegated clubs are replaced by clubs from Conference North and Conference South. These clubs are 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. At the bottom, 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.

History

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. In 1984 it changed its name to the Football Conference, but has been publicly known by the names of a succession of official title sponsors. Below is a list of sponsors and what they chose to call the league:

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.

Conference clubs, 2004-2005

Conference National
Accrington Stanley
Aldershot Town
Barnet
Burton Albion
Canvey Island
Carlisle United
Crawley Town
Dagenham & Redbridge
Exeter City
Farnborough Town
Forest Green Rovers
Gravesend & Northfleet
Halifax Town
Hereford United
Leigh RMI
Morecambe
Northwich Victoria
Scarborough
Stevenage Borough
Tamworth
Woking
York City
 
Conference North
Alfreton Town
Altrincham
Ashton United
Barrow
Bradford (Park Avenue)
Droylsden
Gainsborough Trinity
Harrogate Town
Hinckley United
Hucknall Town
Kettering Town
Lancaster City
Moor Green
Nuneaton Borough
Redditch United
Runcorn FC Halton
Southport
Stafford Rangers
Stalybridge Celtic
Vauxhall Motors
Worcester City
Worksop Town
 
Conference South
Basingstoke Town
Bishop's Stortford
Bognor Regis Town
Cambridge City
Carshalton Athletic
Dorchester Town
Eastbourne Borough
Grays Athletic
Havant & Waterlooville
Hayes
Hornchurch
Lewes
Maidenhead United
Margate
Newport County
Redbridge
St Albans City
Sutton United
Thurrock
Welling United
Weston-super-Mare
Weymouth

Past Conference winners

Season Conference National Winner Conference National Playoff Winner
1979-80 Altrincham  
1980-81 Altrincham
1981-82 Runcorn
1982-83 Enfield
1983-84 Maidstone United
1984-85 Wealdstone
1985-86 Enfield
1986-87 Scarborough*
1987-88 Lincoln City*
1988-89 Maidstone United*
1989-90 Darlington*
1990-91 Barnet*
1991-92 Colchester United*
1992-93 Wycombe Wanderers*
1993-94 Kidderminster Harriers
1994-95 Macclesfield Town
1995-96 Stevenage Borough
1996-97 Macclesfield Town*
1997-98 Halifax Town*
1998-99 Cheltenham Town*
1999-2000 Kidderminster Harriers*
2000-01 Rushden & Diamonds*
2001-02 Boston United*
2002-03 Yeovil Town* Doncaster Rovers*
2003-04 Chester City* Shrewsbury Town*
* Promoted to The Football League (Fourth Division until 1991, Third Division from 1992 until 2003 and League Two since)

Former Conference clubs now in The Football League

Club Years in the Conference
Boston United 1979-1993; 2000-2002
Cheltenham Town 1985-1992; 1997-1999
Colchester United 1990-1992
Darlington 1989-1990
Doncaster Rovers 1998-2003
Kidderminster Harriers 1983-2000
Lincoln City 1987-1988
Macclesfield Town 1987-1997
Rushden & Diamonds 1996-2001
Wycombe Wanderers 1985-1986; 1987-1993
Yeovil Town 1979-1985; 1988-1995; 1997-2003

External links


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