Founded | 1968 |
---|---|
Country | England |
Number of teams | 88
|
Level on pyramid | 7 and 8 |
Promotion to | National League North |
Relegation to | |
Domestic cup(s) | National FA Cup FA Trophy League League Challenge Cup |
Current champions | Radcliffe (Premier Division) Leek Town (Division One West 2023-24) Hebburn Town (Division One East 2023-24) Spalding United (Division One Midlands 2023-24) |
Website | thenpl.co.uk |
Current: 2024–25 |
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English football league system.
Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England and the northern, central areas of the Midlands, and western parts of East Anglia. Originally a single-division competition, a second division was added in 1987: Division One, and in 2007 a third was added when Division One split into two geographic sections - Division One North and Division One South. In 2018 Division One was re-aligned as East and West Divisions, then North West and South East in 2019. In 2021, the FA restructured the non-League football pyramid and created Division One East, West, and Midlands.
Successful teams at the top of the NPL Premier Division are promoted to level 6 of the pyramid (either National League North or National League South), and at the bottom end of the competition, teams are relegated down to level 9, where several regional feeder leagues promote clubs into the league.