44-724: The National League , officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system . Through the National League, clubs get promoted to the EFL League Two , one of the divisions of the English Football League . The National League is the lowest division in the English football pyramid organised on
88-448: A Mecca Bingo hall in Luton , causing £3000 of damage. In a meeting held between community leaders and Mecca Bingo executives on 6 January 1998, Hazel Simmons, chairwoman of equal opportunities at Luton Borough Council, said, "We are aware of a groundswell of public opinion and I personally believe this to be insensitive in what is now a truly multicultural society." However, Mecca Bingo said that
132-497: A nationwide basis. Formerly the Conference National, the league was renamed the National League from the 2015–16 season . Notable former English Football League clubs that compete in the National League include: Oldham Athletic , Rochdale , York City , Yeovil Town , Hartlepool United and Southend United . The longest tenured team currently competing in the National League is Aldershot Town , who have been competing in
176-449: A rearrangement from 2004 to 2008 and was rearranged again in 2018. Phase one went into operation in 2004–05 . At the start of the 2006–07 season , phase two was introduced, and a further phase three started from 2007–08 with the starting of a second Step 4 league in the north of England. Phase four took effect in 2018–19 . Ahead of the 2020-21 season, Step 7 was abolished, being replaced by feeder leagues overseen by local county FAs. At
220-549: A second promotion place, with a play-off deciding who joins the champions in League Two. Previously, no promotion from the Conference would occur if the winners did not have adequate stadium facilities. If a club wins the division, but does not qualify for promotion, the next highest eligible club will be promoted in its place. If a club finishes in the play-off places but does not have an adequate stadium they will unable to take part in
264-484: A wide range of online slots, videobingo, blackjack, roulette, live roulette, skill games and other casino games. In January 2015, Rank announced that it would move to a new technology platform supplied by Bede Gaming . The public announcement said the rationale for the new platform is to give greater control, flexibility and speed in integrating third-party and retail content and functionality. The platform will integrate Rank's digital and land-based businesses to allow for
308-539: Is listed on the London Stock Exchange . The company was formed to acquire the business interests of the Rank Organisation , which itself was formed out of the business interests of its founder, J. Arthur Rank . Until the start of the 21st century, the group still had a tremendous amount of leisure holdings; however, as the decade progressed it divested these interests, beginning with Pinewood Studios and
352-446: Is significant movement within the pyramid. The number of teams promoted between leagues or divisions varies, and promotion is usually contingent on meeting criteria set by the higher league, especially concerning appropriate facilities and finances. In particular, clubs that hope to be promoted from Step 5 leagues to Step 4 must apply in advance to be assessed for whether they meet the grading requirements. The teams must then also finish in
396-559: The 2006–07 season , the Conference National expanded from 22 to 24 teams by promoting four teams while relegating two teams and introduced a "four up and four down" system between itself and the Conference North and Conference South. The league's first sponsor was Gola during the 1984–85 and 1985–86 seasons. When Gola's sponsorship ceased, carmaker Vauxhall Motors —then the British subsidiary of General Motors —took over and sponsored
440-616: The FA Vase , as well as their respective regional league cups and county cups. For the 2012–13 season , the FA announced a re-structuring of the National League System's lowest level, Step 7. It was split into three sub-categories, which were full Step 7 divisions, Step 7A and Step 7B. The categorisation depended on the ground facilities of the particular league's clubs. The required percentage of clubs to meet ground grade requirements for each of
484-539: The Gala Coral Group in a £179 million deal. With the addition of these casinos and a further three non-operating licences, Rank has become the largest casino operator in the UK, with 56 casinos. Mecca Bingo (formerly called Top Rank) is a UK-based social and bingo club leisure company, with sites located in several major towns and cities across the UK. The company operates meccabingo.com and meccagames.com as extensions of
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#1733086241264528-667: The Odeon cinema chain. It also shed its engineering interests, such as its share in Rank Xerox , selling Rank Leisure Machine Services to Gamestec. It sold its holiday and recreation facilities: Oasis Forest Holiday Villages was sold to Center Parcs UK , and all its Butlins , Warner and Haven Holidays facilities were all sold to Bourne Leisure . The company then sold off its nightclub division, Rank Entertainment, as well as its interest in Universal Orlando Resort , and disposed of
572-572: The Blue Square Premier, the Conference North becoming Blue Square North and the Conference South becoming Blue Square South. In April 2010, Blue Square announced a further three-year sponsorship deal. From the start of the 2010–11 season the names were changed slightly, with "Blue Square" becoming "Blue Square Bet". In July 2013 the Conference agreed another sponsorship deal with online payment firm Skrill . This lasted for only one year and
616-532: The Conference and the bottom division of the Football League, which at that time was known as the Football League Fourth Division and is now EFL League Two . The first team to be promoted by this method was Scarborough , and the first team relegated was Lincoln City , who regained their Football League status a year later as Conference champions. Since 2002–03 , the league has been granted
660-595: The Conference play-off final 2010 at Wembley Stadium . On 19 August 2010, Premier Sports announced that it bought the live and exclusive UK television rights to 30 matches per season from the Conference Premier for a total of three seasons. The 30 matches selected for broadcast included all five Conference Premier play-offs. The deal with the Football Conference was a revenue sharing arrangement whereby clubs received 50% of revenue from subscriptions, on top of
704-528: The FA postponed it to the 2021–22 season when football leagues from Step 2 below had their seasons curtailed again by restrictions from COVID-19 lockdowns on 24 February 2021. The two Step 5 divisions are administered by the Combined Counties and United Counties leagues. The Rank Group#CITEREF2013 The Rank Group plc is a gambling company based in the United Kingdom . Rank was involved in
748-529: The Mecca Bingo brand. Mecca Bingo now offers players the ability to interact with a live dealer in the desktop and mobile app (iOS and Android) platforms instead of relying on a random number generator . On 25 December 1997, many Muslims were angered that the name of their holiest city , Mecca, was also the name of a gambling company, as gambling is strictly forbidden in Islam . Bricks were thrown through windows at
792-454: The National League System evolved over many years. Today's pyramid can be said to be barely twenty years old. Leagues have formed and dissolved over the years and reorganisations have taken place every few years as a result. Beginning with the 2004–05 season , Phase One of the latest change was introduced with the formation of a Conference North and Conference South immediately below the Football Conference, renamed Conference Premier, dropping
836-659: The National League since 2013–14. The league was formed as the Alliance Premier League in 1979, coming into force for the 1979–80 season . The league drew its clubs from the Northern Premier League and the Southern League . It greatly improved the quality of football at this lower level, as well as improving the financial status of the top clubs. This was reflected in 1986–87 , when the Football League began accepting direct promotion and relegation between
880-410: The National League system confirmed that a pure pyramid in a 1-2-4-8-16 was the goal. This meant the introduction of an eighth division at Step 4 and two further divisions at Step 5. The comments were made just prior to the introduction of the fourth division at Step 3 and the seventh at Step 4. On 17 April 2019, it was clarified that there would be 17 divisions at Step 6, down from 19 in 2018–19 and that
924-726: The Rank film library to Carlton Communications , to which it had recently also sold the Rank Screen Advertising Film Division, which was latterly known as Cinema Media (now Digital Cinema Media). In December 2005, Rank sold Deluxe Film (formerly Rank Film Laboratories) for £430 million, effectively ending its 60-year association with the film and cinema business. This meant Rank Leisure had become focused on gambling operations, with its remaining business interests concentrating on Grosvenor and G Casinos, Top Rank and Mecca Bingo, and online gambling through Rank Interactive, after
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#1733086241264968-555: The bingo site for another 10 years. Established in 1970, Grosvenor Casinos (formerly County Clubs) is a UK-based chain of over 50 casinos located in major towns and cities across the UK with two sister casinos located in Belgium . In 2010, the group had an active membership of 1 million customers across its 35 UK clubs under the Grosvenor brand. In March 2013, Rank announced that it had conditionally agreed to purchase 19 Gala Casinos from
1012-486: The categorisations were as follows: Step 7 – was awarded to leagues where 100% of their clubs met the Step 7 minimum ground grading requirements on 31 March and the league complies with all other requirements for Step 7 status. Step 7A – was awarded to leagues where 75% or more of their clubs met the Step 7 minimum ground grading requirements after 31 March and the league complied with all other requirements for Step 7 status. (It
1056-831: The cinema and motion picture industry until 2006, and continues to use the Gongman logo originally used by the Rank Organisation 's film distribution subsidiary General Film Distributors . Its brands now include Mecca Bingo , and Grosvenor Casinos , the UK's largest casino operator. Rank's principal market and headquarters are in the United Kingdom, where it operates Grosvenor Casinos (56 casinos ), Mecca Bingo (96 bingo clubs) and Rank Interactive (online gaming and betting). It also operates additional Grosvenor Casinos clubs in Belgium (two casinos), and Rank España in Spain (10 bingo clubs). Rank
1100-1913: The clubs beyond the £5,000 broadcast fee paid to home clubs and £1,000 to away clubs. In July 2013, BT Sport announced a two-year deal to broadcast 30 live games per season including all five play-off matches. In 2015 the National League announced that it renewed a three-year deal with BT Sport. The following 24 clubs compete in the National League during the 2024–25 season. Numbers in parentheses indicate wins up to that date. Morecambe 2–1 Dagenham & Redbridge 2–2 draw on aggregate Dagenham won 3–2 on penalties Chester City 1–1 Doncaster Rovers 2–2 draw on aggregate Doncaster won 4–3 on penalties Hereford United 0–0 Aldershot Town 1–1 draw on aggregate Aldershot won 4–2 on penalties Shrewsbury Town 1–0 Barnet 2–2 draw on aggregate Shrewsbury won 5–3 on penalties Carlisle United 2–1 Aldershot Town 2–2 draw on aggregate Carlisle won 5–4 on penalties Hereford United 0–1 Stevenage Borough Stevenage Borough won 2–1 on aggregate ( Match report ) Grays Athletic 2–2 Halifax Town Halifax Town won 5–4 on aggregate Hereford United 3–2 Morecambe Hereford United won 4–3 on aggregate Oxford United 1–2 Exeter City 2–2 draw on aggregate Exeter won 4–3 on penalties Morecambe 2–1 York City Morecambe won 2–1 on aggregate ( Match report ) Cambridge United 2–1 Burton Albion Cambridge United won 4–3 on aggregate Torquay United 1–4 Exeter City Exeter City won 5–3 on aggregate ( Match report ) Cambridge United 3–0 Stevenage Borough Cambridge United won 4–3 on aggregate Histon 1–0 Torquay United Torquay United won 2–1 on aggregate ( Match report ) York City 1–0 Luton Town York City won 2–0 on aggregate National League System The National League System comprises
1144-748: The company acquired the Blue Square betting business in 2003. Finally leaving all non-gambling leisure behind, in December 2006, Rank sold the Hard Rock business, excluding the London casino venue which was rebranded to G Casinos, to the Seminole Tribe of Florida for US$ 965 million. In May 2012, Rank agreed to purchase 23 casinos from Gala Coral for £205 million. After the Competition Commission ruled that
1188-509: The deal were the annual play-off matches as well as the Conference League Cup , a cup competition for the three Football Conference divisions. Setanta showed two live matches a week, with one on Thursday evening and one at the weekend. In Australia the Conference National was broadcast by Setanta Sports Australia . Setanta Sports suffered financial problems and ceased broadcasting in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2009. Sky Sports broadcast
1232-496: The deal would only go ahead if four venues were excluded, in March 2013 Rank agreed to purchase 19 casinos from Gala Coral for £179 million, making Rank the UK's largest casino operator. In April 2013, the group sold its Blue Square interactive gaming business, launched in 1999, to Betfair . In January 2017, Rank Group and Mecca Bingo announced the renewal of their contract, which guarantees the use of Playtech 's Virtue Fusion platform at
1276-450: The end of each season. This structure was the result of changes made after the 2005–06 season . The official name is given for all the leagues listed, and the sponsorship name is also provided for the leagues in the top four steps. All divisions in the top four steps have 20 to 24 clubs each. The FA's National League System Committee determine promotion and relegation between leagues shown, mainly based on location. The NLS Committee also has
1320-543: The fifth overall division). The Premier League and the three divisions of the English Football League (EFL) comprise the top 92 clubs in the English game; each season, two teams from the National League achieve promotion to the English Football League. Some leagues have more than one division. At the lower levels the existence of leagues becomes intermittent, although in some areas there are as many as twenty layers. All
1364-483: The following July the Conference announced a brand-new three-year deal with Vanarama, later extended by two more years. In 2015, the Football Conference was renamed the National League. The top division was also officially renamed the National League and the lower divisions renamed as National League North and National League South. In January 2019 the League signed a three-year deal with Motorama, Vanarama's sister company. It
National League (division) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1408-403: The league until the end of the 1997–98 season . The 1998–99 Conference campaign began without sponsors for the Conference, but just before the end of the season a sponsorship was agreed with Nationwide Building Society . This lasted until the end of the 2006–07 season , after which Blue Square took over. This would also prompt the leagues being renamed, with the Conference National becoming
1452-488: The leagues are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. Clubs that are successful in their league can rise higher in the pyramid, whilst those that finish at the bottom can find themselves sinking further down. In theory it is possible for a lowly local amateur club to rise to the pinnacle of the English game and become champions of the Premier League. While this may be unlikely in practice, there certainly
1496-401: The name change from Top Rank was not insensitive and was part of a policy of bringing their nationwide chain of bingo halls under one name. Sergeant Peter Shepherd said, "It was unrealistic to expect that anything definite could be resolved at the meeting, but at least it was constructive to have the dialogue." enracha is Rank's interactive Spanish gaming site launched in 2011. enracha offers
1540-405: The normal rights fee paid by the broadcaster, once the costs of production were met. The Conference also earned 50% from all internet revenue associated with the deal, which allowed them to retain advertising rights allied to those adverts shown with their matches. During the 2010–11 season, Premier Sports failed to attract enough viewers to its Conference football broadcasts to share any revenue with
1584-557: The play-off competition. In that event such club shall not be replaced and the play-off structure and draw shall be adjusted as necessary by the National League Board on the basis of the remaining clubs’ final league positions. In 2004–05 , the Conference increased its size by adding two lower divisions, the Conference North and Conference South respectively, with the original division being renamed Conference National. For
1628-602: The power to transfer clubs between divisions and even leagues at the same level of the pyramid should this be deemed necessary to maintain geographically practical and numerically balanced divisions and leagues at every level. All clubs in the NLS are eligible to compete in the FA Cup , but are seeded into it according to Step standing. Step 1 to 4 clubs are eligible for the FA Trophy and Step 5 to 6 clubs (and some at NLS Feeder League level) for
1672-431: The six levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the English Football League . It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association . The National League System has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels. For details of leagues above and below the National League System, see the English football league system . The system underwent
1716-425: The top 3 in their league to be considered for promotion, which is not automatic. For instance, in the 2005–06 season 100 clubs applied to be considered for promotion, of which 51 met the grading requirements, and 29 of those finished in the top 3 in their leagues. With an additional division commencing at Step 4 in 2006–07 , all 29 clubs had their promotions accepted. Under the direction of The Football Association,
1760-541: The top divisions of the Southern League , Isthmian League , and Northern Premier League down one level. The Conference North and South have since been renamed the National League North and South. This table includes the six steps of the National League System (NLS). Above the NLS are the Premier League and the English Football League . Two teams from the National League can be promoted to EFL League Two at
1804-579: The top of the National League System pyramid is the National League . Its top division, also called the National League (currently called the Vanarama National League), is the only division in the System which is organised on a national rather than regional basis. Although the National League is the top level of the non-league pyramid, it is not the highest level of English football (it is actually
National League (division) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1848-609: The two new divisions at Step 5 would be in the Midlands and the west London/Thames Valley areas. On 24 April, it was announced that the Northern Premier League had been awarded the operation of the eighth division at Step 4. Initially scheduled for implementation in 2020–21, but due to the coronavirus disease pandemic in England which prematurely ended the remainder of the 2019–20 season for leagues at Steps 3 to 6 on 26 March 2020,
1892-461: Was extended to three more years in March 2021. Coverage of this league began in the mid-1990s when cable channels Wire TV , and later L!VE TV , broadcast weekly highlights and live matches. However, the closure of L!VE TV in 1999 saw coverage switch to Sky Sports. In August 2006, Setanta Sports signed a five-year deal with the Conference and Setanta Sports began showing live matches in the 2007–08 season, with 79 live games each season. Included in
1936-515: Was noted that in the 2011–12 season these leagues were referred to as provisional.) Step 7B – was awarded to leagues where 60% or more of their clubs met the ground grading requirements after 31 March and the league complied with all other requirements for Step 7 status. The sub-categories were removed in the 2016–17 season. In 2020–21, Step 7 was abolished altogether, with former leagues at this step instead being designated NLS Feeder Leagues, organised by county FAs. In March 2018, representatives of
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