Founded | 1968 |
---|---|
Country | England |
Other club(s) from | Wales |
Number of teams | 62 22 (Premier Division) 20 (Division One East) 20 (Division One West) |
Level on pyramid | 7 and 8 |
Promotion to |
Level 6 National League North |
Relegation to |
Level 9 Northern Football League Northern Counties East Football League North West Counties Football League Midland Football League United Counties League |
Domestic cup(s) |
National FA Cup FA Trophy League League Challenge Cup |
Current champions |
Altrincham (Premier Division) South Shields (Division One North) Basford United (Division One South) |
Website | Evo-Stik League |
2018–19 |
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has three divisions - the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system) - and Division One East and Division One West (which both stand at level 8).
Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England and the northern/central areas of the Midlands. 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.
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.
The Northern Premier League (NPL) was founded in 1968, as the northern equivalent of the Southern League, decades after the other two leagues at what is now the seventh tier of the English football league system, the Isthmian League and the Southern League. At that time they were the highest level non-League division below the English Football League, the same level as the other league in Northern England, the Northern League.