National League (English football)

The two promotion places are awarded to the National League champions and to the winners of the National League Promotion Final, which is played between the two teams who were successful in playoff games, contested by those clubs finishing second to seventh in the final divisional standings.The decision as to which division the relegated club joins is made by the FA's NLS Committee, but is largely determined by geography.For each of these two leagues, this is the champions and the winners of their respective Promotion Finals between their second to seventh place clubs in those divisions.Each of these Step 3 leagues promotes their respective champions and second- to fifth-place playoff winners.Failure to meet the requirements of the league concerned prevents the eligible club from being promoted.[citation needed] The National League North and South expanded to 24 teams each in the 2022–23 season.Prior to Barnet's and Macclesfield's third title wins, five other clubs had also become champions twice: Altrincham (1980, 1981), Enfield (1983, 1986), Kidderminster Harriers (1994, 2000), Maidstone United, (1984, 1989), and Stevenage Borough (1996, 2010).Lincoln City became the seventh club to win the National League twice (1988, 2017), but subsequent to Barnet's third title.Altrincham are the only team in history to retain the title, as at the time there was no automatic promotion to the EFL.However, although the champions of the National League are entitled to a place in the EFL, this was dependent on their stadium meeting the set criteria for membership.For three successive years in the 1990s, the National League champions were denied promotion to the EFL on these grounds.[9] In 2019, plans were discussed for the gradual restructuring of the NLS so that the North and South divisions were expected to expand to 24 teams each in 2021–22.[2][3] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2020–21 National League North and South seasons were curtailed and voided after written resolutions were put to a vote.The third place was decided in a Promotion Final at Stoke City's Britannia Stadium, which Eastbourne Borough lost 2–1 to the Conference North Playoff winners, Altrincham.The name was officially changed from Alliance Premier to the Football Conference in 1986, and to the National League in 2015.The National League's first major TV coverage began in 2006 when Setanta SportsThe channel showed 79 matches each season.The Conference also earned 50% from all internet revenue associated with the deal and allowed them to retain advertising rights allied to those adverts shown with their matches.The National League also launched its own channel called NLTV, which focuses on all 68 member clubs across the three divisions.