The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isle of Man also competing. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the theoretical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system, the Premier League. Below that are levels 2–4 organised by the English Football League, then the National League System from levels 5–10 administered by the FA, and thereafter Regional feeder leagues run by relevant county FAs on an ad hoc basis. It also often happens that the Premier Division of a Regional Feeder League (Step 7 or Level 11) has its constitution given to it by the FA. They have to accept it or appeal but cannot reject it at an annual general meeting.
The exact number of clubs varies from year to year as clubs join and leave leagues, merge, or fold altogether, but an estimated average of 15 clubs per division implies that more than 7,000 teams of nearly 5,300 clubs are members of a league in the English men's football league system.
The pyramid for women's football in England runs separately into ten tiers. There are no official definitions of any level below 11 for men or below 10 for women. Any references to the structure at lower levels should not be regarded as definitive.
The system consists of a pyramid of leagues, bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. A certain number of the most successful clubs in each league can rise to a higher league, whilst those that finish the season at the bottom of their league can be sent down a level. In addition to sporting performance, promotion is usually contingent on meeting criteria set by the higher league, especially concerning appropriate facilities and finances.
In theory, it is possible for a lowly local amateur club to achieve annual promotions and within a few years rise to the pinnacle of the English game and become champions of the Premier League. While this may be unlikely in practice (at the very least, in the short run), there certainly is significant movement within the pyramid.
The top five levels contain one division each and are nationwide in scope. Below this, the levels have progressively more parallel leagues, with each covering progressively smaller geographic areas. Many leagues have more than one division. At the lower levels the existence of leagues becomes intermittent, although in some of the more densely populated areas there are leagues more than twenty layers below the Premier League.[1] There are also leagues in various parts of the country which are not officially part of the system as they do not have formal agreements with other leagues, but are recognised at various levels by county football associations. Clubs from these leagues may, if they feel they meet the appropriate standard of play and have suitable facilities, apply to join a league which does form part of the system.
The six levels immediately below the Premier League and three-level English Football League are known as the National League System and come under the jurisdiction of The Football Association. In May 2014 The FA announced provisional plans for a new division between the English Football League and the National League which would include "B" teams of higher-level clubs. They later reneged on the plan to include Premier League "B" teams in the new division[2] and shortly thereafter scrapped the idea altogether.[3]
The English football league system does not include the amateur version of the game often called Sunday league football. These leagues are independent entities with no promotion or relegation involving the football pyramid. However, some Sunday league clubs have been known to join pyramid leagues if they desire to progress higher. There are also some Saturday leagues which are not officially part of the pyramid, although teams frequently leave these for pyramid leagues.
At the top is the single division of the Premier League (level 1, which is often referred to as the "top flight"), containing 20 clubs. Below the Premier League is the English Football League (EFL) (formerly 'the Football League'), which is divided into three divisions of 24 clubs each: The Championship (level 2), League One (level 3), and League Two (level 4). The 20 clubs in the Premier League and 72 clubs in the English Football League are all full-time professional clubs. Before the establishment of the Premier League in 1992, the Football League, as it was called then, included all 92 clubs, in four divisions. Clubs outside the Football League were referred to as non-League clubs, and this naming continues for clubs below the four professional divisions.
The top tier of non-League football is the National League. It contains a nation-wide division (also called the National League) (level 5) of 24 clubs, and is the lowest level with a single nationwide league. This division, like the four above, is a full-time professional competition, although some promoted clubs retain part-time status. There are two divisions at level 6, covering the north (National League North) and south (National League South), with 24 clubs each. Some of these clubs are full-time professional and the others are semi-professional. Below level 6, some of the stronger clubs are semi-professional, but continuing down the tiers, soon all the clubs are amateur.
Next down from the National League are four regional leagues, each associated with different geographical areas, although some overlap exists. They are the Northern Premier League (which covers the north of England), Southern Football League Central (which covers the Midlands), Southern Football League South (which covers south and southwest of England, with one club from South Wales) and the Isthmian League (which includes clubs from the south-east of England as well as Guernsey from the Channel Islands). All of the leagues have Premier Divisions of 22 teams (level 7). Below these, and split by region, the Southern Football Leagues has two parallel divisions of 20 teams (level 8). The Isthmian League and Northern Premier League each have three parallel level 8 divisions of 20 teams each.
Level 9 contains the top divisions of a large group of 16 sub-regional leagues. Each of these leagues has a different divisional setup, but they all have one thing in common: there are yet more leagues below them, each covering smaller and smaller geographical levels.
Promotion and relegation rules for the top eight levels
Premier League (level 1, 20 teams): The bottom three teams are relegated.
English Football League Championship (level 2, 24 teams): Top two automatically promoted; next four compete in the play-offs, with the winner gaining the third promotion spot. The bottom three are relegated.
English Football League One (level 3, 24 teams): Top two are automatically promoted; next four compete in play-offs, with the winner gaining the third promotion spot. The bottom four are relegated.
English Football League Two (level 4, 24 teams): Top three teams are automatically promoted; next four compete in play-offs, with the winner gaining the fourth promotion spot. The bottom two are relegated.
National League (level 5, 24 teams): The champions are promoted; next six compete in play-offs, with the winner gaining the second promotion spot. The bottom four are relegated to either North or South division as appropriate.
National League North and National League South (level 6, 24 teams each, running in parallel): The champions in each division are automatically promoted; next six teams in each division compete in play-offs, with the play-off winner in each division getting the second promotion spot, with four teams qualifying to the National League in total. The bottom four teams in each division relegated to either Northern Premier League, Southern League or Isthmian League as appropriate. If, after promotion and relegation, the number of teams in the North and South divisions is not equal, one or more teams are transferred between the two divisions to even them up again based on geographic factors.
Northern Premier League Premier Division, Southern Football League Premier Central, Southern Football League Premier South, and Isthmian League Premier Division (level 7, 22 teams each, leagues running in parallel): The champions in each division are automatically promoted; next four teams in each division compete in play-offs, with the play-off winners also promoted. The bottom four teams in each division relegated to a level 8 division as appropriate. If, after promotion and relegation, the number of teams in the divisions is not equal, one or more teams are transferred among the four divisions to even them up again.
Northern Premier League Division One East, Northern Premier League Division One Midlands, Northern Premier League Division One West, Southern Football League Division One East, Southern Football League Division One West, Isthmian League Division One North, Isthmian League Division One South Central and Isthmian League Division One South East (level 8, running in parallel, 22 teams in each division): The champions in each division are automatically promoted; next four teams in each division compete in play-offs, with the play-off winners also promoted. The bottom four teams in each division are relegated to a level 9 division as appropriate. If, after promotion and relegation, the number of teams in the divisions is not equal, one or more teams are transferred between the divisions to even them up again.
FA Inter-League Cup: Level 11 (contested by representative teams from each league)
National League Cup: Level 5 (16 U21 teams from clubs in Levels 1 and 2 also compete)[4]
In the case of the FA Cup, entrance from Level 10 clubs depends upon ranking within the league the club is in, and depends on the number of Level 9 clubs participating. For instance, the 2017–18 FA Cup saw 77 teams compete from level 10 out of the 338 in total at that level.
Below level 11 the pyramid becomes regional and the cups become accordingly regional. Further down the pyramid is split on a county basis, counties having their own cups accordingly. This excludes some tournaments marked "Senior Cups", which often are competitions between teams representing top professional clubs in a given district, and may be little more than derbies, such as the Gloucestershire Cup, which originally included all teams in Gloucestershire, but then came to be contested as a Bristol derby.
Level one in the pyramid, the top division of English football, is run by the Premier League (which gives its name to the competition in that division), the winners of which are regarded as the champions of England. Levels two to four are run by the English Football League. Together, these four divisions make up what is known as "league football".
The leagues below level four are classed as "non-League football", meaning they are outside the EFL. The leagues at levels five to ten comprise the National League System (NLS), and come under the direct jurisdiction of the Football Association. The top level (level 5) of the NLS is known as "step 1", the next (level 6) as "step 2", and so on. Until 2020, level 11 divisions were designated as "step 7", but that year were re-designated as "Regional Feeder Leagues".
After the 2023–24 season, four runners-up competed in the play-offs where an additional club was guaranteed promotion from each step 5 division, with the number of relegations from each of the eight level 8 divisions remained at two as each step 4 division increased its divisional size to 22 teams. The resulting 16 vacancies at step 5 were filled by relegating only one club per level 9 division, rather than two. Ahead of 2024–25, two promotions out of each step 5 division into its step 4 counterpart remained and the number of clubs automatically relegated out of each step 5 division reverted to two, reflecting a long-term FA aim to "create consistency" at each step of the NLS pyramid.[5]
Aldershot & District League Division One – 9 clubs
Anglian Combination Division Two – 15 clubs
Aylesbury and District League Division One – 11 clubs
Banbury District and Lord Jersey FA Premier Division – 11 clubs Basingstoke and District League Division One – 9 clubs
Beckett Football League Division One – 8 clubs
Bedfordshire County League Division Two North – 13 clubs
Bedfordshire County League Division Two South – 14 clubs
Bristol Premier Combination Premier Division One – 14 clubs
Bristol and Suburban League Premier Division Two – 11 clubs
Cambridgeshire County League Senior B Division – 14 clubs
Central Midlands Alliance Division Two – 13 clubs
Cheshire League League Two – 12 clubs Coventry Alliance Football League Premier Division – 8 clubs
Craven and District League Premier Division – 9 clubs Devon and Exeter League Division One – 13 clubs
Dorset League Division One – 14 clubs
East Berkshire Football League Division One – 14 clubs East Riding County League Championship – 13 clubs
East Sussex League Division One – 7 clubs
Essex Alliance League Division One – 13 clubs
Essex & Suffolk Border League Division Two – 15 clubs
Essex Olympian League Senior Division Two – 12 clubs
Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division Two – 16 clubs
Guildford and Woking Alliance League Premier Division – 9 clubs Herefordshire Football League Division Two – 12 clubs Hertfordshire Senior County League Division Two – 12 clubs
Kent County League Division Two Central & East – 11 clubs
Kent County League Division Two West – 12 clubs
Leicestershire Senior League Division Two – 8 clubs Liverpool County Premier League Division Two – 11 clubs Manchester League Division Two – 15 clubs
Middlesex County League Division Two – 12 clubs
Mid-Sussex League Division One – 11 clubs
North Berks League Division Two – 11 clubs
North Bucks and District League Intermediate Division – 13 clubs
North Devon League Senior Division – 16 clubs North Riding League Division Two – 12 clubs
Northamptonshire Combination League Division Two – 14 clubs Northern Alliance Division Two – 15 clubs
Nottinghamshire Senior League Division Two – 16 clubs Oxfordshire Senior League Division Two – 12 clubs
Peterborough and District League Division Two – 15 clubs
Plymouth and West Devon League Division One – 11 clubs
Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League Division Two – 12 clubs
Somerset County League Division Two – 14 clubs South Devon Football League Division One – 10 clubs
Southampton Saturday League Premier Division – 10 clubs St Piran League Division Two East – 14 clubs St Piran League Division Two West – 13 clubs
Staffordshire County Senior League Division Two North – 12 clubs
Staffordshire County Senior League Division Two South – 11 clubs
Suffolk and Ipswich League Division Two – 14 clubs Surrey South Eastern Combination Intermediate Division Two – 13 clubs
Swindon & District League Division One – 10 clubs
Thames Valley Premier League Division Two – 10 clubs
Trowbridge & District League Division Two – 11 clubs
Wearside League Division Two - 11 clubs
West Cheshire League Division Three – 16 clubs
West Lancashire League Division Two – 12 clubs
West Sussex League Division One – 11 clubs
West Yorkshire League Division Two – 16 clubs
Witney and District League Premier Division – 11 clubs
York League Division Two – 11 clubs
Yorkshire Amateur League Championship Division – 12 clubs
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Aldershot & District League Division Two – 6 clubs
Anglian Combination Division Three – 18 clubs
Aylesbury and District League Division Two – 10 clubs
Banbury District and Lord Jersey FA Division One – 11 clubs
Beckett Football League Division Two – 11 clubs
Bedfordshire County League Division Three – 16 clubs Brighton, Worthing & District League Division One – 11 clubs Bristol and District League Senior Division – 14 clubs Bristol and Suburban Association League Division One – 14 clubs
Cambridgeshire County League Division One A – 13 clubs
Cambridgeshire County League Division One B – 14 clubs Cheltenham League Premier Division – 12 clubs
Chester and Wirral League Premier Division – 9 clubs
Coventry Alliance Division One – 11 clubs
Craven and District League Division One – 9 clubs
Crewe and District League Premier Division – 7 clubs
Devon and Exeter League Division Two – 14 clubs Doncaster Saturday League Premier Division – 8 clubs
Dorset League Division Two – 12 clubs
East Riding County League Championship North – 10 clubs
East Riding County League Championship South – 10 clubs
East Sussex League Division Two – 10 clubs
Essex Alliance League Division Two – 12 clubs
Essex & Suffolk Border League Division Three – 11 clubs
Essex Olympian League Senior Division Three – 13 clubs
Furness Premier League Premier Division – 14 clubs
Guildford and Woking Alliance League Division One – 8 clubs
Halifax and District League Premier Division – 11 clubs Harrogate and District League Premier Division – 12 clubs Hertfordshire Senior County League Division Three – 13 clubs
Hope Valley Amateur League Premier Division – 14 clubs Huddersfield and District Association League Premier Division – 11 clubs
Kent County League Division Three Central & East – 12 clubs
Kent County League Division Three West – 14 clubs
Kingston and District League Premier Division – 11 clubs Lancashire Amateur League Premier Division – 12 clubs Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur League Premier Division – 10 clubs
Leicestershire County League Premier Division – 13 clubs
Liverpool Football League Premier Division – 10 clubs
Mid-Sussex Football League Division Two North – 9 clubs
Mid-Sussex Football League Division Two South – 10 clubs
North Berks League Division Three – 11 clubs
North Bucks and District League Division One – 13 clubs
North Devon League Intermediate Division One – 14 clubs
North Gloucestershire League Premier Division – 14 clubs
Northamptonshire Combination League Division Three – 14 clubs Northern Alliance Third Division – 16 clubs
Nottinghamshire Senior League Division Three – 13 clubs Oxfordshire Senior League Division Three – 11 clubs
Peterborough and District League Division Three – 15 clubs
Somerset County League Division Three – 14 clubs South Devon Football League Division Two – 10 clubs
Southampton Saturday League Senior Division One – 10 clubs St Piran League Division Three East – 14 clubs St Piran League Division Three West – 13 clubs Stroud and District League Division One – 14 clubs
Suffolk and Ipswich League Division Three – 13 clubs
Thames Valley Premier League Division Three – 11 clubs
Wakefield and District League Premier Division – 11 clubs
Wensleydale Football League Division One - 9 clubs
West Sussex League Division Two North – 12 clubs
West Sussex League Division Two South – 11 clubs
Wimbledon & District League Premier Division – 10 clubs
Witney and District League Division One – 12 clubs
York League Division Three – 11 clubs
Yorkshire Amateur League Division One – 11 clubs
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Aldershot & District League Seedling Group - 10 clubs
Anglian Combination Division Four – 15 clubs
Ashford & District League Premier Division – 7 clubs
Banbury District and Lord Jersey FA Division Two – 11 clubs
Bedfordshire County League Division Four – 17 clubs
Bristol and District League Division One – 13 clubs
Bristol and Suburban Association Football League Division Two – 14 clubs
Bromley & South London District League Premier Division - 10 clubs
Cambridgeshire Football Association County League Division Two A – 14 clubs
Cambridgeshire Football Association County League Division Two B – 14 clubs
Canterbury & District League Premier Division – 7 clubs
Cheltenham League Division One – 12 clubs
Chester and Wirral League Championship – 9 clubs
Coventry Alliance Division Two – 10 clubs
Craven and District League Division Two – 9 clubs
Cumberland County League Premier Division – 8 clubs
Devon and Exeter Football League Division Three – 14 clubs
Doncaster Saturday League Division One – 7 clubs
Dorset Football League Division Three – 12 clubs
East Riding County League Division One – 13 clubs
East Sussex Football League Division Three – 11 clubs
Essex Alliance League Division Three – 13 clubs
Essex Olympian League Senior Division Four – 14 clubs
Essex & Suffolk Border League Division Four – 12 clubs
Furness Premier League Division One – 10 clubs
Guildford and Woking Alliance League Division Two – 9 clubs
Halifax and District League Division One – 13 clubs
Harrogate and District League Division One – 13 clubs Hertfordshire Senior County League Division Four – 11 clubs
Hope Valley Amateur League A Division – 17 clubs
Huddersfield and District Association Football League Division One – 12 clubs
Kingston and District Football League Division One – 10 clubs
Lancashire Amateur League Division One – 14 clubs Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur League Division One – 8 clubs
Leicestershire County League Championship Division – 12 clubs
Liverpool Football League Championship – 10 clubs
Mid-Lancashire Football League Premier Division – 10 clubs
Mid-Sussex Football League Division Three North – 10 clubs
Mid-Sussex Football League Division Three South – 10 clubs
Mid-Somerset Football League Premier Division – 9 clubs
North Devon League Intermediate Division Two – 12 clubs
North East Combination League Premier Division – 9 clubs
North Gloucestershire League Division One – 12 clubs Perry Street and District League Premier Division – 10 clubs
Peterborough and District Football League Division Four – 15 clubs
Rochester and District League Premier Division – 11 clubs
Sevenoaks and District Football League Premier Division – 11 clubs South Devon Football League Division Three – 9 clubs St Piran League Division Four East – 11 clubs St Piran League Division Four West – 13 clubs
Stroud and District League Division Two – 13 clubs
Suffolk and Ipswich League Division Four – 13 clubs
Taunton & District Saturday League Premier Division – 10 clubs
Thames Valley Premier Football League Division Four – 12 clubs
Wakefield and District League Division One – 11 clubs
West Sussex League Division Three Central – 10 clubs
West Sussex League Division Three North – 10 clubs
West Sussex League Division Three South – 9 clubs
Westmorland Association Football League Division One – 12 clubs
Weston-super-Mare and District Football League Division One – 11 clubs
Wimbledon & District Football League Division One – 10 clubs
Witney and District League Division Two – 13 clubs Yeovil and District League Premier Division – 9 clubs
Yorkshire Amateur League Division Two – 12 clubs
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Anglian Combination Division Five North – 15 clubs
Anglian Combination Division Five South – 16 clubs
Ashford & District League Division One – 8 clubs
Bristol and District League Division Two – 15 clubs
Bristol and Suburban Association Football League Division Three – 13 clubs
Bromley & South London District League Division One - 11 clubs
Cambridgeshire Football Association County League Division Three A – 14 clubs
Cambridgeshire Football Association County League Division Three B – 14 clubs
Canterbury & District League Division One – 7 clubs
Cheltenham League Division Two – 12 clubs
Coventry Alliance Division Three – 12 clubs
Craven and District League Division Three – 9 clubs
Cumberland County League Division One – 9 clubs
Devon and Exeter Football League Division Four – 13 clubs
Dorset Football League Division Four – 11 clubs
East Riding County League Division Two – 11 clubs
East Sussex Football League Division Four – 11 clubs
Essex & Suffolk Border League Division Five – 11 clubs
Furness Premier League Division Two – 11 clubs
Guildford and Woking Alliance League Division Three – 9 clubs Hertfordshire Senior County League Division Five – 13 clubs
Huddersfield and District Association Football League Division Two – 11 clubs
Lancashire Amateur League Division Two – 14 clubs Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur League Division Two – 11 clubs
Leicestershire County League Division One – 12 clubs
Liverpool Football League Division One – 10 clubs Mid-Essex League Premier Division – 10 clubs
Mid-Lancashire Football League Division One – 12 clubs
Mid-Sussex Football League Division Four North – 10 clubs
Mid-Sussex Football League Division Four South – 11 clubs
Mid-Somerset Football League Division One – 8 clubs
North East Combination League Division One – 6 clubs
North Gloucestershire League Division Two – 12 clubs
Perry Street and District League Division One – 12 clubs
Rochester and District League Division One – 13 clubs
Sevenoaks and District Football League Division One – 11 clubs South Devon Football League Division Four – 10 clubs
Southend Borough & District Combination Premier Division – 7 clubs
Stroud and District League Division Three – 13 clubs
Suffolk and Ipswich League Division Five – 12 clubs
Taunton & District Saturday League Division One – 12 clubs
Wakefield and District League Division Two – 11 clubs
Westmorland Association Football League Division Two – 11 clubs
Weston-super-Mare and District Football League Division Two – 9 clubs
Wimbledon & District Football League Division Two – 10 clubs
Witney and District League Division Three – 13 clubs
Yeovil and District League Division One – 11 clubs
Yorkshire Amateur League Division Three – 11 clubs
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Bristol and District League Division Three – 14 clubs
Bristol and Suburban Association Football League Division Four – 12 clubs
Bromley & South London District League Division Two - 10 clubs
Cambridgeshire Football Association County League Division Four A – 12 clubs
Cambridgeshire Football Association County League Division Four B – 14 clubs
Central and South Norfolk League Division One – 12 clubs
Dorset Football League Division Five – 11 clubs
Devon and Exeter Football League Division Five – 13 clubs
East Riding County League Division Three – 11 clubs
Guildford and Woking Alliance League Youth to Adult Transition Division – 8 clubs
Huddersfield and District Association Football League Division Three – 11 clubs Lancashire Amateur League Division Three – 14 clubs Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur League Division Three – 10 clubs
Leicestershire County League Division Two – 12 clubs
Liverpool Football League Division Two – 10 clubs
Mid-Essex League Division One – 11 clubs
Mid-Lancashire Football League Division Two – 11 clubs
Mid-Sussex Football League Division Five North – 10 clubs
Mid-Sussex Football League Division Five South – 10 clubs
Mid-Somerset Football League Division Two – 8 clubs
North East Combination League Division Two – 8 clubs
North East Norfolk League Division One – 9 clubs
North Gloucestershire League Division Three – 12 clubs
North West Norfolk League Division One – 10 clubs
Perry Street and District League Division Two – 14 clubs
Rochester and District League Division Two – 11 clubs
Sevenoaks and District Football League Division Two – 12 clubs
Southend Borough Combination Division One – 11 clubs
Stroud and District League Division Four North – 10 clubs
Stroud and District League Division Four South – 10 clubs
Suffolk and Ipswich League Division Six – 13 clubs
Taunton & District Saturday League Division Two – 13 clubs
Westmorland Association Football League Division Three – 11 clubs
Weston-super-Mare and District Football League Division Three – 10 clubs
Wimbledon & District Football League Division Three – 10 clubs
Yeovil and District League Division Two – 11 clubs
Yorkshire Amateur League Division Four – 12 clubs
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Bristol and District League Division Four – 13 clubs
Central and South Norfolk League Division Two – 12 clubs
Devon and Exeter Football League Division Six – 14 clubs
East Riding County League Division Four – 10 clubs
Huddersfield and District Association Football League Division Four – 10 clubs Lancashire Amateur League Division Four – 12 clubs Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur League Division A – 13 clubs
Leicestershire County League Division Three – 13 clubs
Lowestoft & District League Division One – 13 clubs
Mid-Essex League Division Two – 10 clubs
Mid-Sussex League Division Six – 9 clubs
North East Norfolk League Division Two – 7 clubs
North West Norfolk League Division Two – 12 clubs
Sevenoaks and District Football League Division Three – 12 clubs
Stroud and District League Division Five North – 10 clubs
Stroud and District League Division Five South – 10 clubs
Westmorland Association Football League Division Four – 11 clubs
Weston-super-Mare and District Football League Division Four – 12 clubs
Yorkshire Amateur League Division Five – 12 clubs
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Bristol and District League Division Five – 10 clubs
Central and South Norfolk League Division Three – 11 clubs
Devon and Exeter Football League Division Seven – 13 clubs
Huddersfield and District Association Football League Division Five – 12 clubs
Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur League Division B – 13 clubs
Lowestoft & District League Division Two – 9 clubs
Mid-Essex League Division Three – 10 clubs
North West Norfolk League Division Three – 9 clubs
Stroud and District League Division Six – 10 clubs
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Central and South Norfolk League Division Four – 13 clubs
Devon and Exeter Football League Division Eight – 12 clubs
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