Conference National

The Conference National is a championship English of Non-league football classified on the fifth level of the pyramidal system English. It ensures the bond between four professional divisions and the whole of the Non-league football. Founded in 1979, it took successively the names of Alliance First League , Football Conference and finally Conference National . " Football Conference " is today the name of the league gathering the Conference National and its anteroom, the Conference North and Conference South.

History

The championship was created in 1979 under the name of Alliance First League . For its first season, it gathered clubs coming from Northern First League and of the groups North and South of Southern League. It was the first national championship of Non-league football. Soon arose difficulties of promotion/relegation with the Football League, the principle of “election”, of use since the origin of League Football, did not take indeed account of the scores. The clubs of bottom of table of Football League Fourth Division were to represent their candidature for League Football at the end of the season and it was in the majority of the cases only one simple formality. The system was thus made that the clubs of League Football were ensured to remain in League Football, while those of Alliance League First were not likely practically any to go up.

During the Eighties, the championship started to become extensive, the quality of the play improved, as well as the financial statute of the clubs top of table. In 1986, it was renamed Football Conference . The same year the Football League accepted the system of promotions/direct relegations with the Football League Fourth Division. The system was effective in 1987, it consisted of a relegation and a promotion (the champion of Football Conference). League required however a setting to the standards of the stages, and some clubs are transfered to refuse their promotion for this reason. After several debates on this topic, it was decided to leave the priority to promotion in the event of prohibition of rise of the champion because of problems of infrastructures. Thus, if 1st is not suited to promotion, 2nd is promoted, and so on.

Of 1993 with 1996, no promotion/relegation had mile, it was necessary to await 1996 and a resumption of the exchanges with the Football League. In 2003, Football Conference was authorized to promote 2 clubs, the champion and the winner of the eliminatory series. In 2004, after a major reorganization of the National League System, the Conference North and South were created and the championship was renamed Conference National. The new league managing the 3 championships took then the name of Football Conference. Since 2006, the Conference National increased, passing from 22 to 24 clubs.

Six teams had the privilege to gain the championship twice: Altrincham (1980, 1981), Barnet (1991, 2005), Enfield (1983, 1986), Kidderminster Harriers (1994, 2000) Macclesfield Town (1995, 1997) and Maidstone United (1984, 1989). Among the winners, only two teams were promoted in Football League: Macclesfield Town in 1997 and Kidderminster Harriers in 2000. The clubs not justifying rather solid finances or not having their stage to the standards had to remain within the Non-league football. Altrincham is the only team to have gained the title two seasons consecutive, he should be said that at that time no direct promotion towards the Football League existed.

As allows it the English system, the championships are often renamed semi-officially name of the sponsor. Ci below figure names of the sponsors and between brackets names of the championship since 1984.

Organization

Since season 2006/07, the champion and the winner of the eliminatory series (second in the fifth place) are promoted in Football League Two. The last four clubs are relegated in Conference North and Conference South. The decision of assignment is allocated to the committee of the National League System and is determined by the geographical location of the clubs.

Clubs taking part in edition 2007/2008

Prize list

| |}

Internal bonds

Random links:Memex | Use of the French capital letters | Taizhou (Zhejiang) | Collar of Pierre Sluice | List caliphs | County of Bomi (Tibet) | MARC_(archives)