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| Football Conference |
|---|
|
| Founded |
| 1979 |
| Nation |
 England
|
| Feeder To |
| Football League Two |
| Divisions |
| Conference National (1979-present) Conference North (2004-present) Conference South (2004-present) |
| Number of Teams |
| 68 24 (National) 22 (North) 22 (South) |
| Levels on Pyramid |
| Level 5 (Conference National) Level 6 (North) and (South) |
| Cups |
| FA Trophy Conference League Cup |
| Current Champions (2006/07) |
| Dagenham & Redbridge (National) Droylsden (North) Histon (South) |
| Website |
| Conference |
The Football Conference is a football league at the top of the National League System of non-League football in England. Conference National is the highest of the three divisions within the Football Conference, with Conference North and Conference South serving as regional feeders one step down. The Football Conference consisted of only one division up until 2004, but expanded as part of an extensive restructuring of the National League System which took effect beginning with the 2004-05 season.
It has been announced that from the 2007-08 season onwards, as part of a 3 year sponsorship deal with betting firm Blue Square, the Conference National will be known as the Blue Square Premier and the tiers below as Blue Square North and Blue Square South. Official website new story
Contents |
The Football Conference stands at the top of the National League System (NLS), a comprehensive structure linking together over 50 different leagues under the auspices of The Football Association (FA). Conference National is at Step 1 of the NLS, and Conference North and Conference South make up Step 2. Above the Conference are the 92 clubs which together make up the highest levels of English football, the Premier League and The Football League; below the Conference are the Step 3 and lower leagues of the NLS.
The Conference National has 24 clubs and the North and South divisions have 22 clubs each. Each club plays the others in its division twice during a season, once at home and once away. Clubs earn three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss.
At the end of each season two clubs are promoted from Conference National to Football League Two and two teams from League Two are relegated to Conference National to take their place. The two promotion places are awarded to the Conference National champions and to the winners of a playoff between those clubs finishing second to fifth in the standings.
At the other end of the table, the bottom four clubs in Conference National are relegated to either Conference North or Conference South. The decision as to which division the relegated club joins is made by the FA\'s NLS Committee, but is largely determined by geography. Due to financial constraints at this level of football, some clubs have escaped relegation despite finishing in a relegation position, due to the misfortune of others. The four relegated teams are replaced by four promoted teams, two from Conference North and two from Conference South. For each of these two leagues this will be the champions and the winners of playoffs between the second to fifth place clubs.
At the bottom of Conference North and Conference South, three clubs from each division are relegated and these six clubs are divided among the Step 3 leagues of the NLS, the Northern Premier League, the Southern League, and the Isthmian League. Each of these Step 3 leagues promotes their respective champions and second to fifth place playoff winners. The NLS Committee determines which Step 3 leagues the relegated clubs will join, and whether the promoted clubs will join Conference North or Conference South.
For promotion to proceed, whether from The Football Conference to The Football League, within the Conference, or between the various leagues of the NLS, certain conditions concerning finances and facilities must be met. Failure to meet the requirements of the league concerned will prevent the eligible club from being promoted.
90% of players in the Blue Square Premier are still semi-professional.
The Football Conference was formed in 1979 from teams in the Northern Premier League and Southern League and was originally known as the Alliance Premier League. Since 1984 it has been publicly known by the names of a succession of official title sponsors. The name was officially changed to the Football Conference in 1986. Below is a list of sponsors and what they chose to call the league:
From the start of the 2007-08 season, the Conference will be sponsored by bookmakers Blue Square. The Conference will then be known as Blue Square Premier, with Conference North and South renamed Blue Square Northern and Southern respectively.
The Football Conference had a single division for the first 25 years of its existence, but beginning with the 2004-05 season expanded to three divisions. The original division was renamed Conference National and two new regional divisions one level down were introduced, Conference North and Conference South. The new clubs were drawn from the Northern Premier League, Southern League, and Isthmian League according to guidelines developed by the NLS Committee.
Only six teams have had the honour of winning the Conference on two occasions; Altrincham (1980, 1981), Barnet (1991, 2005), Enfield (1983, 1986), Kidderminster Harriers (1994, 2000), Macclesfield Town (1995, 1997) and Maidstone United (1984, 1989). Kidderminster also finished second in 1997. Of those sides only one, Barnet, was promoted to the Football League on both occasions; Maidstone\'s first title came before the era of automatic promotion, while Macclesfield Town and Kidderminster Harriers were denied promotion because their grounds were not up to the required standard at the time of their first win. However, both teams were promoted when they took their second title. Altrincham are the only team in history to retain the title, as at the time there was no automatic promotion to the Football League.
Prior to 1987, in order for Conference clubs to enter The Football League, they had to be elected by League members. As a consequence, there was no guarantee that winning the Football Conference would result in promotion. This changed in 1987, when automatic promotion and relegation between the Football League Fourth Division and the Conference was agreed. The first clubs to be affected by the new system were Lincoln City, who were relegated and replaced by Scarborough. However, although the champions of the Conference were entitled to a place in the Football League, this was dependent on their stadium meeting the set criteria for membership. For three successive years in the mid 1990s, the Conference champions were denied promotion to the Football League on these grounds. Since 1997, when Macclesfield Town won the title for the second time in three years (they had been one of the three clubs denied promotion due to their stadium not meeting the criteria), every champion has been promoted. Since 2003, the Conference has been awarded a second promotion place, which has been decided by a play-off system similar to that of the Football League. The four teams below the Conference champions play against each other over two legs, with second playing fifth and third playing fourth. The winners of these ties then play a single final game, with the winner gaining the second promotion place. Doncaster Rovers were the first team to win the Conference play-offs.
Prior to 2004, relegation from the Conference meant dropping to one of the three feeder leagues below. Three teams were relegated, with one going to the Northern Premier League, one to the Southern League and one to the Isthmian League. In 2004, a restructuring of the National Football Pyramid saw the creation of a new level immediately below the Football Conference; two regional divisions named Conference North and Conference South were created, with the feeder leagues dropping below them. There are two promotion places to the Conference National from each regional division - the champions are promoted automatically, while the remaining place is again decided by play-offs. The four teams relegated from the Conference National are then allocated to one or other of the regional divisions dependent on their geographical location.
Teams in bold have played in The Football League.
| Season | Conference National champions | Playoff winners |
|---|---|---|
| 1979-80 | Altrincham | |
| 1980-81 | Altrincham | |
| 1981-82 | Runcorn | |
| 1982-83 | Enfield | |
| 1983-84 | Maidstone United | |
| 1984-85 | Wealdstone | |
| 1985-86 | Enfield | |
| 1986-87 | Scarborough* | |
| 1987-88 | Lincoln City* | |
| 1988-89 | Maidstone United* | |
| 1989-90 | Darlington* | |
| 1990-91 | Barnet* | |
| 1991-92 | Colchester United* | |
| 1992-93 | Wycombe Wanderers* | |
| 1993-94 | Kidderminster Harriers** | |
| 1994-95 | Macclesfield Town** | |
| 1995-96 | Stevenage Borough** | |
| 1996-97 | Macclesfield Town* | |
| 1997-98 | Halifax Town* | |
| 1998-99 | Cheltenham Town* | |
| 1999-00 | Kidderminster Harriers* | |
| 2000-01 | Rushden & Diamonds* | |
| 2001-02 | Boston United* | |
| 2002-03 | Yeovil Town* | Doncaster Rovers* (Match Report) |
| 2003-04 | Chester City* | Shrewsbury Town* (Match Report) |
| 2004-05 | Barnet* | Carlisle United* (Match Report) |
| 2005-06 | Accrington Stanley* | Hereford United* (Match Report) |
| 2006-07 | Dagenham & Redbridge* | Morecambe* (Match Report) |
* Promoted to The Football League (Fourth Division until 1991, Third Division from 1992 until 2003 and League Two from 2004)
** Not promoted
| Season | Conference North champions | Playoff winners |
|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | Southport | Altrincham |
| 2005-06 | Northwich Victoria | Stafford Rangers |
| 2006-07 | Droylsden | Farsley Celtic |
| Season | Conference South champions | Playoff winners |
|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | Grays Athletic | Eastbourne Borough |
| 2005-06 | Weymouth | St Albans City |
| 2006-07 | Histon | Salisbury City |
| Club | Years in the Conference | Currently Play in (2007-08) |
|---|---|---|
| Accrington Stanley | 2003-2006 | League Two |
| Barnet | 1979-1991; 2001-2005 | League Two |
| Carlisle United | 2004-2005 | League One |
| Cheltenham Town | 1985-1992; 1997-1999 | League One |
| Chester City | 2000-2004 | League Two |
| Colchester United | 1990-1992 | Championship |
| Dagenham & Redbridge | 1992-1996; 2000-2007 | League Two |
| Darlington | 1989-1990 | League Two |
| Doncaster Rovers | 1998-2003 | League One |
| Hereford United | 1997-2006 | League Two |
| Lincoln City | 1987-1988 | League Two |
| Macclesfield Town | 1987-1997 | League Two |
| Morecambe | 1995-2007 | League Two |
| Shrewsbury Town | 2003-2004 | League Two |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 1985-1986; 1987-1993 | League Two |
| Yeovil Town | 1979-1985; 1988-1995; 1997-2003 | League One |
Of the former Conference clubs now in the Football League, Colchester United are the most successful, having reached the Championship in 2006 - 14 years after being Conference champions. Yeovil Town and Doncaster Rovers are now in League One after both teams were promoted from the Conference in 2003. Accrington Stanley have yet to progress beyond the league\'s basement division, as have Barnet, Chester City and Hereford United - although Hereford did progress to second tier of the league in their first spell of Football League membership and Barnet and Chester to the third tier in their first spells. Both Dagenham and Redbridge and Morecambe reached the Football League for the first time in their history for the 2007/08 season.
In Australia the Football Conference is currently available on Setanta Sports.
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia