For many non-league clubs, the National League is the gateway to league football and improved finances. Many clubs in the sixth tier set out with their primary aim of making it to the National League.
However, only four teams per season can go up to the National League, so which clubs made it to the fifth tier from the National League North and South?
Brackley Town
The club from Northampton enjoyed an exceptional season, winning the National League North title by claiming 92 points to beat second-place Scunthorpe United to automatic promotion by two points.
🚨 Here is your official 2025/26 National League Line-Up!
UP: Brackley, Scunthorpe, Truro & Boreham Wood
DOWN: Carlisle & Morecambe
Which away game are you most looking forward to next season? pic.twitter.com/kvEKN5Jo7c
— Non-League DECK (@TheDeckNL) June 1, 2025
Statistically, Town didn’t have the best defence or attack in the National League North. However, they edged out their opponents to be top of the pile at the end of the campaign. Striker Connor Hall’s 18 goals in the sixth tier inspired his club to promotion.
The 2025/26 season will be historic for Brackley, as they will be making their debut in the fifth tier of English football. Promotion to the National League was long overdue, as Town have finished in the league’s top four for the last eight seasons.
Scunthorpe United
The Lincolnshire outfit may have finished as runners-up to Brackley, but they had the strongest defence in the division, while only one club, Kidderminster Harriers, scored more goals over the 46-game season. However, two defeats in their final six outings in the National League proved fatal to their automatic promotion bid.
Scunthorpe earned promotion the hard way by winning the play-offs. They defeated Chorley 4-2 in the semi-final before recording a 2-1 extra-time win over Chester FC in the final to seal promotion.
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The star of the show for Scunthorpe during the regular season campaign was winger Cal Roberts, who scored an impressive 21 goals, including two braces.
The return to the fifth tier is a welcome one for a club that only dropped out of the Football League in season 2021/22. Everybody associated with the club will be hoping that it’s the first step to returning to the EFL in the near future.
Truro City
The Tinners won automatic promotion by the narrowest of margins, as they finished level on points with second-place Torquay United, but claimed the title courtesy of a superior goal difference of two. Eastbourne Borough and Worthing, who finished third and fourth place both also finished just a point behind City in one of the most extraordinary promotion battles.
Striker Tyler Harvey’s 27 league goals played a big part in the team’s promotion.
Truro had the joint-second-best defence in the National League South and fourth-best attack in the division. The club’s promotion was a historic occasion, as not only had Truro never played in the fifth-tier of English football, but no team from the county of Cornwall had ever reached the level that they will be playing at in season 2025/26.
Their promotion is a step in the right direction for a club that has endured its financial issues off the field in recent years.
Boreham Wood
The Wood finished fifth place in the 46-game regular season, but were just three points behind eventual champions Truro City, which illustrated just how close the fight for promotion was in the sixth tier.
Boreham Wood were the second highest scorers in the National League South, scoring 86 goals, with only Dorking Wanderers’ tally of 89 goals bettering the Wood’s.
Luke Garrard’s team earned promotion via the play-offs. They defeated fellow high-scoring outfit Dorking Wanderers 4-3 in the quarter-finals, Torquay United 1-0 in the semi-finals, before a 1-0 win over Maidstone in the final.
The Wood had spent just a season in the sixth tier, winning immediate promotion following their 2023/24 relegation from the National League. Relegation in 2024 was a surprise, as they had made the promotion play-offs in the previous two campaigns.