National League South
The National League South is half of step 2 of the National League System or the seventh tier of the English game. The other half of step two is the National League South.
The majority of the clubs in the league are semi-professional clubs, although a small number are professional. The clubs in the league are based in the South East, London, and the South West, or Essex.
How is the league set up?

Like its sister league in the North, the National League South is a 24-team competition, with promotion for the best teams and relegation for worse. How is promotion and relegation decided?
Well, the team that finishes top of the table during the 46-game campaign ends the season as champions, and they get promoted to the National League automatically.
The other promotion spot is taken by the team that wins the play-offs. The play-offs consist of the teams who finished second to seventh place in the league table.
The teams that finished second and third place get a bye into the play-off semi-finals. To earn a spot in those crucial semi-finals, the team that finished fourth go up against the team that finished seventh place in a one-off play-off to make it to the final four.
The game is decided in the regulation 90 minutes, but if it is not, then either 30 minutes of extra time or a penalty shootout will determine who makes it to the semi-finals.
The teams that finished fifth place and sixth-place in the table also meet under the same conditions as the fourth and seventh-place teams. The two winners of the single play-off games then progress to the semi-finals.
The winners of the game involving the fourth and seventh-place teams then face the league’s runners-up in the first semi-final of the play-offs. The winner of the second single-game play-off faces the team that finished third place in the table. It is made more difficult for winners of the single game play-offs, as they must both play away from home in the semi-finals.
The winner of the semi-final is decided over 90 minutes. If the game is all square at full-time, then it is decided by an extra period of 30 minutes.
The two semi-final winners meet in the final at Wembley Stadium to decide who claims the second promotion to the National League. The final is decided over 90 minutes of football. However, if there is no winner in normal time, there is an extra 30 minutes or penalties to decide who claims the second promotion spot.
The relegation situation is slightly more straightforward, as the teams that finish in the positions from 22nd to 24th in the league table are relegated to either the Isthmian League Premier Division or the Southern League Premier Division South.
Some history of the South
In 2004, the whole structure of non-league English football was reconfigured. A new layer of divisions was inserted in the non-league pyramid below step 1. That new layer is now the current step 2.
The current National League South was given the name the Conference South. It has undergone many changes to its name since its inception, mainly due to sponsorship.
It has been known as Blue Square South from 2007 until 2010, the Blue Square Bet South from 2010 until 2013, Skrill South from 2013 until 2014, and the Vanarama Conference South from 2014 until 2015. It wasn’t until 2015 that it took on its current name, the National League South.
In season 2020/21, the league was curtailed and unable to finish due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All results from the campaign were considered null and void.
The teams that have earned promotion in recent years?
Season | League champions | Play-off winners |
---|---|---|
2023/24 | Yeovil Town | Braintree Town |
2022/23 | Ebbsfleet United | Oxford City |
2021/22 | Maidstone United | Dorking Wanderers |
2020/21 | Season null and void due to the COVID-19 pandemic. | – |
2019/20 | Wealdstone | Weymouth |
2018/19 | Torquay | Woking |
2017/18 | Havant and Waterlooville | Braintree Town |
2016/17 | Maidenhead United | Ebbsfleet United |
2015/16 | Sutton United | Maidstone United |
2014/15 | Bromley | Boreham Wood |
NL South record-breakers
The National League South has seen many different teams be successful over the years. In fact, there has been such a variety of champions in the league that no team has ever won more than one title in the league’s short history.
However, there have been some record-breaking teams. In season 2009/10, Newport County claimed a record-breaking 32 wins for a single campaign, having also suffered just three defeats, which was also a record.
In season 2012/13, Welling United were also record breakers, as they recorded 12 straight victories in the league.
At the other end of the spectrum, Fisher Athletic experienced a nightmare campaign in season 2008/09, losing a record 34 of their 46 league games.