nonleague.pitchero.comPitchero & Non-League Football: Our 15-Year Partnership

Pitchero & Non-League Football: Our 15-Year Partnership Club Website Features Pricing Rankings Case Studies Sign Up GPS Trackers Features Contact Sales More Clubhouse Book demo Webinars Blog Help centre Login ToggleFeatures Case studies Rankings Pricing & Sign up Clubhouse Book demo Webinars Blog Help centre Pitchero & Non-League Football: Our 15-Year Partnership Our Non-League Football Partnership Pitchero has a long and proud history of supporting Non-League football clubs and in this guide, we’ll explain the background of this area of the men’s game and how we help through our club websites and mobile apps . Get started with everything you need for a non-league football club from £38/month Start Free Trial What is Non-League Football? ’Non-League football’ refers to football leagues which are normally outside the top professional men’s leagues in a country. It tends to mean leagues that aren’t fully professional, so either semi-professional or amateur. But, the standard of football is still very high. In England, it begins with The National League Pyramid, Steps 1-4 and includes the following leagues: Vanarama National League Northern Premier League Southern League Isthmian League Where did the name ’Non-League’ come from? The description dates back to pre-1992 when The Football League was known as ‘the league’ so all other clubs below were termed ‘non-League’ - and the term stuck. It is an incredibly popular and well-supported part of football - non-league matters! The name is potentially confusing because actually non-League football clubs usually play in a league. There are also non-League leagues! In terms of competitions, clubs can qualify for the FA Cup, if they take part in either the FA Vase and FA Shield. Despite being amateurs or semi-professionals, a number of non-league footballers have gone on to play in the Premier League from Jamie Vardy to Jimmy Bullard. 11 Non-League footballers who’ve played in the Premier League ⚽ Ian Wright (Ten-em-BeeCrystal Palace) ⚽ Chris Smalling (Maidstone UnitedFulham) ⚽ Ashley Williams (Hednesford TownSwansea) ⚽ Joe Hart (ShrewsburyManchester City) ⚽ Jimmy Bullard ( CorinthianWigan) ⚽ Les Ferdinand (Viking SportsQueens Park Rangers) ⚽ Yannick Bolasie (Hillingdon BoroughCrystal Palace) ⚽ Glenn Murray (Workington RedsCrystal Palace) ⚽ Michail Antonio (Tooting & Mitcham UnitedWest Ham) ⚽ Ian Woan (Heswall UnitedNottingham Forest) ⚽ Jarrod Bowen (Hereford UnitedHull City) What level is Non-League football? The English football league system is essentially a giant pyramid with linked men’s leagues from the very top to the very bottom. You might see a league referred to by its Level - i.e) The Premier League is Level 1. ( For women’s league football in England, a similar but smaller pyramid is in play with the Women’s Super League at the very top. ) Non-League football is specifically also part of its own system - which is organised in Steps. English non-League action begins with The National League (Level 5 / Step 1) which comprises 24 teams. The winning Vanarama National League club is promoted and the six teams below hold play-offs with the overall winner also going up. The bottom four National League teams are relegated to either National League North or National League South. The second tier of non-League football is National League North & National League South. Each has 24 teams with automatic promotion for the champions. Again, the next six teams contest play-offs in National League North & National League South. The winner of each play-off is also promoted which makes four teams who go up. Relegation is also the bottom four teams for each League and those teams drop down to the Northern Premier League, Southern League or Isthmian League, depending on geography. One level down, Step 3 includes Northern Premier League Premier Division, Southern Football League Premier Central, Southern Football League Premier South and Isthmian League Premier Division. This is the seventh level overall of all men’s football leagues in England and each has 22 teams. Champions get promoted as does the play-off winner from the next four teams. The four sides at the foot of the table are relegated to Step 4. Step 4 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 Isthmian League Division One South East What is the lowest league in football? The formal structure of non-League football goes to Step 6 (which has 17 divisions in it, although local and national structures frequently change). Beyond that, there are regional feeder leagues and then a huge amount of other local football leagues and divisions. The vast network of leagues is because of the popularity of football in England and the sheer numbers involved. How many teams are in the Non-League pyramid? There are estimated to be 7,000 men’s football teams in England and over 5,000 clubs are in football leagues. From Level 5 to Level 8, there are approximately 320 non-league football teams - with the number of teams in divisions lower down likely to fluctuate based on regional changes across years. Pitchero’s history with Non-League football Non-League football clubs and leagues have been an important part of who Pitchero supports over the years. We have worked with non-league football teams since Pitchero started in 2007. Over 50% of clubs playing in non-league football use a Pitchero club website. Pitchero is the official digital media partner to the Vanarama National League, The Pitching In Northern Premier League and The Pitching In Isthmian Football League. It means we power their football league websites, as well as those of many clubs (see our football rankings ). Clubs like Boston United FC are using all of the tools to manage membership, sell online and offer an impressive presence for supporters. Why should a Non-League club join Pitchero? In this section, we’ll explore what features Pitchero has that will help non-League football clubs to increase membership and revenue while cutting admin for volunteers. We offer a fast, professional club website - with mobile apps included: SHARE news, results & league tables MANAGE availability SELECT football teams COLLECT match fees With Pitchero, there are many benefits as part of our packages (see full features and prices with this football guide ). Here, we’ll focus on some key wins that clubs, volunteers, parents, players and coaches can all enjoy. Ultimate Team Management, fixtures and league tables Pitchero excels at helping football clubs manage their teams. From encouraging players to join with custom forms on your website to a smart membership database. Whether it’s seniors or juniors, we have you covered. Everyone has their own profile so clubs can understand their members better. Request availability, publish team selections, message players or parents and all of those interactions are stored under a person’s online profile. Forget spreadsheets, multiple programmes, systems and passwords to get a clear picture at all times. Non-League football fixtures and league tables are a vital part of any website. They are hugely popular and need to be displayed accurately. It can be a mountain of a job for a volunteer - but not with Pitchero! We have a comprehensive fixtures database of football leagues (and can add yours if somehow it’s not included yet). Your football club website then connects to a competition to import fixtures automatically, save time and keep consistency. Equally, results and league tables are updated so those helping to run non-league football clubs can have confidence that they’re right. Start Free Trial Easy to use / shared access A Pitchero football club website won’t break; it’s a platform designed to make the technical side as easy as possible. We...