Northern League (football) - Definition and Overview

The Northern League (currently sponsored by the Albany Uninsured Loss Recovery Service and known as the Albany Northern League) is a football league in North East England for semi-professional and amateur teams. Having been founded in 1889, the Northern League is the oldest surviving league after The Football League. It consists of two divisions. Division 1 of the Northern League is on the ninth tier of the English football league system, five divisions below the Football League. The champions of the first division win promotion to the Northern Premier League's First Division. The Northern League ran as one of three major amateur competitions (with the Isthmian League and the Southern League) in tandem with the (professional) Football League until the professional game was broadened in the 1950s.

Below the second division of the Northern League in the pyramid are the Northern Alliance, the Wearside League, and the Teesside league, each covering a separate geographic area.

External link

• List of league champions, from a member club's site (http://www.shildonafc.co.uk/Div_1_History.htm)