Promotion to/Relegation from the Football League
This page aims to show the complete history of admission to the Football League. The term "Football League" is take to include the Premiership. You can view
full details by year, or
full details by club
Summary statistics
The following tables summarise the reasons why clubs left or joined the League.
| Joining Reasons
| | Founding Member | 12
| | Division 2 Creation | 12
| | Division 3 Creation | 22
| | Division 3 North Creation | 18
| | Elected | 50
| | Expansion | 29
| | Promoted | 56
| | Total: | 199
|
|
| Leaving Reasons
|
|---|
| Expelled | 3
| | Not re-elected | 39
| | Relegated | 52
| | Resigned | 13
| | Total | 107
|
|
| Totals
|
|---|
| Clubs in | 199
| | Clubs out | 107
| | Clubs in League | 92
|
|
A brief history
- The Football League was founded in 1889 with twelve members competing in a single division. Subsquent expansions increased this to 16 members.
- 1892 saw the creation of Division 2, with 12 new clubs added to bring the total to 28.
- Further expansion brought the total number of clubs to 44 on the eve of World War 1, with four further clubs added before the League resumed in 1919, bringing the total to 46 clubs.
- 1920 saw the creation of Division 3, with 20 new clubs joining from the Southtern League, bringing the toal to 66 clubs across three divisions.
- To balance the southern bias, 1921 saw the addition of 18 new clubs from various northern leagues. With other additions, the total increaed to 86 clubs across four divisions.
- The Football League added two further clubs in 1923 and four in 1950, bringing the total up to the present-day number of 92 clubs.
- The Football League increased to 93 clubs in 1992 by not relegating any clubs. However, the resignation of Aldershot and expulsion of Maidstone in 1992 (plus the promotion of Colchester) saw the numbers return to 92.
- The 2019/20 season saw the League operate with one fewer club than normal after Bury were expelled in 2019. This was corrected by relegating one fewer team than normal in 2020.
- Up until 1988, the bottom teams in the Football League had to apply for re-election to the League. Any aspiring non-league clubs with seek election alongside them
- From World War I to World War II, just eight teams failed to be re-elected, although five others resigned or were expelled.
- From World War II to 1987, just seven teams failed to re-elected, and one resigned (Accrington Stanely, in 1962)
- None of the teams that left were subsequently elected back into the League
- From 1988 to 2002 promotion between the league and the conference was on an automatic one-up one-down basis, subject to ground and financial criertia
- From 1994 to 1996, the Football League changed the deadline by which these criteria had to be met, resulting in no promotions
- From 2003, a two-up-down system was introduced, with the Conference having play-offs amongst the 2nd to 5th placed teams to decide which gained the second promotion spot.
- Of the 68 teams that have joined the League since WWII, 32 have since been relegated or left the League for other reasons. The shortest gap between promotion and relegation was four years. (Halifax going up in 1998 and back down in 2002)
- Of the 64 teams that have left the League since WWII, 32 have subsequently rejoined. Darlington (1992 / 1993), Shrewsbury (2003 / 2004), Bristol Rovers (2013 / 2014), Cheltenham Town (2015 / 2016) and Grimsby Town (2021 / 2022) are the only teams to re-join after one season.
