English football league system - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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English football league system
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected
leagues for club football in England (although for historical reasons a small number of Welsh clubs also
compete). The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different
levels, and allows even the smallest club to dream of rising to the very top of the system. There are over 140
leagues, containing over 480 divisions.[1] The exact number of clubs varies from year to year as clubs join and
leave leagues or fold altogether, but an estimated average of 15 clubs per division implies that over 7,000 clubs
are members of a league in the English football league system.
Contents [hide]
1 About the system
2 Structure
3 Promotion and relegation rules for the top few levels
4 Cup eligibility
5 The system
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
About the system
The system consists of a hierarchy of leagues, bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation.
Clubs that are successful in their league can rise higher in the pyramid, whilst those that finish at the bottom
can find themselves sinking further down. In theory it is possible for a lowly local amateur club to rise to the
pinnacle of the English game and become champions of the Premier League. While this may be unlikely in
practice (at the very least, not in the short run), there certainly is significant movement within the pyramid. The
number