{"id":7491,"date":"2024-01-17T17:01:10","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T17:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.football-stadiums.co.uk\/?post_type=articles&p=7491"},"modified":"2024-01-17T17:01:20","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T17:01:20","slug":"the-football-pyramid","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.football-stadiums.co.uk\/articles\/the-football-pyramid\/","title":{"rendered":"The Football Pyramid: How It Works – Level 1 to Level 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TheEngland is the home of football, inventing the sport before seeing it spread around the rest of the world. Nowadays, the Premier League is considered to be the finest league on the planet, if for no other reason than it is also one of the richest and is therefore capable of attracting the best players.<\/p>\n

The Premier League sits at the very top of the football pyramid, which is also referred to as the football league system. This series of inter-connected leagues in the world of men’s association football brings together teams from numerous countries in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

Whilst predominantly for teams based in England, there have been sides from the likes of Wales, Jersey, the Isle of Man and Guernsey that have competed in it over the years. It works as a hierarchical format, seeing teams promoted and relegated between the various leagues depending on their performances each season.<\/p>\n

It is impossible to say the exact number of clubs in the football pyramid, on account of the fact that many fold or leave it each year. What we can do, though, is take a look at how it works in general and why it is so important to the game.<\/p>\n

The History of the Pyramid<\/h2>\n

\"History<\/p>\n

The earliest reference to any sort of football in England actually dates back to 1314, which is when the Lord Mayor of London at the time, Nicholas de Farndone, issued a decree on behalf of the king. It was written in Norman French and declared that anyone playing football could be sent to prison. There is also mention of a version of the sport being played at Cambridge University in 1710. Mostly, though, the game that we understand as football nowadays emerged out of the folk football that was played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Those games bear almost no relation to the sport that is played today.<\/p>\n

Football became increasingly popular in public schools during the 19th century, believed to be ‘character building’. Its popularity was especially the case in Rugby School, which ended up taking the sport in one direction when association football was formed, whilst other schools took it in a different one. The Cambridge University Rules were written in 1848 in an attempt to normalise rules that were different depending on where the game was being played. Other areas created their own rules, with Sheffield Football Club being formed in 1857 and writing rules of their own.<\/p>\n

As the 19th century drew on, numerous different football leagues were formed in England, with the Football League and the Football Alliance boasting professional pretensions. They were merged in 1892, creating a two-tier competition and forming the beginning of football pyramid in England. Because teams in the south were generally against the idea of professionalism, the leagues were mostly weighted towards teams from the north and the midlands. In 1894, however, the Southern League was formed, made up of both professionals and amateurs.<\/p>\n

Still the concerns over professionalism rumbled on, with the Amateur Football Association being formed in 1907, the same year that the Professional Footballers’ Association is created. In 1920, the top division of the Southern League was absorbed into the Football League to create the Third Division. It was quickly split into the Third Division South and the Third Division North, allowing the Football League itself to be expanded to include 92 clubs. In 1958, a new national Third Division is created when the North and South are merged, leaving room for the creation of the Fourth Division.<\/p>\n

How the Pyramid Works<\/h2>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Understanding the history of the football pyramid is one thing, but knowing how it works is something else entirely. That is because the English football pyramid is one of the most extensive in the world, covering every level of football in the country. It was, as you might imagine, the first of its kind in the world. It was pioneered by William McGregor, who is considered to be the founding father of the English Football League when he wanted 12 of the most prominent clubs in the country to come together in a league that played home and away on a season-by-season basis.<\/p>\n

At the time of writing, there are 57 different leagues in England that are made up of 84 different divisions. The leagues are broken down into different tiers,\u00a0 based on whether they are professional, semi-professional or amateur. The professional leagues are the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two, with the National League making up the first of the semi-pro leagues. That is split into two steps, which is the National League and the National League North\/South. Step seven on the pyramid is made up of leagues from the four corners of the country.<\/p>\n

What adds confusion to things is the fact that there are 11 levels, but five steps of football. As an example, the Combined Counties League Premier Division is level 9, but it is step 5 overall.<\/p>\n

Here is how the levels work:<\/p>\n