Northern Premier League
Formed in 1968 and has since enjoyed a long and successful record of producing a high quality competition and infrastructure for its level within the game.
Over the next two decades, the NPL successfully displaced its older rival to become the pre-eminent regional competition in Northern England, with the Northern League eventually forced to accept status as a feeder league to the NPL. In 1979, upon the creation of the Alliance Premier League (which later became the Conference and is now the National League), the NPL became a feeder league and fell down one level in the English football league system, and with the then-Conference’s addition of regional divisions in 2004 the NPL was demoted by a further tier and there are now two levels between it and the English Football League.
From 1992–93 to 1994–95 the League’s Division One included two non-English clubs, Caernarfon Town from Wales and Gretna from Scotland, who have later joined their countries’ league systems. Colwyn Bay, Bangor City, Newtown, and Rhyl have also played in the league.
Former Northern Premier League clubs to have progressed to the English Football League since the NPL’s formation in 1968 include Accrington Stanley, Boston United, Burton Albion, Macclesfield Town, Morecambe, Scarborough, Macclesfield Town, Wigan Athletic and Fleetwood Town, our last graduates in 2014.
Wigan, of course, have gone on to even greater things to achieve Premier League status and appear in the 2006 League Cup Final before winning the FA Cup in 2013. Another recent member of the NPL, Gretna, achieved back to back promotions in the Scottish League and also appeared in the 2006 Scottish FA Cup Final before their sad demise.
From its formation in 1968 with just twenty clubs, the competition has more than tripled in numbers and now boasts three divisions having added a second tier in 1987 and a third section in 2007-08.
FACT: When the Northern Premier League was known during its 18 year spell as the Unibond League it became the longest sponsorship deal of its kind in world football
