General
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Changes for the new season
The new Northern Premier League season gets underway this weekend, and there are a few changes to be aware of.
For the first time, clubs will be permitted to make five substitutions during a game, with match day squads remaining at 16 for league fixtures.
There are tighter deadlines around player registrations, with clubs now required to get the relevant paperwork filed by 5pm on a Friday in time for Saturday and Bank Holiday games, and by at least four hours prior to kick-off for midweek games.
Following the re-structure of the National League System that has been ongoing over recent years, we now have a total of 88 clubs participating in the Northern Premier League across its four divisions - Premier, East, Midlands and West.
That means now for the first time, their promotion and relegation systems are the same. The champions of each division will earn automatic promotion, with the teams placed second to fifth in the table participating in the end of season play-offs, comprising of semi-finals (2nd v 5th and 3rd v 4th) and then a final at the home ground of the highest ranked team.
The bottom four teams in each division will be relegated.
There was much publicity over the changes to the FA Cup, notably the removal of replays, although this only applies to the ‘proper’ rounds of the competition. Replays are still in force for the preliminary and qualifying rounds, including the fourth qualifying round.
A handful of NPL clubs, based on last season’s finishing positions, entered the FA Cup last weekend at the Extra Preliminary Round stage, with the remaining Step 4 clubs entering the competition in the next round.
The 22 NPL Premier Division clubs will join the competition in the first qualifying round.
The round dates for this season’s FA Cup are as follows:
Extra Preliminary Round - Saturday 3 August 2024
Preliminary Round - Saturday 17 August 2024
First Round Qualifying - Saturday 31 August 2024
Second Round Qualifying - Saturday 14 September 2024
Third Round Qualifying - Saturday 28 September 2024
Fourth Round Qualifying - Saturday 12 October 2024
First Round Proper - Saturday 2 November 2024
Second Round Proper - Saturday 30 November 2024
Third Round Proper - Saturday 11 January 2025
Fourth Round Proper - Saturday 8 February 2025
Fifth Round Proper - Saturday 1 March 2025
Quarter Final - Saturday 29 March 2025
Semi Final - Saturday 26 April 2025
Final - Saturday 17 May 2025
In the FA Trophy, once again the semi-finals will be decided over one match rather than over two legs. NPL Premier Division side Macclesfield made it all the way to the semi-finals last season, where they lost to eventual winners Gateshead.
The round dates for this season’s FA Trophy are as follows:
Preliminary Round - Saturday 24 August 2024
First Round Qualifying - Saturday 7 September 2024
Second Round Qualifying - Saturday 21 September 2024
Third Round Qualifying - Saturday 5 October 2024
First Round Proper - Saturday 26 October 2024
Second Round Proper - Saturday 16 November 2024
Third Round Proper - Saturday 7 December 2024
Fourth Round Proper - Saturday 4 January 2025
Fifth Round Proper - Saturday 1 February 2025
Sixth Round Proper - Saturday 1 March 2025
Semi Final - Saturday 5 April 2025
Final - Saturday 10 or Sunday 11 May 2025
Off the field, work is currently ongoing on a new league website and the regular podcast, The NPL Show, will be on a short hiatus but returning soon.
To keep up with all the latest from the NPL, join our new WhatsApp channel to receive regular updates.
There are tighter deadlines around player registrations, with clubs now required to get the relevant paperwork filed by 5pm on a Friday in time for Saturday and Bank Holiday games, and by at least four hours prior to kick-off for midweek games.
Following the re-structure of the National League System that has been ongoing over recent years, we now have a total of 88 clubs participating in the Northern Premier League across its four divisions - Premier, East, Midlands and West.
That means now for the first time, their promotion and relegation systems are the same. The champions of each division will earn automatic promotion, with the teams placed second to fifth in the table participating in the end of season play-offs, comprising of semi-finals (2nd v 5th and 3rd v 4th) and then a final at the home ground of the highest ranked team.
The bottom four teams in each division will be relegated.
There was much publicity over the changes to the FA Cup, notably the removal of replays, although this only applies to the ‘proper’ rounds of the competition. Replays are still in force for the preliminary and qualifying rounds, including the fourth qualifying round.
A handful of NPL clubs, based on last season’s finishing positions, entered the FA Cup last weekend at the Extra Preliminary Round stage, with the remaining Step 4 clubs entering the competition in the next round.
The 22 NPL Premier Division clubs will join the competition in the first qualifying round.
The round dates for this season’s FA Cup are as follows:
Extra Preliminary Round - Saturday 3 August 2024
Preliminary Round - Saturday 17 August 2024
First Round Qualifying - Saturday 31 August 2024
Second Round Qualifying - Saturday 14 September 2024
Third Round Qualifying - Saturday 28 September 2024
Fourth Round Qualifying - Saturday 12 October 2024
First Round Proper - Saturday 2 November 2024
Second Round Proper - Saturday 30 November 2024
Third Round Proper - Saturday 11 January 2025
Fourth Round Proper - Saturday 8 February 2025
Fifth Round Proper - Saturday 1 March 2025
Quarter Final - Saturday 29 March 2025
Semi Final - Saturday 26 April 2025
Final - Saturday 17 May 2025
In the FA Trophy, once again the semi-finals will be decided over one match rather than over two legs. NPL Premier Division side Macclesfield made it all the way to the semi-finals last season, where they lost to eventual winners Gateshead.
The round dates for this season’s FA Trophy are as follows:
Preliminary Round - Saturday 24 August 2024
First Round Qualifying - Saturday 7 September 2024
Second Round Qualifying - Saturday 21 September 2024
Third Round Qualifying - Saturday 5 October 2024
First Round Proper - Saturday 26 October 2024
Second Round Proper - Saturday 16 November 2024
Third Round Proper - Saturday 7 December 2024
Fourth Round Proper - Saturday 4 January 2025
Fifth Round Proper - Saturday 1 February 2025
Sixth Round Proper - Saturday 1 March 2025
Semi Final - Saturday 5 April 2025
Final - Saturday 10 or Sunday 11 May 2025
Off the field, work is currently ongoing on a new league website and the regular podcast, The NPL Show, will be on a short hiatus but returning soon.
To keep up with all the latest from the NPL, join our new WhatsApp channel to receive regular updates.
