Non-league and grassroots football: What is the state of play?

Approximate read time 10 minutes

1. What is non-league football and how is it organised in England?

Non-league football in England refers to the leagues in English men’s football below the Premier League and the three leagues comprising the English Football League (EFL): the Championship, League One and League Two. In women’s football it usually means those leagues below the top two tiers of the women’s game.

The highest part of the men’s non-league setup is the national league system administered by the FA. This comprises six steps of leagues, with different numbers of leagues at each step and with many of these regionally focused. The structure is as follows:^[1]

• Step 1: National League (comprising teams across England, with two being promoted to EFL League Two)
• Step 2: National League North and National League South (leagues organised on a regional basis, with two promotion berths available in each to the National League)
• Step 3: Four regional leagues, currently the Isthmian League Premier, Northern Premier League Premier and Southern League Premiers Central and South
• Step 4: Eight regional leagues which are lower tiered versions of the leagues in step 3 (for example, the Isthmian League North)
• Steps 5 and 6: a further 16 regional leagues at step 5 and then 17 regional leagues below this at step 6

Due to the regionality of these leagues, and also the issues that may face clubs competing in them, the FA annually publishes allocations for the leagues listing the clubs in each one and details of movements. For example, clubs may be moved laterally (to accommodate for gaps in leagues or to improve regionality), as well as promoted or relegated (including voluntary relegations). These allocations are published around May each year, giving teams the chance to appeal any changes before the new football season.^[2]

Below this is a complex system of regional and county leagues, topped by the regional feeder leagues administered by county FAs. For example, Berks and Bucks FA runs the Thames Valley Premier League Premier regional feeder league.^[3]

Most non-league clubs consist of amateur or semi-professional players. However, the majority of clubs at National League level (the highest level of non-league) now operate on a fully professional basis.^[4]

2. What is grassroots football?

In its 2024–2028 strategy for grassroots football, the FA defined grassroots football as:

[…] any football, played as part of a team or in an organised casual session, where the primary purpose is for the love of the game, whether that’s to develop skills, to compete, to socialise or for health reasons.

Grassroots football sits at step 7 (regional feeder leagues) and below of the men’s football pyramid, at tier 7 and below in the women’s pyramid, and covers all youth football and alternative formats of the game eg small-sided, walking football and tier 3 and below in the futsal pyramid.^[5]

3. What are the benefits of grassroots and non-league football?

Due to the number of people involved in grassroots football and its reach, the FA has argued it is “uniquely positioned” to unite communities, tackle inequalities and improve the health of the nation.^[6] The FA’s 2024 social return on investment report considered the benefits of grassroots football further. In particular, the report claimed:^[7]

• 15.7 million people regularly play football across England
• it contributes £11.8bn of direct economic value, £3.2bn of healthcare savings and £935mn of social value
• the rapidly growing women and girls’ game is creating a generation of fitter and more confident women and girls
• there has been a 30% increase in opportunities for disabled people to play football
• over 1 million people volunteer in grassroots football every year

The report emphasised that the grassroots game is supported by a “crucial network” of around 18,000 FA-accredited clubs. This includes those at all levels of the football pyramid, including non-league clubs. It noted an increasing trend for accredited clubs running multiple teams in their area, stating:

By the end of 2028 it is estimated that more than half of all affiliated football will be played in clubs with over 20 teams. As these clubs expand and develop dedicated facilities alongside a committed volunteer workforce, they become increasingly embedded in their local communities, providing both football and a range of social and community-based outcomes.^[8]

The report provided the example of Rugby Borough Football Club, a non-league club in the Northern Premier League One Midlands league (step four of the non-league ladder). Its case study stated:

Each week, the club provides football for over 1,000 children players and over 350 adult players, playing a vital role in the wider community:

• £3.6mn of social value is generated by [the club]
• 85% of members agree that they interact with people from different social groups at Rugby Borough, helping to increase social cohesion
• 74% of Rugby Borough members believe that football helps to reduce anti-social behaviour in their community^[9]

Turning specifically to non-league clubs, the Non-League Paper published an article in October 2025 listing a number of benefits of non-league clubs to local communities, including:^[10]

• accessibility and affordability (for example, lower ticket prices than Premier League matches)
• sustaining local passion and pride in their area
• greater connections between fans and players (who tend to be local)
• acting as a community hub running fundraising events and youth development and local fitness initiatives (for example, it stressed that some players were first given their opportunity at non-league level)

4. What challenges face non-league and grassroots football?

The main challenge facing non-league and grassroots football is funding and finances.

Unlike clubs in the higher tiers, particularly the Premier League, non-league football and grassroots football do not benefit from the certainty of TV revenue deals or (in most circumstances) wealthy owners. Therefore, clubs and organisations rely on other funding streams, including sponsorship, grants, funding schemes, fees for participating or using facilities, and gate receipts. For example, a 2024 survey by football equipment suppliers Net World Sports and Forza found that membership fees (54%) and sponsorship (74%) were the primary sources of revenue, with gate receipts below steps 9 and 10 “increasingly unreliable”.^[11] The report also highlighted the vital role of volunteers in the running of clubs, stating:

45% of clubs depend on at least 11 to 15 volunteers, with three out of ten clubs (29%) utilising over 15 as part of their extended staff. One club cited the involvement of hundreds of volunteers to keep all their youth levels and matchday operations running.

Finances in lower tier football are therefore referred to as difficult and unpredictable.^[12] As such, it is often vulnerable to events affecting regular revenue streams. In recent years this has included the Covid-19 pandemic and rises in the cost of living. A 2022 BBC article set out some of the issues facing clubs due to the cost of living, including increases in utilities and transport costs and “dwindling attendances”.^[13] At the time, many of the clubs speaking to the BBC feared that they would be put out of business. Club owners also reported financially supporting and running clubs at a loss. A further BBC article in January 2024 detailed the financial issues facing one club, Corby Town:

Corby’s directors said the club was facing “a shortfall of approximately £70,000 for the season, primarily due to other overheads at Steel Park”. They said the weekly budget of £3,500–£4,000 relied on successful cup runs and an average attendance of “around 700”, which had “not materialised”.

Other investors who had agreed to help fund wages withdrew, so the club “made a minimal reduction in the budget”. But it has relied heavily on extra “significant personal contributions” from [major investors] Mr Glass and Mr Longley, who have put in an extra £34,000 this season and “are faced with the prospect of contributing £14,000 per month to sustain our operations”.

The directors said they were actively seeking help with investment and oversight, and invited new applications to join the board, particularly from anyone with commercial expertise.^[14]

Corby Town subsequently spoke about several developments that helped support the club, including increased supporter and community engagement (for example, shirt and season ticket sales and more volunteers) and an agreed wage cut of 10% across club staff.^[15]

5. What support is there for non-league and grassroots football?

Grants and funding opportunities are available for grassroots or non-league football. This includes funding grants from the Football Foundation, a charity set up by the Premier League, the FA and the government which channels money to support grassroots facilities such as pitches, goalposts and changing rooms.^[16] Connected to this is the Premier League’s stadium fund, which provides stadium improvement grants to national league system clubs, those promoted to the English football league system and clubs in the women’s football pyramid. Other funding options include support from local authorities and grants from the National Lottery.^[17]

The Premier League announced in April 2024 that it would be providing extra funding for the men’s and women’s football pyramid each season. It said this would allow increased investment through “both the Football Foundation and Premier League stadium fund to develop facilities at lower league clubs, improving the playing and spectator experience, as well as clubs’ financial sustainability”.^[18] The Premier League also runs the Premier League Foundation (which supports club charities across the leagues) and other initiatives.^[19] It says it has invested £1.6bn into wider football, the grassroots game and communities between 2022 and 2025.

However, this promised extra funding was accompanied by an announcement that the FA Cup format was being revised, including the abolition of replays from the “first round proper” onwards (the stage EFL league teams join). The FA explained that this had been agreed with the Premier League and that the changes were necessary to decrease fixture congestion, particularly following the announced expansion of UEFA competitions (for example, the Champions League).^[20] The agreement to scrap FA Cup replays was heavily criticised by lower league and non-league clubs. The clubs described how the FA Cup offered many clubs a financial lifeline due to the potential gate receipts and TV revenue on offer.^[21] In addition, they criticised the fact that the decision was taken with little or no consultation with clubs below the Premier League.

Fair Game, a campaign group focused on clubs across the football pyramid, called for the decision to be reversed and for powers to be introduced to protect clubs against similar decisions being made in the future.^[22] Fair Game has also recently stressed the importance of addressing the “flawed financial flow” through the game, claiming that 95% of the £3.2bn annual broadcast revenue stays with the top 26 clubs.^[23] It suggested these issues could be tackled through the new football governance legislation. However, most measures in the Football Governance Act 2025 (which received royal assent in 21 July 2025) only currently directly apply to the top five tiers of men’s football (National League and above), including the provisions on financial distribution. Indeed, several MPs referred to this issue during second reading of the legislation in the House of Commons, calling for the legislation to do more to specifically support and promote non-league and grassroots football.^[24] Despite this, the government and other commentators hope the legislation’s focus on sustainability in the higher leagues will “indirectly” also help non-league and grassroots football via a ripple down effect of the benefits.^[25]

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Image by Ben Griffiths on Unsplash.