Unibond Premier League guide - history, logo, titles

Full Name: Unibond League Premier Division
Level: 7
Founded: 1968
Number of Teams: 22
Previous Names: Northern Premier League (1968-87), Northern Premier League Premier Division (1987-94)

Official Website: unibondleague.com

Description:

The Northern Premier League was founded in 1968 and was one of two major leagues in northern England when it was created, the other being the Northern League. Unlike the Northern League it was semi-professional from the start and eventually became much more important than the Northern League and in fact the Northern League is now a feeder to the NPL. For the 1987-88 season a second division was added, leading to an NPL Premier Division and NPL First Division setup. In 1994 the Northern Premier League took on sponsorship from Unibond, a British sealing products company, and have carried that name ever since. For 2007-08 the First Division was split into two leagues, First Division North and First Division South.

Many NPL clubs have gone on to achieve Football League status, those being Wigan Athletic, Scarborough, Macclesfield Town, Boston United, Accrington Stanley and Morecambe. Wigan Athletic went on to reach the English Premier League. Another former member is Gretna, who eventually reached the Scottish Premier League, though the club has since gone bankrupt and restarted in Scottish non-league football.

Format:

The 22 clubs play each other twice (home and away) for a total of 42 games. The season begins in early August and ends in late April or early May. The league champion are automatically promoted to the Conference North. The 2nd-5th placed teams enter a playoff to determine one additional club to be promoted. The bottom four teams are relegated to one of the Unibond League First Divisions. Occasionally clubs are re-assigned based on geography so that a club promoted from the Northern Premier League might end up in the Football Conference South and vice-versa.

Unibond Premier League Titles:

4 Boston United

3 Barrow
3 Macclesfield Town

2 Gateshead
2 Marine
2 Mossley
2 Runcorn
2 Stafford Rangers
2 Stalybridge Celtic
2 Wigan Athletic

1 Accrington Stanley
1 Altrincham
1 Bamber Bridge
1 Bangor City
1 Blyth Spartans
1 Burscough
1 Burton Albion
1 Chorley
1 Colne Dynamoes
1 Eastwood Town
1 Fleetwood Town
1 Hucknall Town
1 Hyde United
1 Leek Town
1 Leigh RMI
1 Southport
1 Witton Albion

* This includes titles from the Northern Premier League and, after the split into multiple divisions, the Northern Premier League Premier Division.