| National league 2015–16 | ||
| ||
| Season information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Winners | Cheltenham Town (2nd divisional title) | |
| Promoted | Cheltenham Town Grimsby Town | |
| Relegated | Altrincham Halifax Town Kidderminster Harriers Welling United | |
| Season statistics | ||
| Top goalscorer | Pádraig Amond Dan Holman (30 goals) | |
| Biggest home win | Grimsby 7 – 0 Halifax | |
| Biggest away win | Halifax 1 – 7 Cheltenham | |
| Highest scoring | Torquay 3 – 7 Bromley Chester 8 – 2 Aldershot | |
← 2014–15
|
2016–17 →
| |
The 2015–16 National League season, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the first season under the new title of National League, twelfth season consisting of three divisions and the thirty-sixth season overall. The National League covers the top two levels of Non-League football in England. The National League is the fifth highest level of the overall pyramid, whilst the National League North and National League South exist at the sixth level. The top team and the winner of the play-off of the Premier division will be promoted to Football League Two, while the bottom four are relegated to the North or South divisions. The champions of the North and South divisions will be promoted to the Premier division, alongside the play-off winners from each division. The bottom three in each of the North and South divisions are relegated to the premier divisions of the Northern Premier League, Isthmian League or Southern League.
On 6 April 2015, it was announced that as of the 2015–16 season the League was to undergo a name change from the Football Conference to the National League. As well as the name change, the league's logo has been re-designed and the league's broadcaster BT Sport has signed a new three-year contract. The structure of the league and the title sponsor Vanarama however remain the same.
Promotion and relegation[]
Teams promoted from 2014–15 Conference North
Teams promoted from 2014–15 Conference South
- Bromley (League champions)
- Boreham Wood (Play-off winners)
Teams relegated from 2014–15 Football League Two
Stadia and locations[]
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Aldershot Town | Recreation Ground | 7,100 |
| Altrincham | Moss Lane | 6,085 |
| Barrow | Holker Street | 5,000 |
| Boreham Wood | Meadow Park | 4,502 |
| Braintree Town | Cressing Road | 4,145 |
| Bromley | Fortress Stadium | 6,000 |
| Cheltenham Town | Whaddon Road | 7,066 |
| Chester | Deva Stadium | 6,000 |
| Dover Athletic | Crabble Athletic Ground | 6,500 |
| Eastleigh | Ten Acres | 5,200 |
| F.C. Halifax Town | The Shay | 14,061 |
| Forest Green Rovers | The New Lawn | 5,147 |
| Gateshead | Gateshead International Stadium | 10,000 |
| Grimsby Town | Blundell Park | 9,062 |
| Guiseley | Nethermoor Park | 3,000 |
| Kidderminster Harriers | Aggborough | 6,238 |
| Lincoln City | Sincil Bank | 10,120 |
| Macclesfield Town | Moss Rose | 6,355 |
| Southport | Merseyrail Community Stadium | 6,008 |
| Torquay United | Plainmoor | 6,500 |
| Tranmere Rovers | Prenton Park | 16,789 |
| Welling United | Park View Road | 4,000 |
| Woking | Kingfield Stadium | 6,036 |
| Wrexham | Racecourse Ground | 10,771 |
League table[]
| Pos |
Team | Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheltenham Town (C) (P) | 46 | 30 | 11 | 5 | 87 | 30 | +57 | 101 | Promotion to the Football League Two |
| 2 | Forest Green Rovers | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 69 | 41 | +28 | 89 | Qualification to the National League play-offs |
| 3 | Braintree Town | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 56 | 38 | +18 | 81 | |
| 4 | Grimsby Town (P) (O) | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 82 | 45 | +37 | 80 | |
| 5 | Dover Athletic | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 75 | 53 | +22 | 80 | |
| 6 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 61 | 44 | +17 | 78 | |
| 7 | Eastleigh | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 64 | 53 | +11 | 75 | |
| 8 | Wrexham | 46 | 20 | 9 | 17 | 71 | 56 | +15 | 69 | |
| 9 | Gateshead | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 59 | 70 | −11 | 67 | |
| 10 | Macclesfield Town | 46 | 19 | 9 | 18 | 60 | 48 | +12 | 66 | |
| 11 | Barrow | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 64 | 71 | −7 | 65 | |
| 12 | Woking | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 71 | 68 | +3 | 61 | |
| 13 | Lincoln City | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 69 | 68 | +1 | 61 | |
| 14 | Bromley | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 67 | 72 | −5 | 60 | |
| 15 | Aldershot Town | 46 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 54 | 72 | −18 | 56 | |
| 16 | Southport | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 52 | 65 | −13 | 55 | |
| 17 | Chester | 46 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 67 | 71 | −4 | 54 | |
| 18 | Torquay United | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 54 | 76 | −22 | 51 | |
| 19 | Boreham Wood | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 50 | |
| 20 | Guiseley | 46 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 47 | 70 | −23 | 49 | |
| 21 | Halifax Town (R) | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 55 | 82 | −27 | 48 | Relegation to the National League North or National League South |
| 22 | Altrincham (R) | 46 | 10 | 14 | 22 | 48 | 73 | −25 | 44 | |
| 23 | Kidderminster Harriers (R) | 46 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 49 | 70 | −21 | 40 | |
| 24 | Welling United (R) | 46 | 8 | 11 | 27 | 35 | 73 | −38 | 35 |
Source: [ BBC Sport]
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd number of goals scored.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round; (Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament
Results[]
| Home \ Away | ALD | ALT | BRW | BOR | BRA | BRO | CHL | CHR | DOV | EAS | FCH | FGR | GAT | GRI | GUI | KID | LIN | MAC | SOU | TOR | TRA | WEL | WOK | WRX |
| Aldershot Town | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | |
| Altrincham | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| Barrow | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| Boreham Wood | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | |
| Braintree Town | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |
| Bromley | 1–3 | 1–3 | 5–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | |
| Cheltenham Town | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | |
| Chester | 8–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | |
| Dover Athletic | 5–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | |
| Eastleigh | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–5 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| F.C. Halifax Town | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 3–6 | 2–2 | 1–7 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | |
| Forest Green Rovers | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | |
| Gateshead | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 2–1 | |
| Grimsby Town | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 7–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | |
| Guiseley | 0–4 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–4 | 3–1 | |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | |
| Lincoln City | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 5–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | |
| Macclesfield Town | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | |
| Southport | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 5–3 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 3–2 | |
| Torquay United | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–7 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | |
| Tranmere Rovers | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |
| Welling United | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | |
| Woking | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–5 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| Wrexham | 3–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 |
Source: Football Conference
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Play-offs[]
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Forest Green Rovers | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Dover Athletic | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Forest Green Rovers | 1 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Grimsby Town | 3 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Braintree Town | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Grimsby Town (a.e.t.) | ||||||||||||
First leg[]
| 4 May 2016 | Dover Athletic | 0–1 | Forest Green Rovers | Crabble Athletic Ground, River | |
| 19:00 | BBC Report | Williams  35'
|
Attendance: 2,071 Referee: Adrian Holmes |
| 5 May 2016 | Grimsby Town | 0–1 | Braintree Town | Blundell Park, Cleethorpes | |
| 19:00 | BBC Report | Davis 53' (pen.)
|
Referee: John Brooks |
Second leg[]
| 7 May 2016 | Forest Green Rovers | 1–1 (2–1 agg.)
|
Dover Athletic | The New Lawn, Nailsworth | |
| 19:30 | Marsh-Brown 54'
|
BBC Report | Miller 49'
|
Attendance: 2,755 Referee: Michael Salisbury |
| 8 May 2016 | Braintree Town | 0–2 (1–2 agg.)
|
Grimsby Town | Cressing Road, Braintree | |
| 15:00 | BBC Report | Amond 75' (pen.) Bogle 110'
|
Attendance: 3,102 Referee: Simon Bennett |
Final[]
| 15 May 2016 | Forest Green Rovers | 1–3 | Grimsby Town | Wembley Stadium, London | |
| 16:00 (BST) | Marsh-Brown 60'
|
BBC Report | Bogle 42', 43' Arnold 90+4'
|
Attendance: 17,198 Referee: Robert Jones |
External links[]
| National League (division) seasons |
|
2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2013–14 · 2014–15 · 2015–16 · 2016–17 · 2017–18 · 2018–19 · 2019–20 · 2020–21 · 2021–22 · 2022–23 · 2023–24 · |
