The Football Conference is being re-branded next season...
Football Conference to become National League in high-profile rebranding
The Football Conference, the highest level of the English non-league football pyramid, is to undergo a major rebrand, and will be known from next season as the National League.
The change, which will also affect the regional second tiers known as Conference North and South, was announced live on BT Sport, who have confirmed a three-year TV deal to show live matches and highlights.
A statement on the Football Conference website read: “The Football Conference is proud to announce The Vanarama National League is coming to a ground near you!”
“The new league will officially take its place in the football family on June 6th and the changes will include a new look logo … a new broadcasting company, NLTV, which will be the first fully dedicated broadcasting channel focusing solely on the 68 member clubs … and lastly, in yet another first, the competition will create the all new NLTV Broadcasting Academy,” the statement continued.
Brian Barwick, the former FA chief executive and incoming chairman of the new National League, said: “I am delighted to be joining at this vibrant time with this exciting new branding. I look forward to steering this great competition to new levels of awareness and visibility.”
The rebranding was announced in tandem with a TV deal with BT Sport, who will extend their live coverage of matches and host a weekly highlights show. The NLTV online broadcast platform has also been launched, with the aim of offering a subscription service in the future.
Tony Kleanthous, the Conference board director responsible for broadcasting, said: “NLTV’s aim is to launch a very affordable internet subscriber portal in 2016. The NLTV daily show will include short clips, podcasts and updates from clubs around the country and our new digital platform will also feature highlights from every game every week so you never need miss the action.”
BT Sport and competition sponsors Vanarama will also provide financial support to the NLTV Broadcasting Academy, an initiative which will provide media students with training, equipment and work experience.
“[The Academy] will provide students with the best teaching, using the best equipment in the best environment, real on the job training and I just can’t wait to see the smiles on the faces of the graduates who receive the first diplomas we will be handing out next year,” Kleanthous added.
The Football Conference was formed in 1979, in a merger between the Northern Premier League and Southern League, to create a national top tier within non-league football. Automatic promotion for the Conference champions to the fourth tier of the Football League began in 1987, with a second play-off promotion place awarded from 2003 onwards.