2025–26 Northern Football League

Northern Football League
Season2025–26
2026–27

The 2025–26 season is the 128th in the history of the Northern Football League, a football competition in England, known as the Ebac Northern League for sponsorship reasons.[1] The league operates two divisions in the English football league system, Division One at Step 5, and Division Two at Step 6.

The allocations for Steps 5 and 6 this season were announced by the Football Association on 15 May 2025.[2]

Division One

Northern Football League
Division One
Season2025–26
2026–27

Division One featured 18 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with two new clubs.

Team changes

Division One table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Shildon 30 22 5 3 84 35 +49 71 Promotion to the Northern Premier League Division One East
2 Guisborough Town 27 21 3 3 62 26 +36 66 Qualification for the play-offs
3 Kendal Town 27 16 3 8 57 35 +22 51
4 Whitley Bay 26 15 5 6 56 35 +21 50
5 Boro Rangers 28 15 4 9 55 34 +21 49
6 Easington Colliery 27 14 2 11 57 46 +11 44
7 West Auckland Town 25 13 3 9 55 42 +13 42
8 Horden Community Welfare 26 13 2 11 45 53 −8 41
9 North Shields 28 12 4 12 47 44 +3 40
10 Birtley Town 27 9 10 8 61 53 +8 37
11 Newcastle Blue Star 25 10 5 10 48 39 +9 35
12 Carlisle City 28 10 5 13 42 51 −9 35
13 Penrith 27 8 9 10 55 48 +7 33
14 Newcastle Benfield 26 9 5 12 35 36 −1 32
15 Crook Town 24 9 0 15 26 57 −31 27
16 Northallerton Town 27 7 3 17 28 56 −28 24
17 Thornaby 25 6 5 14 28 53 −25 23
18 Marske United 24 7 1 16 37 57 −20 22
19 West Allotment Celtic 27 4 4 19 21 61 −40 16 Relegation to Division Two
20 Whickham 26 3 6 17 32 70 −38 15
Updated to match(es) played on 14 February 2026. Source: Northern League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results

Results table

Home \ Away BIR BOR CAR CRK EAC GUI HCW KEN MAR NBF NBS NSH NLT PEN SHI THO WAC WAT WHM WHB
Birtley Town 2–3 0–1 4–2 4–0 3–3 4–3 3–2 5–3 0–1 2–2 3–3 1–2 1–2
Boro Rangers 4–0 4–0 0–4 4–2 5–1 1–0 1–0 5–1 1–1 0–1 3–0
Carlisle City 1–1 3–1 4–2 4–1 1–4 1–2 0–1 2–2 0–0 0–1 3–1 3–1 2–3
Crook Town 2–0 1–4 0–1 2–1 0–4 0–2 1–6 1–0 1–0 0–4 2–1
Easington Colliery 2–2 3–3 2–0 2–3 1–2 0–2 1–0 1–4 2–0 3–2 4–0 1–2
Guisborough Town 5–0 1–0 2–2 4–1 3–1 3–1 2–0 2–1 4–3 2–0 3–2 2–1 1–0 2–1
Horden Community Welfare 0–1 1–2 3–1 2–1 0–4 4–3 0–4 2–1 3–1 3–2 1–0 1–1
Kendal Town 0–2 2–0 0–2 0–1 1–2 1–3 2–1 6–1 3–0 2–1 2–1
Marske United 1–1 2–4 0–3 0–4 0–3 1–4 0–2 0–2 2–3 1–3 4–0 3–1 0–4
Newcastle Benfield 0–0 2–1 2–4 0–1 0–1 5–0 2–2 0–0 1–2 1–2
Newcastle Blue Star 3–0 3–3 1–1 3–1 2–1 1–2 1–3 1–2 4–0 3–3
North Shields 3–0 2–3 0–3 0–3 0–3 0–1 2–1 3–4 2–0 0–5 3–1
Northallerton Town 1–2 4–1 1–2 0–4 1–0 0–2 1–4 0–1 0–0 3–1 2–3
Penrith 2–2 1–1 2–1 1–2 4–0 2–2 0–0 6–0 2–2 1–2 2–2 2–3
Shildon 2–0 2–0 5–0 1–0 3–1 4–3 3–1 3–1 3–1 5–1
Thornaby 2–2 0–0 2–4 0–3 1–2 1–2 1–1 1–1 5–0 2–1
West Allotment Celtic 0–4 3–1 1–3 1–2 1–5 1–0 0–2 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–5 1–2
West Auckland Town 3–2 1–3 4–1 1–1 4–0 2–3 0–1 4–3 2–2 1–2 1–0 5–1
Whickham 0–5 1–2 0–3 1–1 1–0 1–5 1–2 0–5 1–1 3–0 2–5 4–4
Whitley Bay 2–2 2–3 3–0 1–0 0–0 4–0 2–1 0–1 3–0 1–0 2–0 5–1 2–2
Updated to match(es) played on 3 January 2026. Source: Northern League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Play-offs

Semi-finals Final
      
2  
5  
 
 
3  
4  

Stadia and locations

Location of Division One clubs (Cumbria)
Location of Division One clubs (North Yorkshire)
Club Stadium Capacity
Birtley Town Birtley Sports Complex
Boro Rangers Stokesley Sports Club (groundshare with Stokesley Sports Club) 2,000
Carlisle City Gillford Park
Crook Town The Sir Tom Cowie Millfield Ground 1,500
Easington Colliery Welfare Park
Guisborough Town King George V Ground
Horden Community Welfare Welfare Park
Kendal Town Parkside Road
Marske United Mount Pleasant 2,500
Newcastle Blue Star KD Stadium 2,500
Newcastle Benfield Sam Smith's Park 2,000
North Shields Ralph Gardner Park 1,500
Northallerton Town Calvert Stadium
Penrith Frenchfield Stadium 1,500
Shildon Dean Street 2,000
Thornaby Teesdale Park 5,000
West Allotment Celtic East Palmersville Sports Pavilion 1,500
West Auckland Town Darlington Road 2,000
Whickham Glebe Sports Ground 4,000
Whitley Bay Hillheads Park 4,500

Division Two

Northern Football League
Division Two
Season2025–26
2026–27 →

Division Two featured 18 clubs which competed in the division last season, along with four new clubs:

Also, Chester-le-Street United changed their name to Park View.

Division Two table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Redcar Town 29 21 4 4 68 28 +40 67 Promotion to Division One
2 Yarm & Eaglescliffe 29 19 4 6 56 26 +30 61 Qualification for the play-offs
3 Chester-le-Street Town 33 19 3 11 56 32 +24 60
4 Jarrow 30 17 7 6 55 31 +24 58
5 FC Hartlepool 30 17 3 10 55 34 +21 54
6 Park View 29 16 6 7 46 25 +21 54
7 Seaham Red Star 31 16 6 9 54 38 +16 54
8 Alnwick Town 30 14 8 8 61 46 +15 50
9 Ryton & Crawcrook Albion 31 15 3 13 57 38 +19 48
10 Darlington Town 33 14 6 13 47 47 0 48
11 Billingham Town 32 14 5 13 61 53 +8 47
12 Newcastle University 27 12 8 7 44 33 +11 44
13 Sunderland RCA 31 11 8 12 40 40 0 41
14 Sunderland West End 34 11 8 15 48 66 −18 41
15 AFC Newbiggin 31 10 8 13 45 47 −2 38
16 Durham United 32 12 4 16 50 69 −19 37[a]
17 Boldon Community Association 29 8 7 14 37 48 −11 31
18 Grangetown Boys Club 30 6 8 16 37 63 −26 26
19 Prudhoe Youth Club 31 6 5 20 32 67 −35 23
20 Billingham Synthonia 32 8 4 20 51 72 −21 22[b] Possible relegation to a feeder league
21 Tow Law Town 29 6 4 19 29 59 −30 22
22 Esh Winning 29 3 3 23 12 79 −67 12
Updated to match(es) played on 11 February 2026. Source: Northern League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of matches won; 5) head-to-head results
Notes:
  1. ^ Durham United were deducted three points.
  2. ^ Billingham Synthonia were deducted six points for fielding an ineligible player in their first three league matches of the season.

Results table

Home \ Away NWB ALN BIS BIT BCA CLS DAR DUR ESH HAR GBC JRW NCU PKV PYC RED R&C SRS SRC SWE TLT Y&E
AFC Newbiggin 5–1 0–2 0–0 4–0 0–1 2–2 0–0 2–3 1–2 0–0 2–1 2–1
Alnwick Town 1–1 2–1 4–0 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 2–4 2–4 1–1 3–1 4–1 0–4
Billingham Synthonia 4–2 2–0 0–4 1–1 5–0 0–1 0–2 0–2 0–7 2–3 2–3
Billingham Town 1–4 5–1 3–3 0–3 3–2 3–3 3–2 4–1 0–1 3–1 4–3 1–2 1–0
Boldon Community Association 0–1 2–1 2–3 0–2 1–0 3–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 3–1 4–2
Chester-le-Street Town 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–2 0–0 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–1
Darlington Town 2–4 2–0 3–2 1–2 4–1 0–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 2–2 0–3 0–0
Durham United 1–5 0–3 7–2 3–4 1–2 1–1 2–1 3–0 3–3 2–1 2–1 2–1 0–4
Esh Winning 2–2 0–4 1–3 2–0 0–2 0–3 1–4 0–4 1–1 0–2 1–3
FC Hartlepool 3–0 3–0 1–1 4–1 2–1 4–0 5–0 0–3 1–1 1–0 3–1 3–1 6–1 1–0
Grangetown Boys Club 0–6 2–2 2–0 0–2 1–2 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–2 0–1 2–1 2–2
Jarrow 4–3 3–2 0–0 2–0 2–2 0–0 0–2 1–2 1–0 3–3 2–0 1–2
Newcastle University 1–2 2–1 0–0 2–1 2–0 4–0 1–1 0–4 1–3 0–0 4–0
Park View 3–1 0–2 3–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 2–1 6–2 2–0 2–0 0–3
Prudhoe Youth Club 2–4 0–5 0–2 2–3 1–2 3–2 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–4 2–3 0–0 2–1
Redcar Town 2–1 2–5 5–0 1–0 2–1 2–1 3–0 0–0 3–1 1–3 3–1 6–0
Ryton & Crawcrook Albion 3–2 2–0 2–0 0–4 8–0 1–2 2–1 4–0 2–2 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–2
Seaham Red Star 2–0 1–0 2–2 0–1 2–0 1–2 0–0 5–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 2–0
Sunderland RCA 0–0 4–3 0–3 0–1 2–0 2–1 3–1 1–3 1–2 3–1 3–1 3–2 0–1
Sunderland West End 2–1 2–2 2–1 2–1 3–0 3–1 3–0 1–1 1–3 1–2 1–4 2–1
Tow Law Town 1–2 2–3 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–0 0–3 1–1 0–2 0–3 0–1 1–1
Yarm & Eaglescliffe 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–2 2–2 4–0 4–0
Updated to match(es) played on 12 December 2025. Source: Northern League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Play-offs

Semi-finals Final
      
2  
5  
 
 
3  
4  

Stadia and locations

Club Stadium Capacity
AFC Newbigging Newbiggin Sports Centre
Alnwick Town St James' Park 2,500
Billingham Synthonia Stokesley Sports Club (groundshare with Stokesley Sports Club) 2,000
Billingham Town Bedford Terrace 3,000
Boldon Community Association Boldon Colliery Welfare
Chester-le-Street Town Moor Park
Darlington Town Eastbourne Community Stadium
Durham United Graham Sports Centre
Esh Winning West Terrace 3,500
FC Hartlepool Grayfields Enclosure
Grangetown Boys Club B & W Lifting Ltd Stadium
Jarrow Perth Green
Newcastle University Kimberley Park
Park View Riverside
Prudhoe Youth Club Kimberley Park
Redcar Town Mo Mowlam Memorial Park
Ryton & Crawcrook Albion Kingsley Park 1,500
Seaham Red Star Seaham Town Park
Sunderland RCA Meadow Park 1,500
Sunderland West End Ford Hub Sports Complex
Tow Law Town Ironworks Road 3,000
Yarm & Eaglescliffe Bedford Terrace (groundshare with Billingham Town) 3,000

References

  1. ^ Carruthers, Mark (2024-05-30). "Ebac Northern League reveal new season details as appeal outcome awaited". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  2. ^ "FA announces league allocations for new season". The Northern Football League. 15 May 2025. Retrieved 15 May 2025.