The FA have confirmed that only one EBAC Northern League club has applied for promotion to the next level of the National League system.

As in previous years, Bishop Auckland have once again started their intentions to take promotion, but they would need to finish in a top three position in order to progress up to the NPL First Division North. They are currently 13th in the table, eleven points off the top three..

There has been a long running debate stretching back nearly 40 years about Northern League promotion up the national system, the main issue being affordability, especially regarding longer travel distances and the additional players’ wages.

The last Northern League club to take promotion was Spennymoor Town in 2013, and the season before that Darlington.

Of the other leagues in the northern part of the country, five clubs have applied from the North West Counties League, and four from the Northern Counties East League.

The most in the country out of the 61 applicants have come from the Western League, with seven.