National League Northern Premier Division

The Northern Premier is one of two divisions that make up the top level of the FA Women's National League, sitting at the third tier of the English game — the highest rung run by the FA rather than the independent WSL company above it. Its roots run deep: the league was founded in 1991 as the WFA National League Northern Division, then renamed the FA Premier League Northern Division in 1994 when the Football Association took control. For most of its life this was actually the second tier of women's football. That changed in 2011, when the launch of the Women's Super League pushed everything down a level and the Northern and Southern divisions became tier three. The current name and branding arrived in 2018, as part of a full rebrand of the women's pyramid into the "National League" structure. Around twelve clubs contest the division, playing each other home and away. The route upward has got simpler over time: since 2023/24 the champions are promoted straight to WSL2, rather than having to win a one-off play-off against the Southern champions first. Feeding in from below are the tier-four Division One leagues, North and Midlands.