‘National League promotion is not fit for purpose’

Julie-Anne Uggla, co-owner of York City, addressed the “glaring imbalance” of the promotion system in an open letter to the EFL and National League.

The 3UP campaign, which demanded three teams move from the fifth tier to the Football League, was launched in February by the 72 clubs in the National League, including those in the North and South divisions.

Prior to 1987, the bottom four EFL clubs had to survive a vote of member clubs in order to be reinstated, which was the first time ever there was automatic promotion into the league. The play-off system introduced a second promotion position in 2003.

After finishing second behind league leaders Barnet and falling to Oldham in the play-offs, York lost out on promotion this year to finish 23 points and three places ahead of them in the final table.

In the promotional final on Sunday, the Latics defeated Southend to reclaim League Two.

In May 2023, Uggla and her son Matthew took over York City, who were expelled from the Football League in 2016.

Following a season in which York City FC was denied promotion despite finishing 28 points clear of seventh place and winning 12 more games, she wrote in a letter published on the club’s website, “I am writing to express my deep concern and disappointment at the current promotion system between the National League and League Two.”

A “so glaring imbalance” “erodes the very foundations of fair competition,” not only undermines sporting merit.

The two-up structure is no longer fit for purpose, despite the historical context on which it was built. The distinction between the best National League teams and the bottom EFL teams has gotten worse, and frequently, making it impossible to support three-up promotion.

Every National League club and countless supporters are attracted to the “3UP” campaign, which “rightly reflects that sentiment.”

In accordance with the current format, the teams that place fourth and fifth face those who placed seventh and sixth, respectively, before the winners of those ties face those who placed second and third in one-off ties.