Why Should National League Fans Be Excited For Next Season?

Last season non-league was getting more coverage than ever before. The tightness of the title race ensured that interest remained until the last day, while the battle between Leyton Orient, Salford City, Solihull Moors and Wrexham for a place in the Football League gripped all football fans.
The addition of Salford; despite the critics of how they have managed to get there, has been a welcome boost for a division that has long been an afterthought on the English football fans’ mind. However, next season, this excitement for National League football looks destined to continue. But why is this?
Notts County
The relegation of Notts Country was a heartbreaking day for football neutrals. The longest standing members of the football league will finally get their first taste of non-league football in their history. But while it will devalue League Two, their loss is immediately the National League’s game. It should come as little shock that with bigger teams like Wrexham, Hartlepool United and Leyton Orient in the league, the attendances were the highest they have been for some time.
That will continue next season, and there will be a long list of fans’ who will be hoping to go to Meadow Lane. Notts County will likely start the season as the bookmakers’ favourites to return to the Football League immediately, and punters can take advantage of the Unibet promo code for 2019 to ensure that they get maximum returns.
Standard
The myth that the standard of non-league players is sub-par has been smashed over recent seasons. Let’s not forget that player like Charlie Austin, Jamie Vardy and Michail Antonio all played their trade in the lower divisions before finally making their breakthrough in the Premier League. Chris Smalling was at Maidstone United before moving to Fulham and then Manchester United.
More recently, Lewis Wing was playing his football in the ninth tier before quickly moving to Middlesbrough where he has become the Championship’s sides most creative player. The quality is undoubtedly in the division. The stereotypes of teams in the non-league only playing route one football has disappeared, with Leyton Orient and Salford City playing football that you wouldn’t blink an eye if you were to see it in a higher division.
Fan Engagement
The most significant aspect that drives fans’ to non-league football is the connection that there is between club and fans. The clubs realise that the importance of the fans is the difference between the club staying afloat or not. Premier League and Championship teams have seen fans become disconnected with their sides, but there is no chance of that happening in the National League.
To say it means more to them may be unfair, but it’s true. Non-league fans are involved with their club, and they live and breathe what they do. Fans give away their own time for free whether that be by volunteering on matchdays, fundraising drives or helping with ground maintenance; they are involved with the club for the long-term, and that alone is a reason why non-league football is so great. There is no secrecy between the club and fans and post-game pints are frequently an aspect of their post-game plans.
At a time when Premier League clubs are driving away their fans, they can feel respected and acknowledged at non-league clubs, and the love of the game prevails.