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What is the National League 3UP campaign? When will it take place?
The National League will continue its 3UP campaign this season, as the league looks to increase the number of teams promoted from the fifth tier.
As of now, only the winners of the National League and the play-off winners are promoted to the Football League, but the idea behind the campaign is to add an additional place into League Two.
A series of events is set to take place next month in a bid to continue to motion for the change to be implemented into the English league pyramid.
What is the 3UP campaign?
The 3UP campaign was launched in February 2025, with all 72 teams in the National League and the North and South divisions joining together to back the notion.
Since 2003, two teams have gone up to League Two each season - the champions and the play-off winners, with two clubs being relegated from League Two, but the National League has called on EFL clubs to vote to increase that number to three.
Upon the 3UP launch, a FSA fan poll overwhelmingly backed the idea and 50+ MPs are now said to be on board to support the campaign.
For the new rule to be passed, it would need backing from the EFL, and although they have previously stated they would be willing to consider changes to the current position on promotion and relegation, it would need to be part of a broader package of reforms which benefit all levels of the game.
In the twenty years since automatic promotion began from the National League to the EFL, none of the 57 teams promoted from the National League have ever suffered relegation the following season, proving that an additional place would be beneficial to the league.
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What is planned and when?
The National League revealed on Friday, October 10 that a 3UP Day of Action will take place on Saturday, November 15.
All 12 National League matches taking place on this day will kick off at 3:03pm GMT instead of the traditional 3pm GMT.
After the plans were confirmed by the National League, chair Jack Pearce MBE released the following statement.
"Our 72 clubs – the majority of whom are over a century old and household names – simply won’t accept the current circumstances blocking them from parity and fairness with all the other professional teams in England.
“In response to the 3UP campaign launch, the EFL stated their understandable concerns over the ‘competitive balance’ across all leagues within the football pyramid and cited this as an underlying reason for delaying the matter of 3UP. But we don’t believe this should be the reason preventing progression on the matter.
“The ‘competitive balance’ issue simply doesn’t apply between the National League and EFL. For example, since two promotions were introduced to the National League in 2003, no title-winning club has ever been relegated from the EFL the following season. And almost half the clubs currently in the EFL’s three leagues have competed in the National League at one time or other.
“Since launching 3UP, we have been contacted by a remarkable number of EFL clubs who are privately supportive of the change but haven’t even been given the chance as a group of clubs to formerly discuss it.
“EFL chair Rick Parry stated nearly two years’ ago that the EFL ‘needs to look downwards as well as upwards’ and that 3UP is a ‘perfectly logical argument’. We remain grateful for this broad outlook, but unfortunately no meaningful action has been forthcoming from the league since then.
“We therefore don’t think it is too much to ask the EFL to take some unconditional and supportive action to help all National League clubs up and down the country attain another promotion place.
"They have been waiting for 23 years for this moment. The forthcoming 3UP Day of Action on Saturday 15 November will be a great chance for everyone who cares about the national game to get involved and show their support to our clubs and fans. Together we can put football first.”
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