The 2021–22 season was the 54th season of the Northern Premier League. The league consists of four divisions, the Premier Division at Step 3 of the National League System, and the West, East and Midlands divisions at Step 4. The NPL continued this season with main sponsors Entain's Pitching In.
As the previous season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with all results finalised,[1] the Trident Leagues along with The Football Association decided to make the realignment to leagues at Steps 4, 5 and 6.
| Competition: | Northern Premier League Premier Division |
| Season: | 2021–22 |
| Winners: | Buxton |
| Promoted: | Buxton Scarborough Athletic |
| Relegated: | Witton Albion Grantham Town |
| Matches: | 462 |
| Total Goals: | 1202 |
| League Topscorer: | 26 goals - Jacob Hazel (Whitby Town) |
| Attendance: | 212,646 |
| Average Attendance: | 642 |
| Prevseason: | 2020–21 |
| Nextseason: | 2022–23 |
The Premier Division comprised the same set of 22 teams which competed in the aborted competition the previous season.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacob Hazel | Whitby Town | 26 |
| 2 | Diego De Girolamo | Buxton | 20 |
| 3 | Andrew Johnson | Morpeth Town | 18 |
| Callum Saunders | Witton Albion | ||
| 5 | Jordan Buckley | Warrington Town | 17 |
| Jamie Ward | Buxton | ||
| 7 | Bobby Grant | Radcliffe | 16 |
| 8 | Paul Dawson | Bamber Bridge Lancaster City (6) | 14 |
| Regan Linney | F.C. United of Manchester | ||
| 10 | Joshua Amis | Warrington Town | 12 |
| Liam Henderson | Morpeth Town | ||
| JJ Hooper | South Shields | ||
| Luca Navarro | Radcliffe Stafford Rangers (3) |
Semi-finals
Final
| Club | Location | Ground | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hurst Cross | 4,500 | |||
| Alder Street | 2,500 | |||
| Irongate | 2,264 | |||
| Nottingham (Basford) | Greenwich Avenue | 2,200 | ||
| The Silverlands | 5,200 | |||
| Manchester (Moston) | 4,400 | |||
| 4,304 | ||||
| South Kesteven Sports Stadium | 7,500 | |||
| 4,250 | ||||
| Giant Axe | 3,500 | |||
| Causeway Lane | 2,214 | |||
| Derby (Mickleover) | Station Road | 1,500 | ||
| Craik Park | 1,500 | |||
| The Weaver Stadium | 3,500 | |||
| Stainton Park | 3,500 | |||
| Flamingo Land Stadium | 2,833 | |||
| Mariners Park | 3,500 | |||
| 4,000 | ||||
| 6,500 | ||||
| Cantilever Park | 3,500 | |||
| Turnbull Ground | 3,500 | |||
| 4,813 |
| Competition: | Northern Premier League Division One West |
| Season: | 2021–22 |
| Winners: | Warrington Rylands 1906 |
| Promoted: | Warrington Rylands 1906 Marine |
| Relegated: | Kendal Town Market Drayton |
| Matches: | 380 |
| Total Goals: | 1121 |
| League Topscorer: | 25 goals - Ryan Brooke (Runcorn Linnets) |
| Attendance: | 161,728 |
| Average Attendance: | 426 |
| Prevseason: | 2020–21 |
| Nextseason: | 2022–23 |
When the divisions were realigned this became Division One West instead of Division One North West from the previous season. Division One West comprised 20 teams.
The following 3 clubs were promoted from the North West Counties League:
The following 5 clubs transferred from Division One South East:
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Brooke | Runcorn Linnets | 25 |
| 2 | Ben Hodkinson | Bootle | 20 |
| 3 | Kane Drummond | Warrington Rylands | 19 |
| Daniel Trickett-Smith | Leek Town | ||
| 5 | Jamie Rainford | Glossop North End Ramsbottom United (4) | 18 |
| 6 | Max Cane | Clitheroe | 16 |
| 7 | Timothy Grice | Leek Town | 15 |
| Jack McGowan | Bootle | ||
| 9 | Stefon Gonzales | Clitheroe | 14 |
| Jack Hazlehurst | City of Liverpool | ||
| David Symington | Workington | ||
Semi-finals
Final
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Offside Trust Stadium (groundshare with Barnton) | 3,000 | |||
| New Bucks Park | 3,750 | |||
| Rivacre Park (groundshare with Vauxhall Motors) | 3,300 | |||
| Shawbridge | 2,000 | |||
| Holt House | 1,800 | |||
| The Amdec Forklift Stadium | 1,301 | |||
| Parkside Road | 2,400 | |||
| The Autonet Insurance Stadium | 2,000 | |||
| Harrison Park | 3,600 | |||
| 3,185 | ||||
| Greenfields Sports Ground | 1,000 | |||
| Seel Park | 4,000 | |||
| Lyme Valley Stadium | 4,000 | |||
| Prescot | 3,200 | |||
| The Harry Williams Riverside | 2,000 | |||
| APEC Taxis Stadium | 1,600 | |||
| Shawe lane | 2,500 | |||
| Gorsey Lane | 1,345 | |||
| 13,350 | ||||
| 3,101 |
| Competition: | Northern Premier League Division One East |
| Season: | 2021–22 |
| Winners: | Liversedge |
| Promoted: | Liversedge Marske United |
| Relegated: | Yorkshire Amateur Frickley Athletic Pickering Town |
| Matches: | 342 |
| Total Goals: | 1099 |
| League Topscorer: | 28 goals - Adam Boyes (Marske United) |
| Attendance: | 114,372 |
| Average Attendance: | 334 |
| Prevseason: | 2020–21 |
| Nextseason: | 2022–23 |
When the divisions were realigned this became Division One East instead of Division One South East from the previous season. Division One East comprised 19 teams, with a vacancy left due to the withdrawal of Droylsden in the previous campaign.
The following six clubs were promoted from Step 5 divisions:
The following seven clubs transferred from the Division One North West:
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Boyes | Marske United | 28 |
| 2 | Laurence Sorhaindo | Brighouse Town | 23 |
| 3 | Matthew Cotton | Lincoln United | 21 |
| 4 | Benjamin Atkinson | Liversedge | 18 |
| Luke Mangham | Stocksbridge Park Steels | ||
| Michael Roberts | Stockton Town | ||
| Nicholas Walker | Liversedge | ||
| 8 | Kevin Hayes | Stockton Town | 16 |
| Dean Thexton | Shildon | ||
| 9 | Marc Newsham | Sheffield | 16 |
| Brody Robertson | Cleethorpes Town |
Semi-finals
Final
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queensgate | 3,000 | |||
| St Giles Road | 1,000 | |||
| Bradley Football Centre | 1,000 | |||
| Wellington Road | 2,500 | |||
| Westfield Lane | 2,087 | |||
| The Green Energy Sports Ground | – | |||
| 2,200 | ||||
| Clayborn | 2,000 | |||
| Mount Pleasant | 2,500 | |||
| Ingfield | 1,950 | |||
| Mill Lane | 2,000 | |||
| Harratt Nissan Stadium | 1,200 | |||
| Coach and Horses Ground | 2,089 | |||
| Dean Street | 4,700 | |||
| Bracken Moor | 3,500 | |||
| Bishopton Road West | 1,800 | |||
| Ings Lane | 2,000 | |||
| Sandy Lane | 2,500 | |||
| Bracken Edge | 1,550 |
| Competition: | Northern Premier League Division One Midlands |
| Season: | 2021–22 |
| Winners: | Ilkeston Town |
| Promoted: | Ilkeston Town Belper United |
| Relegated: | Histon Soham Town Rangers Wisbech Town |
| Matches: | 380 |
| Total Goals: | 1255 |
| League Topscorer: | 31 goal - Jonathon Margetts (Stamford Belper Town) |
| Attendance: | 128,877 |
| Average Attendance: | 339 |
| Prevseason: | 2020–21 |
| Nextseason: | 2022–23 |
As part of the realignment, the delayed formation of a third Northern Premier League First Division saw the creation of a new Midlands Division, in which it covers the Birmingham area, Nottinghamshire, western Northamptonshire and northern Cambridgeshire regions. The division consists of 20 sides for its inaugural season.
The following 2 clubs were promoted from Step 5 divisions:
The following 9 clubs transferred from the NPL Division One South East:
The following 9 clubs also transferred from other Step 4 Trident Alliance divisions:
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathon Margetts | Stamford Belper Town (18) | 31 |
| 2 | Jack Langston | Chasetown | 27 |
| 3 | Kai Tonge | Coleshill Town | 24 |
| 4 | Zak Goodson | Ilkeston Town | 21 |
| 5 | Richard Gregory | Halesowen Town | 20 |
| Remaye Campbell | Ilkeston Town | ||
| 7 | Joey Butlin | Chasetown | 19 |
| 8 | Kevin Bastos | Loughborough Dynamo | 16 |
| 9 | Jack Bowen | Daventry Town | 15 |
| Daniel Cotton | Yaxley | ||
| Jack Duffy | Stamford | ||
| Kyle Finn | Halesowen Town |
Semi-finals
Final
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Oval | 3,000 | |||
| Christchurch Meadow | 2,650 | |||
| Impington | Bridge Road (groundshare with Histon) | 4,300 | ||
| Bill Stokeld Stadium | 1,500 | |||
| The Scholars Ground | 2,000 | |||
| Pack Meadow | 2,000 | |||
| Steel Park | 3,893 | |||
| Elderstubbs | 1,855 | |||
| The Grove | 3,150 | |||
| Impington | 4,300 | |||
| New Manor Ground | 3,029 | |||
| Nanpantan Sports Ground | 1,500 | |||
| The Dovecote Stadium | 2,500 | |||
| Julius Martin Lane | 2,000 | |||
| Sir Halley Stewart Field | 3,500 | |||
| Guardian Warehousing Arena | – | |||
| Borderville Sports Centre | 2,000 | |||
| Central Ground | 2,000 | |||
| Fenland Stadium | 1,118 | |||
| Leading Drove | 1,000 |
Seven clubs at Step 3, all four fourth-from-bottom teams and those placed third-from-bottom that are the top three on a points per game (PPG) basis, were reprieved from relegation. The remaining team was relegated to Step 4.
The final points-per-game ranking of the third-from-bottom placed teams in Step 3 divisions was as follows:
| Pos | Team | League | Pld | Pts | PPG | Qualification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Basford United | Northern Premier League Premier Division | 42 | 45 | 1.071 | Retention at Step 3 | |
| 6 | Barwell | Southern League Premier Division Central | 40 | 41 | 1.025 | ||
| 7 | Kings Langley | Southern League Premier Division South | 42 | 37 | 0.881 | ||
| 8 | Leatherhead | Isthmian League Premier Division | 42 | 36 | 0.857 | Relegation to Step 4 |
Ten of the 16 clubs at Step 4, all eight fourth-from-bottom teams and two sides placed third-from-bottom, one at the top and the other in third place on a points per game (PPG) basis, were reprieved from contesting relegation play-offs. The FA granted third-placed Sheffield a reprieve after Yorkshire Amateur's demotion. The remaining six teams contested one-off matches with six runners-up from Step 5 that had the fewest PPG at the end of the 2021–22 season. Three winners of their matches stayed at Step 4 for the 2022–23 season, while three others lost theirs and were relegated to Step 5.
The final points-per-game ranking of the 3rd-from-bottom-placed teams in Step 4 divisions was also as follows:
| Pos | Team | League | Pld | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Prescot Cables | Northern Premier League Division One West | 38 | 39 | 1.026 | Retention at Step 4 |
| 10 | Lancing | Isthmian League South East Division | 38 | 36 | 0.947 | Relegation match with a Step 5 team |
| 11 | Sheffield | Northern Premier League Division One East | 36 | 33 | 0.917 | Retention at Step 4 |
| 12 | Witham Town | Isthmian League North Division | 38 | 33 | 0.863 | Relegation match with a Step 5 team |
| 13 | Cinderford Town | Southern League Division One South | 36 | 31 | 0.861 | |
| 14 | Kempston Rovers | Southern League Division One Central | 38 | 29 | 0.763 | |
| 15 | Histon | Northern Premier League Division One Midlands | 38 | 24 | 0.632 | |
| 16 | Chalfont St Peter | Isthmian League South Central Division | 36 | 21 | 0.583 |
For the second successive season, it was announced to member clubs that the League Challenge Cup was cancelled due to any further fixture disruptions that might have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.