The Football Conference is a men's football league in England consisting of three divisions, the Conference Premier, Conference North and Conference South. Around half the Conference Premier clubs are fully professional, whilst most Conference North and Conference South clubs are semi-professional. The professional clubs are usually clubs who have been in the Football League in the past as opposed to those who have always been in 'Non-League'. The Conference Premier is the fifth and lowest of the five nationwide football divisions in England, below the Premier League and the three divisions of the Football League, and is the top tier of the National League System of non-League football. The Conference North and Conference South form the sixth tier of English football. The Football Conference consisted of only one division up until 2004, but expanded as part of an extensive restructuring of the National League System which took effect beginning with the 2004–05 season. read more