Here's how the Bostik League promotions and relegations will work with some play-off winners NOT being promoted

Winning the play-offs will not guarantee promotion this season with two of the triumphant Bostik League sides facing the heartbreak of NOT being promoted.
Bostik LeagueBostik League
Bostik League

A restructure of the non-league pyramid last summer will have knock-on effects in the 2018/19 promotion and relegation outcomes due to the extra divisions.

There will be changes to the normal process at both Step 3 and Step 4 as a result of basically having too many teams to fill the available promotion places.

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The main issue at Step 4 is the addition of the new Bostik League South East Division. When combined with the Evo-Stick leagues both Northern Premier League and Southern Football League it takes the total to seven divisions now at Step 4.

With league winners and play-off winners, that totals 14 teams that would normal go up, however there will just 12 promotion spots to fill.

The champions of each division will take the first seven spots, while five of the seven play-off winners will be vying for the rest.

How that will work is that they will go to the five teams with the best points-per-game ratio. As a result, two sides who win their play-offs will be left in the unusual situation of not going up.

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Logic would suggest that teams finishing in fifth place, who go on to win their play-offs, could be less likely to go up when compared to a play-off winner that finished second. Although that of course would also depend on the quality of the division.

Relegation wise, two teams from each division at Step 4 will go down to Step 5.

At Step 3 - locally the Bostik League Premier Division - they will be holding play-offs of the play-offs to determine their promoted teams.

There will be six spots available for teams to go up into Step 2 (National League South and National League North), but again with four teams at Step 3 it leaves another headache due to the new feeder league.

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The champions of all four divisions will go up, but there will only be another addition two places for four play-off winners.

The four teams will this year face two separate super play-off matches, which reportedly, will by decided by the FA Leagues Committee on the most suitable geographical basis.

The matches will be over one-leg and hosted by the side with the best points-per-game ratio during the season. The two winners will be promoted to Step 2.