Football Pitch Quality Grade Related to Leagues

Pitch quality grades can be used to ensure that pitch surfaces and playing experiences meet the minimum needs of players at different levels of skill and league status. The actual quality grade might vary slightly from the indicative guide below, especially depending on available resources and pitch construction, but it is a useful indicator.

We use the 5 pitch quality grades of Entry (Grade 1); Medium (Grade 2); Intermediate (Grade 3); High (Grade 4); Elite (Grade 5).

In some cases, a club may wish a pitch to be at the higher end of a Grade, at least for several key performance standards, so this has been termed Grade x (Median+), meaning that they are aiming for the highest 50% of the given range for that quality grade. For example, for a High Grade 4 pitch, the performance standard for live ground cover is a minimum of 90%, with the next grade (Elite, 5) requiring a minimum cover of 97%. A Grade 4 (Median+) would then be a minimum of 93.5% live ground cover (7% / 2 = 3.5% to be added to the base minimum level for the grade).

Premier League: Grade 5

English Football League:
• Championship: Grade 5
• League 1: Grade 4 (Median+)
• League 2: Grade 4 (Median+)

English Football: National League System (2024), for Senior Men’s football:

Step 1: National League: Grade 4 (Median+)

Step 2: [2 Leagues] National League North | National League South: Grade 4

Step 3: [4 Leagues]: Grade 4
• Isthmian League - Premier.
• Northern Premier League - Premier.
• Southern League - Premier Central | Premier South.

Step 4: [8 Leagues] Grade 3 (Median+)
• Isthmian League - South Central | North | South East.
• Northern Premier League - East | West | Midlands.
• Southern League - Central | South.

Step 5: [16 Leagues / Divisions] Grade 3
• Combined Counties Football League: Premier Division North | Premier Division South.
• Eastern Counties Football League: Premier Division.
• Essex Senior Football League - Premier Division.
• Hellenic Football League - Premier Division.
• Midland Football League - Premier Division.
• North West Counties League - Premier Division.
• Northern Counties East Football League - Premier Division.
• Northern Football League - Division One.
• Southern Combination - Premier Division.
• Southern Counties East Football League - Premier Division.
• Spartan South Midlands Football League - Premier Division.
• United Counties Football League - Premier Division North | South.
• Wessex Football League - Premier Division.
• Western Football League - Premier Division.

Step 6: [17 Leagues / Divisions] Grade 3
• Combined Counties Football League: Division One.
• Eastern Counties Football League: Division One North | Division One South.
• Hellenic Football League - Division One.
• Midland Football League - Division One.
• North West Counties League - Division One North | First Division South.
• Northern Counties East Football League - Division One.
• Northern Football League - Division Two.
• South West Peninsula Football League - Premier Division West | Premier Division East.
• Southern Combination - Division One.
• Southern Counties East Football League - Division One.
• Spartan South Midlands Football League - Division One.
• United Counties Football League - Division One.
• Wessex Football League - Division One.
• Western Football League - Division One.

Feeder League System: 49 County regional leagues (run by the County Football Associations), with about 800 clubs. This was the old Step 7 (abolished in 2020/21 season) and is the 11th tier of English football, often referred to as grassroots football: Grade 2.

Due to the soil type and limited resources available for some of the grassroots clubs, some of the pitches will only be maintained as Grade 1.