Following Oldham Athletic’s victory over Southend United in the National League play-off final on Sunday, 1st June, the 2025/26 National League line-up is now set.

In front of a record crowd of 52,115 for a National League final, a topsy turvy affair in the capital saw Southend draw first blood through a Manny Monthe own goal, before Joe Garner’s cooly-taken penalty within a minute of the restart took the match into Extra Time.

Southend regained the advantage when Matthew Hudson palmed Gus Scott-Morriss’ cross into the path of Leon Pavillon who headed into the empty net and put the Shrimpers into the driving seat early on, but Oldham fought back to produce an outstanding turnaround out of nothing. An outstanding bit of forward play from former U James Norwood saw him beat another ex-U, Ben Goodliffe, to the ball, to restore parity for Micky Mellon’s side, before Kian Harratt’s whipped cross flew all the way through just 90 seconds later to seal the Latics’ return to the EFL after a three-year absence.

They will now join Barnet in League Two after the Bees edged York City to the title, securing a return of their own to the fourth tier after a five-year absence.

As for those who will now come up against Sutton next season, the two teams relegated from League Two will see Steve Morison’s side face off against Carlisle United and Morecambe, facing the Northern-based outfits for the first time since the U’s own relegation from the fourth tier in 2023. Sutton last faced the former on the last day of the 2022/23 campaign, with Kylian Kouassi’s first half goal being cancelled out by a late Joe Kizzi own goal to close out the season with a point, while the Cumbrian-based side ended up achieving promotion via the play-offs, and meant they didn’t clash with the U’s during their most recent season in the EFL.

Morecambe on the other hand did face off against Sutton during that campaign, and defeated the U’s in Morison’s sixth game in charge to achieve a double, having beaten Matt Gray’s Sutton 3-2 earlier on in the season.

As for the teams coming up to the fifth tier, four teams achieved promotion from the National League South and the National League North to replace the relegated Dagenham & Redbridge, Maidenhead United, AFC Fylde and Ebbsfleet United, and will see Sutton visit a new region of England.

Cornwall-based side Truro City won the Southern Division on the last game of the season, coming out on top of an incredibly close race for the title that saw six teams in contention heading into the final day. Joining John Askey’s side in the fifth tier are Boreham Wood, who bounced back from relegation at the first time of asking after Luke Garrard’s return to Meadow Park after a few months away set the Wood on their way to victory in the play-off final against Maidstone United, with former U Matt Rush scoring the winner in the semi-final triumph over Torquay United.

Sutton’s promotion in 2020/21 means the U’s haven’t come up against the Hertfordshire-based side since a 0-0 draw in February 2021, while they haven’t faced the Tinners since they clashed in the National League South back in 2016 again due to promotion, with Paul Doswell guiding the U’s into the fifth tier.

As for the National League North, Sutton will face off against one newcomer in a league capacity, having only previously faced title winners Brackley Town in the FA Trophy. The Saints, who won the Northern Division with a 5-0 win over Farsley Celtic on the final game of the season, last clashed with Sutton in 2018 with a 3-1 win in the FA Trophy Third Round.

Sutton will also clash with one more old face, with Scunthorpe United returning to the National League after two years in the sixth tier with victory in the play-off final over Chester. The U’s enjoyed a notable win over the Iron, going within two points of the League Two automatic promotion places with a 4-1 win at Gander Green Lane back in 2021.

Fixture release day and a start date for the 2025/26 season will be confirmed by the National League in due course.

The 2025/26 line-up in full:

Aldershot Town
Altrincham
Boreham Wood
Boston United
Brackley Town
Braintree Town
Carlisle United
Eastleigh
FC Halifax Town
Forest Green Rovers
Gateshead
Hartlepool United
Morecambe
Rochdale
Scunthorpe United
Solihull Moors
Southend United
Sutton United
Tamworth
Truro City
Wealdstone
Woking
Yeovil Town
York City

Photo Credit: Paul Loughlin