Between 1979 and 2004 the single-division Alliance Premier League formed Level 5 of the English football league system.
The founder members of the Alliance Premier League were drawn from the Southern League and Northern Premier League, covering the country from Yeovil Town in the South West to Barrow in the far North.
One club from Wales – Bangor City – also participated.
Note: FA Trophy winners (Dagenham, Isthmian League Premier Division) As winners of the Alliance Premier League, Altrincham won the right to apply for election to the Football League to replace one of the four bottom teams in the 1979–80 Football League Fourth Division.
The vote went as follows: As a result of this, Altrincham failed to be elected to membership of the Football League, falling just one point behind Fourth Division's bottom club Rochdale.