The Conference League was the first to promoted under the name and was an entirely amateur competition contested by thirteen teams (many were junior sides belonging to their parent clubs).
The league expanded from the eight that had begun the previous season's 1995 Academy League - Berwick, Buxton, Devon, Linlithgow, Mildenhall, and Sittingbourne all returned from 1995, and were joined by Arena Essex, Eastbourne, Owlerton, Peterborough, Reading, Ryde, and Swindon.
[3] As not all fixtures were able to be run, the champions were decided by a percentage of total points available.
[4][5] PL = Matches; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; Pts = Match Points; % = Win Rate A fixtures B fixtures The 1996 Conference League Knockout Cup was the 29th edition of the Knockout Cup for tier two teams.
The final was held on 7 September at Long Eaton Stadium.