Karren Brady looks towards a circular frame of a West Ham corner flag
Credit: Imago
Daniel Lewis
Sat 15 November 2025 10:10, UK
West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady has thrown her support behind a campaign to change the current promotion system in the Football League.
As things stand, two teams go up from the fifth tier of English football, as opposed to three like in League Two, League One and the Championship.
There have been widespread calls for this system to be drastically changed and for three teams to go up each year, meaning three would subsequently go down from League Two.
While Brady has plenty on her plate at West Ham right now, she has now given her backing to changing the “unfair” system further down the English footballing pyramid.
Karren Brady wants to see three teams promoted from National League
Brady is regularly made to look silly over West Ham matters, but her comments on the National League make total sense.
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Writing in her weekly column for The Sun’s print edition on 15 November, Brady rightly describes the two-up-two-down system as “inconsistent, illogical and unfair”.
Current National League system sees two teams promoted each season
Team that finishes top of the division goes up to League Two automatically
Clubs that finish between second and seventh then compete in a playoff system
That culminates in a final at Wembley to see who joins the champions in going up
Brady adds that change “is long overdue” and that it is “incredible” the current system is still being used to this day.
The comments from Brady are particularly pertinent as Saturday is being used as a day for all National League games to kick off at 3:03pm, rather than 3pm.
The kick-off being three minutes later than scheduled is a way of protesting the system.
Brady has bigger issues closer to home to contend with
While it is all well and good Brady throwing her support behind this campaign, which really does need changing, the West Ham vice-chair has bigger issues to be dealing with.
West Ham fans have been protesting in their thousands against Brady and David Sullivan, with both figures being asked to leave.
West Ham’s win over Burnley last weekend, hot on the heels of also beating Newcastle United at the London Stadium, has lifted a lot of the gloom.
But supporters will continue to ramp up the pressure on Brady and Sullivan as they have quite simply seen enough.
A few positive results will not make amends for years of struggles.
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