Morecambe FC in the National League – what to expect

Following Morecambe FC’s relegation into the National League, the club and fans will experience a number of differences to various aspects, both on and off the pitch.

The Shrimps will play in the fifth tier next season for the first time since 2007, when the campaign gets underway in August.

Transfers

There is no Transfer Window in the National League, like there is in the EFL, with clubs free to buy, sell and loan players at any time, until a deadline day, which is usually sometime in March.

Morecambe can also sign players on loan from EFL clubs outside Transfer Windows,  with a maximum of five being allowed in any matchday squad.

Wages

League Two clubs have to operate under strict financial protocols, meaning that they aren’t allowed to spend more than half of their turnover on playing staff salaries. This doesn’t apply in the National League.

Promotion and relegation

There is only one automatic promotion place, and that is to the winners of the National League, while teams finishing second to seventh contest the play-offs.

Teams in positions 4-7 compete in eliminators, with those in second and third guaranteed a semi-final place as well as a home tie in a one-legged semis, before the Wembley final.

At the other end of the table, four teams are relegated from the National League.

TV

Relegation means that Morecambe won’t feature on Sky Sports coverage next season. The Shrimps could feature on the BBC or ITV if they’re selected in a televised FA Cup game.

Streaming provider DAZN own the rights to show video coverage of National League games, and operate on a subscription basis, similar to the iFollow network that the club were part of in the EFL. The Saturday 3pm ‘blackout’ rule still applies in the UK, meaning there is a chance some games could be moved to a 12.30pm or 5.30pm kick off, if selected for DAZN coverage.

Pitches

Artificial playing surfaces are banned in the EFL, but this isn’t the case in the National League. The only club to currently have a 4G pitch in the National League is Tamworth. Morecambe played Worthing from the National League South on a similar surface in the FA Cup last season.

FA Cup

Morecambe remain in the FA Cup, but must now qualify for the first round proper by playing in the fourth, and final, qualifying round.

Other cup competitions

Morecambe will not play in either the Carabao (League) Cup, or the Vertu (EFL) Trophy.

But the Shrimps will be invited to enter the National League Cup. In 2024/25, the competition involved 16 clubs from the National League, and 16 invited Premier League under-21 teams from Premier League 2, with a similar group format to the EFL Trophy.

This season, Leeds United beat Sutton United in the final.

Morecambe will also make a return to playing in the FA Trophy, a competition they famously won in 1974. The competition involves teams from tiers five to eight, ending in a Wembley final. The Shrimps join the competition at the third round proper stage, in December.

Academy

Morecambe operates as a Category 3 Academy, developing players from under-9 level upwards.

Any club relegated from League Two can only operate any such EFL-funded academy for a maximum of two seasons spent below the EFL. If the club don’t make it back in that time, then that academy status is lost.