The England Korfball League (EKL) (also commonly referred to as the National League) is the highest echelon of korfball in England. In its current format, the EKL comprises 10 teams, each playing every other team in a home and an away fixture (total 18 matches per year). The top four teams in the league at the end of the regular season progress to semi-finals and either the Grand Final or bronze medal match to determine the final standings. These are played as standalone matches, with the teams ranked 1st and 2nd at the end of the regular season earning the right to host their semi-final at their home venue.
The EKL typically runs from September/October - April annually, with breaks for international competitions, the National Youth Inter-Area Competition, Inter-University Championships (BUCS Korfball) and public holidays (Christmas and Easter). The English Korfball Association is the administrator of the league. The playoffs take place in May, with two weeks between the semi-final and grand finals. The promotional playoff final takes place at the same event as the grand final and bronze medal match.
Current Competing Teams In the 2025–2026 season, the following clubs are competing in the EKL. +ClubArea AssociationYear Promoted to EKLBearsted Korfball ClubKent 2025*Bec Korfball ClubLondon Prior to current format/recordsBristol Thunder Korfball ClubSouth West2018Bromley Korfball ClubLondon2024Cambridge Tigers Korfball ClubCambridgeshire2017Kingfisher Korfball ClubKentNomads Korfball ClubLondonPrior to current format/recordsNorwich Knights Korfball ClubNorfolkTornadoes Korfball Club & AcademyKentTrojans Korfball ClubLondonPrior to current format/records * indicates a team who have previously competed in the EKL, and this date represents their most recent promotion.
Existing clubs who have previously competed in the national league in its current format include:
Birmingham City Korfball Club Croydon Korfball Club Highbury Korfball Club KV Korfball Club (formed from Kwiek and Invicta Korfball Clubs) Manchester Warriors Korfball Club Mitcham Korfball Club (now known as South London Korfball Club) Norwich City Korfball Club Nottingham Korfball Club
Champions
SeasonChampions Runners-up1986-87Mitcham1987-88Mitcham1988-89Mitcham1989-90Vultrix1990-91Mitcham1991-92 Nomads1992-93 Vultrix1993-94 Mitcham1994-95 Mitcham1995-96 Croydon1996-97 Mitcham1997-98 Mitcham1998–99 Mitcham1999–00 Mitcham2000–01 Mitcham2001–02 Invicta2002–03 Invicta2003–04 Mitcham2004–05 Invicta2005–06 Mitcham2006–07 Mitcham Kwiek2007–08 Trojans Mitcham 2008–09 Trojans Kwiek2009–10 Trojans Nottingham2010–11 Trojans Nottingham2011–12 Trojans Nottingham2012–13 Trojans Kingfisher2013–14 Trojans Bec Korfball Club2014–15 Trojans Bec Korfball Club2015–16 Trojans Bec Korfball Club 2016-17 Trojans Norwich Knights 2017–18 Trojans Bec Korfball Club 2018-19 Trojans Bec Korfball Club2019-20Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-192020-21Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-192021-22 Trojans Tornadoes Korfball Club2022–23 Bec Korfball Club Trojans2023-24Bec Korfball ClubTrojans2024-25Bec Korfball ClubBristol Thunder Korfball Club
Multiple Champions TeamTitlesMitcham14Trojans13Invicta3Bec3Vultrix2
Promotion and Relegation The team ranked 10th relegates directly. Previously the number 9 ranked team would play to remain in the top division by ending up in the top two of promotion/relegation play-off. Each year, a team is promoted to the EKL by winning the England Korfball Promotional Division Final. The teams competing in this final are determined by semi-finals the two top-placed teams in each of the two promotional leagues (North & West and South & East with Promo matches played in addition to regional league fixtures). The format of these is that 1st place from each league plays 2nd place from the other, and mirrors the EKL semi-finals, where the higher ranked team has a home semi-final.
To qualify to compete in the Promotional League, teams must place high enough (1st place, with some regions also having 2nd place qualify) in their respective regional league. Only 1st teams can qualify for the Promotional League, and therefore the EKL, and qualifying clubs must also have a total of at least three teams in order to be eligible.
Changes to League Size Previous editions of the EKL have had varying numbers of competing teams - the 2017-18 season was the most recent time the league size was altered, increasing the size from 8 to 10 teams.
EKL and Promotional Final Format and Venues Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the promotional and EKA playoffs took place on consecutive weekend days (semi-finals on Saturday, and finals on Sunday). Prior to 2018, the promotional playoffs took a round-robin format.
Prior to 2017, the EKL playoffs were hosted at Whitgift School, London, for several years. In 2017, the EKA hosted the finals at the K2 Arena, Crawley. The 2018 and 2019 playoff finals were hosted at the Copper Box Arena in London. The 2020 edition was also due to take place at the Copper Box, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the pandemic, the 2022-2024 finals were hosted at the University of East Anglia SportsPark. The 2025 finals returned to the K2 arena, and this venue is also booked for 2026. +YearVenue2017K22018Copper Box Arena2019Copper Box Arena2020 and 2021Cancelled due to Pandemic2022UEA SportsPark2023UEA SportsPark2024UEA SportsPark2025K22026K2
Progression to European Competition Historically, the winner of the ELK grand final would progress to the Europa Cup Competition the following season, and the runner up would progress to the Europa Shield Competition. Since the 2022–2023 season, the Korfball Champions League has replaced these competitions, with the teams finishing the EKL playoffs in places 1-3 usually qualifying for the different tiers of champions league competition.
References