Twenty-
four layers, champ. Or 25, if you count the Bristol Downs League Division 4. However, because there's no formal promotion/relegation between the Bristol Downs League Premier Division and the 20th-layer Bristol & District League Division 6, I would argue for 24.
That means the bottom of the pyramid is occupied solely by the Mid-Sussex League Division 11. And, since all but two teams in the MSL-D11 is a reserve or third side, that means that Crawley United can probably lay claim to being the lowest-ranked first team in England (The FA's website mistakenly lists the club as Crawley United II, but the club's website shows the senior side as competing in Division 11. It was a close race this year, though, with United only missing out on second place (and winning the lowest-ranked title) on goal difference to AFC Bolnore.
If the name Crawley sounds familiar, it's probably because Crawley Town has been moving up the pyramid as high as League 1 in recent years. However, the full list of Crawleys that Crawley United is directly beneath is much longer:
- Crawley Town (3rd tier, though relegated this season)
- Crawley Down Gatwick FC (9th)
- Crawley Portugese Sporting (14th)
- FC Crawley Luxury (15th)
- Crawley Devils (17th)
- FC Crawley Luxury Reserves (18th)
- FC Crawley Luxury 'A' (23rd)
So clearly United have some work to do. But, having finished 356 places behind Chelsea, they probably knew that already.