Which former National League players hit the heights of top-flight football?

The National League is the fifth level of professional football in England the highest level of Non-League football.

Despite being Non-League, the National League has been home to incredible players over the years.

Continue below as we introduce the former National League players who have made it to the top of the game.

Jamie Vardy

Jamie Vardy is perhaps the best example of what can be achieved for National League players.

The UK best betting sites now rate Premier League top-scorer markets heavily in favour of established stars — but in 2011, few would have predicted Vardy would feature in them at all.

Indeed, he finished the 2015/16 season just one goal behind Harry Kane, his 24 goals leading Leicester City to the Premier League title.

Just five years earlier Vardy was playing for Fleetwood Town in the National League before he was signed by Leicester, who were in the Championship at the time.

At the end of the 2015/16 season, Vardy was voted the Premier League Player of the Season and FWA Footballer of the Year.

He also played for England, winning 26 caps and scoring seven goals plus won the 2019/20 Premier League Golden Boot.

For any young player in the National League, there is no finer example of what can be achieved than the career of Vardy.

Jordan Pickford

The current England number one may not have played for a National League club permanently but represented both Darlington and Alfreton Town on loan.

Jordan Pickford started his career with the Sunderland youth team but did not immediately progress to the senior team.

In 2012, Pickford made 17 appearances for Darlington in the National and returned to the division the following season with Alfreton Town, playing 12 times.

Interestingly, during his season with Darlington, the club were relegated to the National League but the experience was crucial in Pickford’s development.

With Vito Mannone injured, Pickford became Sunderland’s number one in their 2016/17 Premier League campaign.

His performances caught the eye and Pickford was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

The following summer, Everton bought Pickford for an initial fee of £25 million and he has represented England at the World Cup and European Championship.

Stuart Pearce

Having been rejected by Queens Park Rangers early in his career, Stuart Pearce worked as an electrician alongside playing for Wealdstone United in the fifth tier of English football.

Pearce spent five seasons at the club between 1978 and 1983, amassing 176 appearances in what was then known as the Alliance Premier League.

Coventry City made a bid of £30,000 for Pearce, which was a large sum of money for a Non-League player, and Pearce made the jump from non-league to the topflight of English football.

Pearce moved to Nottingham Forest in 1985 and stayed with the club for 12 years, becoming captain. The full-back also played 78 times for England and was named in the PFA Team of the Year five times.

All three players on this page started playing in the National League and they each went on to represent England.

There is no greater honour than playing for your country and players starting in the National League can reach the top of English and international football.