While there are games still left in the top flight of English football, there were already scenes of title celebration at both ends of the country on Saturday when AFC Fylde and Worthing FC secured promotion to the National League.
Fylde were not guaranteed promotion at the beginning of the day with South Shields just two points behind them on 95.
However, their 1-0 loss at Kidderminster and Fylde's dramatic 2-4 victory at Merthyr Town – in which the Lancashire club had to fight back twice – sealed the National League North title with a 100-point haul.
"I'm over the moon," Fylde boss Craig Mahon told the club's official X account. “It’s the best feeling I’ve had in my career, to be honest. To get 100 points, to become history makers as a club, to do all this.
"I'm so grateful and so fortunate to be at a club like this, and this is hopefully just the start of it because this is what we wanted, this is what we envisioned, and we'll try to do the same again next year.
"This group of lads, whatever happens in their careers, wherever they go on to, whether they go higher or lower, if they stay the same, they're going to get down in history for this club."
Fylde's promotion to the top of the non-league pyramid could also mean club captain Corey Whelan is reunited with his former side Carlisle United next season, should Carlisle not win promotion via the play-offs to League Two.
"In this industry, if you don't believe in yourselves, then no one's going to do it for you," Whelan said on X. “So we’ve believed all year, we set our stall out in pre-season and look, we’ve done it, and 100 points is an incredible achievement at any level.”
In Sussex, Worthing clinched the National League South title, completing a remarkable rise under manager Adam Hinshelwood.
Hinshelwood – father of Brighton & Hove Albion player Jack, who was in attendance at Woodside Road – was appointed in October with Worthing having lost four out of 10 matches and sitting 15th in the table on 12 points.
After recording their 25th victory of the season on Saturday with a 2-0 win against Ebbsfleet United, Worthing ended the season on 84 points and secured a ticket to the National League.
"There's a time in January, I don't think it's going to come," an emotional Hinshelwood told BBC Radio Sussex. "We went through a little bad patch, but the supporters stayed with us and they were phenomenal today. I don't think we could lose with that support behind us today."
"It's some league, the National League. It wasn't that long ago, I remember us, Jack used to come and watch.
"Grass pitch, not as many fans, the stand was falling down, and today to see so many – absolutely packed out – and to get to the first tier of national non-league football is phenomenal.
"To rub our shoulders with some of these teams, established football league clubs, next year is going to be phenomenal."
