National Ice Hockey League: The NIHL Explained
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What the NIHL is
British ice hockey has a clear top tier, the Elite Ice Hockey League, with full-time professional clubs. Below it sits the National Ice Hockey League, the NIHL, which covers the rest of the senior league game in England plus clubs from Wales and Scotland. It ranges from semi-professional sides at the top to community clubs at the bottom.
The NIHL began life in 1996 as the English National Ice Hockey League (ENIHL), set up after the old British Hockey League was dissolved and the Superleague and British National League were created. For the 2012–13 season it dropped the word English and became the National Ice Hockey League, because teams from Scotland and Wales were now taking part.
There is no promotion or relegation between the NIHL and the Elite League.
How the NIHL is structured
NIHL National. The top level of the NIHL, branded the Planet Ice NIHL National League. It was created for the 2019–20 season, mainly from clubs that had played in the old English Premier Ice Hockey League. For 2026–27 it has the same eleven clubs as 2025–26: Basingstoke Bison, Bristol Pitbulls, Hull Seahawks, Leeds Knights, Milton Keynes Lightning, Peterborough Phantoms, Romford Raiders, Sheffield Steeldogs, Solway, Swindon Wildcats and Telford Tigers.
NIHL 1 and NIHL 2. Below NIHL National, England Ice Hockey runs four regional leagues: NIHL North 1, North 2, South 1 and South 2. In 2026–27 there are 41 teams across the four, with ten in each northern league, eight in South 1 and thirteen in South 2. NIHL South 1 is the top league in the southern region, and it is where Streatham play.
The regional leagues also carry a second set of names after their trophies. NIHL 1 South is often called the Britton division, after the Britton Cup, and you will see both names on fixture lists and in match reports.
How the season works
The NIHL season runs from September to the spring. England Ice Hockey’s 2026–27 calendar opened on Saturday 5 September in the north, with NIHL 1 South starting on Sunday 13 September. League and cup games run through to March, and the play-offs follow.
In NIHL National, every team plays 54 fixtures across 27 competition weeks. The regular season started on the weekend of 19 September 2026 and ends in March 2027. Some early-season home and away double-headers also count towards the NIHL National Cup, where the top four go into home-and-away semi-finals and a two-legged final.
At the end of the NIHL National regular season, the top eight teams split into two play-off groups of four. The top two from each group reach the Final Four, set for 17 April 2027 at the Planet Ice Coventry SkyDome.
The regional leagues have their own cups as well as their league titles and play-offs. In NIHL 1 South the league champions, the play-off winners and the cup winners can all be different teams in the same season, so a club can finish a year with more than one trophy, or win the league and still lose in the play-offs.
NIHL ice hockey in London
London has NIHL teams at every level. In NIHL National, Romford Raiders represent east London. In NIHL 1 South, south London’s Streatham IHC and Romford Buccaneers both take part. Haringey Huskies and Lee Valley Lions play in NIHL 2 South.
Streatham is the easiest NIHL game to reach from central London. The club plays at Streatham Ice and Leisure Centre on Streatham High Road, which has the only Olympic-sized ice rink in London: a 60m x 30m pad with around 1,000 rinkside seats. Streatham station is a 2-minute walk away, with Thameslink trains from Blackfriars in about 23 minutes. Our Streatham transport guide ranks every route.
Founded in 1932, Streatham are one of the oldest British clubs still playing and one of the strongest in NIHL South Division 1 in recent years. They won the league in 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23 and 2023–24, and took the play-off title in 2021–22 and 2022–23.
Going to an NIHL game
NIHL hockey is quick, loud and good value, and a night out is easy to plan. Games are three periods of 20 minutes, with breaks between them, so allow around two and a half hours for a game. Rinks are cold, so bring a warm layer even if it is mild outside.
At Streatham, the club lists home games on Saturdays at 5.30pm and Sundays at 6.45pm, with some Sunday games starting at 5pm. Tickets are sold online through the club’s Fanbase ticket page, and the club says they are non-refundable and non-transferable. Check the face-off time before you travel, because it can change.
Many NIHL teams play on both Saturday and Sunday of the same weekend, so there is often a game on either day. At Streatham, club shirts and merchandise are sold from a pop-up shop on the balcony at every home game.
For other games happening across the capital, see our London sporting events guide and what’s on in London this weekend.
