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The Nottinghamshire Senior League First Division consists of 16 teams each playing each other twice (home and away). Three points for a win, one for a draw, the team with the most points at the end of the season will be crowned champions and therefore (subject to a committee vote) promoted to the Senior Division.
In the case of two or more sides level on points in the division, the team(s) with the best goal difference will be placed higher, if these are the same, the team(s) with the most amount of goals scored will be placed highest.
The team that finishes bottom of the division will be relegated to the Second Division, subject to the committee vote.
A founder division in the leagues structure in 2004, the First Division was a host to fifteen of the Senior Division's Reserve sides in the competition's debut year. Boots Athletic Reserves were the first league winners losing only once in a comprehensive campaign that saw them end nine points above their nearest rivals Cotgrave CW United Reserves. A year later Wollaton's second string matched their first team's Senior Division title success thus becoming the first club to win both division's in the same campaign. They were pushed slightly harder than Boots in the previous season by an Arnold Southbank Reserves team that finished second, 5 points adrift of the champions. Clifton Res were winners in 2006/07 largely due to a fantastic second half of the campaign and winning their final twelve games of the season. 2007/08 saw for the first time the addition of three first teams in the division amongst 15 reserve sides, all three first teams dominated the campaign by allocating the top three spots, non more so than Hucknall Rolls Leisure in the clubs debut year in existence, they won at a cantor, breaking records for staying unbeaten throughout the season, a run of 23 straight wins and with a record amount of goals scored, eventually totaling up 96 points and becoming the first Division One side to be promoted in to the Senior Division. Matrixgrade pipped Underwood Villa to second spot after Villa lost their penultimate game of the season. In 2008/09 Bulwell in there first NSL campaign were victorious with a comprehensive win of the title which ensured promotion. That win was helped by fellow challengers Sandhurst's end of season falter after losing five of there last six games, they finished up eleven points behind the champions, also finishing behind third spot Basford Res and three points behind second spot Greenwood Meadows Reserves who's run of one defeat in 21 helped them gain runners up. In 2009/10 Wollaton Reserves won there second title in five years after dominating the campaign pre Christmas. Awsworth Villa who were relegated a year earlier finished second scoring 100 goals despite losing there first four games. Relegated Ruddington Village bounced back immediately in the 2010/11 campaign by gaining promotion back into the Senior Division at the first attempt which included a run of thirteen straight victories. Ruddington held off a serious challenge by neighbours Clifton Reserves, eventually taking the title by three points in May, Boots Athletic Reserves, Vernon Villa and Wollaton Reserves had earlier seen their championship challenge falter, each finishing in respective top five positions. At the other end Gedling Southbank Reserves finished bottom of the table.
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