Non-league teams appeal against FA pyramid restructure
22.05.2021
The FA’s latest non-league pyramid restructure, sees 107 teams promoted across steps 4-6. However, the measures failed to impress three teams in the Spartan South Midlands League: Biggleswade Town, Potton United, and now Newport Pagnell FC all released statements appealing the move.
This drastic restructure has been in the FA’s works for years, but pandemic restrictions halted its implementations. These same restrictions destabilised footballing finances up and down the nation, leaving the three clubs hesitant to make any changes.
The proposed changes add two new divisions to step 5, adding further regional competitions to the Combined Counties League and the United Counties League. The three clubs in question oppose promotion to the latter league, due to uncertainty and increased travel costs.
Both Potton and Newport Pagnell also mentioned their recent horizontal move to the Spartan South Midlands League (SSML) in the first place. Newport Pagnell Town stated ‘three years ago we were moved sideways in the pyramid structure’, yet ‘we face the prospect of having to adapt again'.
Crucially, this adaptation process puts a huge strain on clubs at the semi-pro level. Describing their ‘unhappy’ prospects, Potton revealed that ‘90% of our players [are] living in Stevenage and London’. The move going ahead, they warn, ‘would result in the club losing the management and all players and having to rebuild from scratch’.
Potton calculate that moving from the SSML to the United Counties League would increase their seasonal travelling distance by over 500 miles. Alongside organisational sustainability, this also raises the question of environmental sustainability.
Biggleswade similarly sum this proposal up as ‘too much of a punishment’. According to their chairman Guillem Balague, ‘we all want to stay where we are and keep at it’. While free promotions may seem like a good thing, Balague hints at the integrity involved in earning success, rather than having it thrust upon you.
As the demise of the European Super League shows, football thrives on a naturally flourishing grassroots pyramid.
