waltonc130318_final

Non League Restructuring—Continued
ME: Technically the Leagues Committee has
the final say, but I think the views of those affected
will be appreciated when making a decision
about their competition.
There’s been lots of discussion about getting
more teams from the Northern League, for example,
and the feedback from when we went to
meet them in December is it would make life
easier for them with an east/west split.
NLP: You’ve been very clear the boundaries
put out this week aren’t set in stone.
LJ: That’s a really important message. This is
nothing more than a view at this stage of the
season. Until the season is completed, nothing
is or can be finalised.
NLP: Why put this out now?
ME: It’s to give everyone an idea. It is important
we’re transparent and demonstrate to
everyone involved in the game at this level, regardless
of what role or discipline, that we’re all
working towards making it better.
LJ: The changes are to improve the National
League System with players and clubs at the
heart of it. One of the debates is, ‘What’s next?’
In an ideal world, as we’ve said before, we
want to get to a pure Pyramid. We want to get
to 1-2-4-8-16. We see this as part of that process.
NLP: You’ve said this is a two-year trial, how
will you monitor the success of these changes?
LJ: When you introduce anything you should
have a period of evaluation. We’re putting this
in place and we will spend the next two years
seeing how it’s working. If the outcomes are
that it works 100 per cent, great. If the outcomes
are it needs tweaking then we might
have to tweak it.
We have a real desire to get the eighth division
at Step 4 in the future and then 16 at Step 5.
We’ve got to make sure we’ve got enough
clubs that can sustain the level required to populate
those divisions, but that is the long-term
vision.
NLP: There is always huge discussion around
the north-east, the area those divisions cover
and travelling, do we have to be mindful of the
how clubs are spread?
LJ: We are talking about a structure that has
1,400 clubs. It’s important not to lose sight of
how important it is to our game in this country.
For all those clubs with a team in the National
League System, they all have a lot of other
teams playing open-age football or youth football.
Everything we are trying to do is ensure the
longevity of the National League System.
ME: There is a lot of green space in the northern
part and, like you say, there’s such a high
population density in the south that probably
warrants the amount of clubs.
It’s a bit of a red herring to say there’s an imbalance
in the north and the south – it’s just the
make-up of population density.
NLP: We’re eagerly waiting to find out how promotion
(the super play-offs) and relegation will
work between the Steps. Is there a timescale
on that?
ME: What we have to do is build up the regulations
to support the structure.
Regulations have to be agreed before the season
starts and the process for that is at the
May FA Council meeting.
The drafted regulations are going through due
process to be finalised and, once they are, we’ll
make people aware.
NLP: So, now we just have to see who finishes
where.
LJ: Once the Beast from the East clears, we
can all start playing football again. It’s getting
the season completed and then we start the
allocation process.
ME: We’re as prepared as we can be at this
stage. Until the season is complete there is
much that can change between now and then.
To read The NLP’s article in full head to thenonleaguefootballpaper.com