Our most recent post, on our decision to join clubs across the country, numbering in excess of 100, to send a letter to the FA to urge them to reconsider their decision, can be found here.
Lancing Football Club are saddened to hear of the decision taken by the Football Association and National League System to declare that following a premature end to the 2019/20 season, as a result of the continued COVID-19 pandemic, all results have been expunged, with no promotions or relegations to take place between step 3-6.
There is no doubt that the passion, commitment, determination, patience, diligence and work-rate of our first team manager, Naim Rouane, coaches, players & staff has been second to none this season, evidenced by our sustained top-of-the-table position in the SCFL Premier Division.
As a Community Club, running 18 teams from U6s to mens, womens and disability, in addition to providing football for the community, huge amounts of time, resources and effort have been put into the first team squad this season, which has been an inspiration & joy to watch across our 18 squads and wider community.
There is no doubt that the decision to end the season early is a sensible one, to protect the health & wellbeing of all involved, however Lancing Football Club had hoped that, of the decision to void the season or decide positions by Points Per Game (PPG), the latter option would be taken.
Unfortunately today’s decision has meant that we will remain in the SCFL Premier Division despite our best efforts to earn promotion.
We are also waiting to hear on what the FA plans to offer in terms of financial support to clubs affected by a premature end to the season, and the registration fees which will approach us over the coming months. We hope that we are given sufficient support to continue operations during these challenging times for us all.
The FA have said:
“The NLS and the women’s football pyramid were able to build a consensus amongst their leagues and, where possible, aimed to create a consistent approach across all leagues, whilst taking into account the unique characteristics of each individual league.
As a result, The FA and NLS steps three to six have reached a consensus that their 2019-20 season will now be brought to an end, and all results will be expunged. This will mean no promotion or relegation of clubs between NLS steps three to six, and no promotion to NLS step two.”
“Furthermore, we can now confirm that we have decided that all grassroots football is concluded for the 2019-20 season. This will allow the game to move forward and to commence planning for next season. Our County Football Associations (CFAs) will be supporting grassroots leagues over the coming days to determine how they should close out their current competitions.”
Full FA statement here.
We have aimed to make this statement factual despite, as you can imagine, many of our feelings on this matter.
No further comment will be made at this current time.
