NW AND EAST TO TAKE ON STEP 6

THE NORTH West Counties League and the Eastern Counties League will each take ownership and control of one of the two new Step 6 divisions, which launch next season.

The decision was formally ratified by the FA’s Leagues Committee at Wembley on Tuesday.

A new division in the north west area will be managed by the North West Counties League and the Essex/East Anglian area division will come under the Eastern Counties banner. Work between the FA and the leagues will continue over the coming months in order to determine membership within the divisions.

It’s expected the NWCL will operate with north and south divisions, while the Eastern Counties offer, as part of a joint venture with the Essex Senior League, includes the introduction of Senior League officials to their Management Committee structure.

Ray Lewis, FA League Committee Chair, said: “Both of the applications were very thorough and of a high standard. The Leagues Committee decided to implement a similar process as to the one utilised for the new Step 3 and 4 divisions, as this had previously served us well.

“The need for an extra division in the North West was apparent due to the amount of Step 7 leagues in the area and for the Essex area not to have a Step 6 league was also a long-term concern of the committee.”