STEP UP MADE ALL THE EASIER
EARLIER this month, The FA announced the Step 7 clubs who have applied to enter the National Game System at Step 6, with 97 deciding to take the plunge. This up on the 93 the previous year and higher than at any time in recent history.
Drawn from 43 different feeder leagues, it means that, given only one club per league can go up, a potential 43 promotions to Step 6 are available, subject to the clubs obtaining a ‘H’ Grade by March 31 and finishing no lower than fifth in their league. From last year’s applicants, 30 are now participating at Step 6.
Encouragingly, 49 of these clubs are applying for the first time, though some of these are the reserves or development sides of clubs already playing at Steps 1-6 and Step 6 is the highest league in which they can currently participate. There is also a smattering of clubs that have been relegated from Step 6 previously, and are trying to get back in, and clubs who groundshare with a higher league club.
For the rest of the applicants, however, this is a jump into the unknown.
Having personally been at the helm at Peterborough Sports all of the way from Step 8 to Step 3, and then stayed and watched the club rise again to Step 2 and the National League North, I believe I am as well versed as anyone to the challenges clubs face on their way up the ladder.
Additionally, this is in light of the 270 projects undertaken by Sports Ground Development since our launch in 2013, with many of those required to support a promotion.
I have read with interest over the years the various opinions on the biggest leap a club can make. A number would say the jump from Step 5 into the Trident Leagues at Step 4. Here, you are into the realms of licencing and a few more off-the-field hoops to jump through periodically.
Personally, I think the jump from Step 3 to Step 2 is quite a test of a club’s organisation, finances and resources, as well as the increased ground grading requirements. A somewhat overlooked aspect of that is the need for a ground capacity of 4,000, and demonstration on how you would get to 5,000 for Step 1.
Alongside Colin Peake at the National League, we have worked with a number of promoted sides in the last couple of years on how they might achieve that requirement, particularly those clubs promoted out of the play-offs for whom such a move was not necessarily expected.
On the pitch, you only have to look at the current National League table which, at the time of writing, shows the four promoted clubs occupying the bottom four places to see the enormous leap in playing standards that provides.
Enemies
That said, I believe that the biggest jump a club makes, by a country mile, is from Step 7 to Step 6 in circumstances where their starting position is a roped-off field.
This alone needs to be something solid, with UPVC or Galvanised steel tube the usual order of the day, and we are at £15,000 + VAT straight away for the whole pitch.
These days, two sides of the pitch need to have a 900mm wide walkway with a bound surface. The price of concrete is wildly different across the country and seasonal. Given the need for this by March 31, it means the civils’ work need to be carried out in the worst of the weather.
The wet and cold are both enemies of concrete and you might typically be looking at £25,000 + VAT for this unless there is someone connected to the club that is prepared to do this at cost or lower out of loyalty to that club.
Challenges
Dugouts, for a minimum of eight players, are next. These are usually an upgrade from what a Step 7 club uses and start at around £5,000 + VAT for two, though these would be very much market entry structures.
A pay box/shed is at minimal cost. The assumption here is that the club has two changing rooms with a minimum of 12sq metres plus WC and four showerheads. Often overlooked, not just at Step 7, is the need for a second officials’ room to account for male and female officials.
For the ‘H’ Grade, there needs to be covered standing for a minimum of 50 spectators, and Sports Ground Development are offering these to Step 7 clubs at cost to help out.
Last but not least is the need to have floodlights at Step 6. The sensible approach by The FA is that clubs have until September 30 in their first year at Step 6 to have their floodlights in place and operational, and demonstrate that they have planning permission by March 31. You would be looking at a cost of around £60,000 + VAT for floodlights, on the assumption that there is Phase-3 electric in the vicinity of the pitch to avoid the additional cost of a generator.
Other considerations for a club once they get to Step 6 is that, by March 31 in their first season at the level, they need a 50-seat stand (circa £16,000 + VAT plus a concrete base), and a permanent ground perimetre fence, which for the ‘H’ grade can be temporary. However, given access to funding for clubs to secure their ground below the National Game System, it would be normal for a club to have a secured ground.
Where we provide guidance for clubs going through a planning application process to support all of these changes, we advise that where possible a club should include developments up to and including Step 5, given that the covered standing and seating requirements increasing to 100 of each is the only major change.
Given the financial challenges of getting these developments in place, plus the need for liaison with planners, grant bodies and possibly tying down the Security of Tenure, you can see that relative to where a club starts this process, this is an enormous step up in what is required to run their club.
Sports Ground Development has always positioned itself as something of a champion for Step 7 sides trying to move up, based largely on our own experiences as a club Chairman and the 60 clubs we have helped make that step since our inception.
Recently, this has included offering payment terms across a 12-month period for projects up to £24,000 + VAT, which is for any club regardless of status. Naturally, there is risk associated with that for us, and some clubs do unfortunately experience a large turnover of decision makers and financial backers, so we want to see how that works before extending.
What is involved in moving from Step 7 up can appear quite daunting, and it is to the credit of the strength of the Non-League game that so many clubs are prepared to go for it each season.
The biggest jump a club makes, country mile, is by a 7 to Step 6 from Step where their starting a position is just