Regular readers of my Blog will know of my interest in the quirkiness of non-league-football. I have recently taken an interest in Guernsey F.C. a football club located in Guernsey, Channel Islands and their quest to join the English non-league pyramid system.
Well Guernsey kick-off their season on the mainland in the Combined Counties Football League, Division One after being accepted to join at the League's AGM on 21 June. They walked the vote with 29 voting for them to join while only seven against against the proposal.
They (Guernsey FC) will incur substance cost with this venture and will be taking a step into the unknown besides their own running cost there are those the cost of the visiting teams to Guernsey. How that will work has been reports as - they will pay the travelling cost of a squad of 22, including players and manager and staff and hotel accommodation for one night and to keep the cost of the luggage down they will also provide a kit if the visitors desired plus balls and other training equipment.
Guernsey based betting company Sportingbet is sponsoring them to the tune of £750,000 per season a sum unheard of at this level of football. Most of the money will be soaked up with all the travelling and hotel cost and are expecting to play 4+ games with league and cup games. Home games scheduled to be played that the Footes Lane Stadium (probably) with attendances for games forecast to be anything from 300-1000 for home games, maybe 15 or 20 travelling to away games. There is also the options to play at another unnamed ground if the Footes Lane Stadium unavailable.
It the channel Islanders were to make the Football league it would become the long away in the league if they were to play Newcastle it would be 467 miles road and ferry trip a round trip of just over 900 miles. It could still happen when they enter the FA Cup in a few years time.
North West Counties League has found itself inundated with teams from outside England looking to join the English set-up. To date, its reported four Welsh teams have made enquiries about joining the league all believe to be from North Wales. There as also been interest from the Isle of Man with an unnamed team looking for entry and the latest is the league were contacted by unknown representative from a Northern Irish Belfast team also interested in joining the league. The interested party from Northern Ireland like Guernsey F.C. are rumoured to planning to put together a financial package to help individual clubs with travelling expenses to Belfast.
For this to happen any club would need permission from their own National Association then the FA would have to agree. FA have agreed with the FA of Wales that neither association would sanction any new applications from Welsh clubs to cross the border nor is it likely the Northern Ireland Association would feel the same as the Welsh.
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