NCEL receives widespread praise for cash-saving measures to help clubs

The Northern Counties East League has received “really positive” feedback from across the country for introducing its recent financial support for member clubs, according to its secretary.
NCEL secretary Matt Jones has praised the work of title sponsor Toolstation.NCEL secretary Matt Jones has praised the work of title sponsor Toolstation.
NCEL secretary Matt Jones has praised the work of title sponsor Toolstation.

Matt Jones, who was appointed to his position in 2017, said the move to waive annual fees and provide free equipment was the least they could do.

“We would hate to see clubs struggle, so we’ve done what we can do and these are the only charges that we could possibly waive as a league,” he said.

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All 40 NCEL clubs will benefit by nearly a grand each thanks to financial measures introduced by the League on 15 April.

With the League deciding to waive its yearly charges for annual subscription, matchday inspections and player registration fees – and supply every member with sixteen free footballs – each club will benefit by an average of £909.

Mr Jones said that the League wanted to treat all teams as equally as possible: “It’s why we introduced the measures that we did.

“The Board were very concerned so got together on a video call, which was a feat in itself since a lot of the Board are quite elderly.

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“We wanted to do whatever we could to ease the financial burden on clubs, and we came out quite quickly with our decision so that teams perhaps could head into the summer not worrying quite so much.”

It is a hit which the League can take, according to Mr Jones, who was delighted with the feedback that followed.

“The reaction has been really positive and from people all over the country, not just our clubs.

“We’ve had a lot of supportive emails and tweets, a lot of clubs emailed us to say thank you and what a relief it is to them, it’s gone down really well.”

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Tthe NCEL’s partnership with Toolstation continues to run to at least 2023, which Mr Jones said offered reassurance to clubs.

“We’ve had fantastic support from Toolstation, every year they look after us really well.

“They’ve been a really positive sponsor ever since they came on board and we’re constantly in touch with them.

“It’s great because we’re in a position where we can offer these measures whilst not putting the league at risk.”

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The League was forced to postpone all fixtures with seven match weeks remaining.

Whilst the NCEL’s move had a positive outcome, the Football Association’s decision to expunge the season was met with mixed reviews.

The North West Counties League were one of several leagues who voiced their discontent with the ruling.

Mr Jones, however, said the FA did what they could in a “no-win” situation.

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With five NCEL clubs sharing grounds with cricket teams, the League favoured ending the season in order to avoid fixture clashes in the summer but wished to end the campaign on a points-per-game basis.

“Whatever they did, it was going to upset somebody,” he said, “I think they’ve done really well.

“They consulted with leagues at our level, they got in touch with us to say they were holding a meeting via a video conference with all 16 chairmen across our level.

“They asked us as a league how we wanted the season to end, and we consulted our Board and our clubs, of which an overwhelming majority wanted to end the season on a points-per-game basis.

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“We are disappointed with the final outcome because there are teams who worked really hard and spent money to be where they are.

“Did we get everything we wanted? No, but the FA is our governing body, they listened to us and they’ve done what they think is best.

“I’m happy that we were consulted, they were never going to please everybody.”

In line with the current government guidelines, Mr Jones said the new season is still scheduled to begin on 1 August as it stands, but will postpone if advised to do so.

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