Non-League Paper Programme: 3UP campaign aims to break the EFL bottleneck

For managers, it’s an extra three minutes to deliver the finishing touches to your pre-match team talk. For fans, it’s a chance to grab a quick coffee or spend time in the warmth of the clubhouse bar.

Three minutes. One hundred and eighty seconds. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it could make all the difference to the National League’s 3UP campaign as it continues to ramp up pressure on the EFL to finally put a third promotion spot into League Two on the agenda.

This afternoon, over 200 clubs from Steps 1 to 4 will kick-off at 3.03pm in ‘A Day of Action’ to raise awareness on the issue with the Premier League and a large percentage of the EFL away on international duty.

National League chiefs and clubs have been pushing for an extra promotion place for a number of years to align with the rest of the English pyramid.

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Debate

But while the EFL acknowledge it should be up for debate, the matter is yet to be officially brought to the table despite chairman Rick Parry’s promise to “look downwards as well as upwards”.

A recent Football Supporters’ Association poll revealed 93 per cent of all supporters support the move, while 83 per cent of fans of EFL clubs are so in favour.

But Football League chiefs say any deal would have to form part of any funding agreement with the Premier League, so with the two bodies at a stalemate amid the wait for the incoming Independent Football Regulator, National League chiefs have decided to up the stakes amid fears it could be years before EFL clubs vote on any changes.

Spotlight

National League vice-chairman and chair of the 3UP steering committee Steve Thompson MBE has been a key part of the push and he wants their message heard.

He told The NLP last week: “The games kicking off at 3.03pm is really going to shine a spotlight on it.

“We’ve got MPs from all over the country going to these games.

“It’s not just the 12 National League games. While National League North and South aren’t playing league games because it’s FA Trophy, the Trident Leagues are also supporting it. That’s fantastic.

“The whole football family at Non-League level sees how important it is.”

Support

So important that, in recent months, clubs and the league have been engaging with their local MPs with more than 100 – and members of the London Assembly – pledging their support.

And last week, Sir Keir Starmer “commended” 3UP at Prime Minister’s Questions with over 60 MP’s actively supporting the campaign.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has formally “recognised” that 3UP’s ambitions tie-in with the football regulator’s objectives with a Backbench Business Debate planned later this month, as well as two supportive Early Day Motions.

“I was blown away,” Thompson said of the political support received.

“So many MPs are season ticket holders at their local club. They realise how much their clubs do in their community. They realise how much the owners and chairs of those clubs do in the community.

“The fear is if you have this bottleneck and owners don’t think there is a realistic chance of being promoted, they will walk away.

“You need that competitiveness. It creates a healthy eco-system in football and that’s what we face losing.

“The EFL say they’ve got to look down as well as up. Well, look down a bit more.”

Competitive imbalance

History shows there is no competitive imbalance between the National League and League Two.

No club has ever been relegated back into Non-League the season after they won promotion, while Luton Town went through to the Premier League and others, including Yeovil Town, Doncaster, Burton Albion and Wrexham, have reached the Championship.

“There’s over 30 clubs in the EFL that have been in the National League at some stage or another,” Thompson added.

“There’s Wrexham now in the Championship. There are 19 League Two clubs that have been in National League. Half of the National League have been in the EFL.

“There’s nothing to fear, but there is this bottleneck.”

This afternoon, fans from clubs up and down the country will be involved both on the terraces and via social media, making their voices heard.

For 180 seconds at least, the floor is theirs. That’s got to be worth raising a glass to.

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