Football matters: Round table with the FA to discuss the big Non-League issues

By Matt Badcock
The Non-League Paper and The FA are joining forces again this year for a monthly feature debating the grassroots game in all its forms – kicking off with a round table at Wembley stadium.
The NLP sat down with head of League and Club Services Laurence Jones, FA Leagues Committee chairman Ray Lewis, National League System manager Matt Edkins, former Conference champion and Glebe boss Anwar Uddin, now The Football Supporters’ Federation Diversity and Campaigns manager, and Tring Athletic’s Liam Irons, who is also capped by England Cerebral Palsy, for a lengthy discussion about Non-League football.
The agenda included why we should celebrate this level of football and the challenges it is currently facing.
Restructuring, ground grading, diversity and inclusion, finances, Non-League Finals Day as well as the thrill of playing for your country were just a few of the topics covered in an insightful and open conversation we will bring you over the coming weeks.

Benefits

We also put some of your questions to the governing body about issues that matter to NLP readers in the National League System.
Naturally a big talking point is how the Pyramid will change next season – with the addition of a new division at both Step 3 and 4 – and possibly in the future.
Jones explained how hard the FA are working to create a system that benefits leagues, clubs, players and, crucially, fans.
Jones said: “There are many challenges. I think the desire is to get to a pure Pyramid – we want to get to 1-2-4-8, I think that’s important.
“It’s the acceptance for a Pyramid to work there has to be fluidity, so clubs will get promoted and clubs will get relegated.
“While you have to be mindful of the geographical restraints around that, I think there has to be an acceptance that if you put your hand up to the National League System you do so in the full knowledge there’s going to be upward and downward movement – and, on occasions, there’s going to be sideways movement.
“The FA tries really hard when it comes to constructing leagues that geography is taken into account. So there are times when there will be lateral movements.

Expectations

“So I think meeting everyone’s expectations is the challenge, which is a very difficult thing to do because the way this country is constructed, the challenges are very different – from a metropolitan area like London or Liverpool or Manchester to greater extremities like the south-west or the north-east.
“I think most clubs get that, most leagues understand that. But that is a big challenge to meet expectations nationally because everyone will have their own view and, understandably, protect their own corner.
“We get that, of course. The role of the FA is to take a measured and reasonable view as to what the structure should be.”
The aim of the debate is to offer an insight into Non-League football and hear a range of opinions on the game we all love.
Uddin said: “The amount of clubs we come across, their professionalism, the standard of players – the way the league system is run, you wouldn’t ever think you’re that far down in terms of the whole Pyramid.
“You go across the world to other countries and they don’t have that level or organisation, even at the top level. So I think we should be very proud of our Non-League system. As an aspiring manager and someone learning their trade, it’s a fantastic place to do that.”
 
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper, which is available every Sunday and Monday