Bury AFC and FC Isle of Man are among eleven clubs who've had applications accepted to join the North West Counties Football League for season 2020/21.
FC Isle of Man have had ambitions to play on the mainland like fellow islanders Guernsey and Jersey for a number of years.
Fans have formed Bury AFC following the demise of the now defunct League One Shakers earlier this season after they were expelled from the EFL.
The phoenix club's application was confirmed by the NWCFL in a statement on Friday before chairman Chris Murray was interviewed on BBC 5live, giving his reaction to the new to Tony Livesey
Unaffiliated to Bury FC which still exists as a company and defaulted on a plan to help settle its debts with creditors last week, the club applied to join the NWCFL in December.
Like most competitions, the NWCFL give clubs until 31 March to meet certain criteria including ground-grading to be considered for a 10th-tier place.
Bury AFC are believed to have secured a home to play at next season and read The Non-League Paper on Sunday for the full story and reaction to the news.
Bury AFC's official Twitter account already has more than 7,000 followers on Twitter and by Friday night was happily posting news of their application alongside a series of hashtags including #FridayFeeling, #WeWillBeBack and #phoenixrises.
The post read: “This confirms our belief that we are the only team currently with an application in to play football in Bury next season. BRING. IT. ON.”
The clubs applying to the NWCFL from Step 7 are:
- Allscott (West Midlands Region League)
- Ashville (West Cheshire League)
- Crewe (Cheshire League)
- Egerton (Cheshire League)
- Foley Meir (Staffordshire County Senior League)
- Ilkley Town (West Yorkshire League)
- South Liverpool (West Cheshire League)
- Stockport Georgians (Manchester League)
- Wellington Amateurs (West Midlands Regional League):
- Bury AFC
- FC Isle of Man
Make sure you get your copy of The Non-League Paper on Sunday for the latest news and action from across Non-League over the last seven days.
As well as exclusive match reports and pictures from all of Saturday's fixtures in the Vanarama National League, the BetVictor-Sponsored Isthmian League, Southern League and Northern Premier League, The Non-League Paper's live coverage extends all the way to Steps 5 and 6.
Images courtesy nwcfl.com
