Why have Hashtag United requested to be relegated – and what happens next?

Hashtag United’s shock request to step down from the Isthmian Premier Division has quickly become one of the most talked-about stories in Non-League football this week.

Announced on Wednesday, the Step 3 club formally asked to drop down a division at the end of the season regardless of where they finish, with the Isthmian League confirming the request has now been passed to The Football Association for a final decision.

It’s a move that goes against the very fabric of football, where promotion is chased and relegation feared.

Yet Hashtag insist this is neither failure nor surrender, but a calculated step towards protecting their long-term future.

With uncertainty still surrounding how – or even if – the request will be approved, here’s everything we know so far.

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What influenced the decision?

Founder Spencer Owen says the decision has been made with the club’s long-term future in mind.

“Last Thursday, on our actual tenth anniversary, I sat in a room with our players and told them something difficult,” he said.

“So here it is. We have requested that our men’s team step down from the Isthmian Premier Division at the end of the 2025/26 season.

“Make no mistake, this is our decision. Nobody has made us do it.”

He added that the club informed players early and will continue to compete this season.

“Our aim is to avoid finishing in the bottom four spots and make this purely an administrative move,” he continued. “We are going down swinging and smiling.”

Is this about finances in Non-League football?

Owen was clear that wider issues in the game played a major role.

“The truth is, football has a problem… I think the game is broken,” he said. “Football’s governance is lacking. The finances are unsustainable at almost every level.

“For most, a club’s fortunes will be entirely linked to the depth of an owner’s pockets.

“The rules no longer prioritise what made people fall in love with the game in the first place. It’s become a victim of its own success and, in too many places, sold to the highest bidder.

“There’s no denying this year has been tough on the pitch. The reality is we’re about where we should be, given our budget, in a landscape of unprecedented spending in the seventh tier.

“Call it the Wrexham effect if you want. The truth is, there are only a handful of clubs and owners capable of doing what Ryan and Rob have done.”

Is this a step back for the club?

Hashtag insist the move is about sustainability rather than ambition.

“We want to have the best players we can and play at the highest level possible, but not at the cost of our staff’s jobs,” Owen said.

“So many teams burn out as a result of flying too close to the sun. We want players that want to play for our club.

“Wherever possible, we aim to find the players who resonate with our approach and want to be part of it.

“We want fans that support us because of what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. We have to stand for something bigger than just winning.”

What is the club hoping to achieve?

The plan is to reset at Step 4 and reinvest elsewhere in the club.

“What we’re announcing is not a retreat from competition,” Owen said. “It’s a decision about where we compete and why, so we can do it in a way that reflects who we actually are.

“We’re moving to a new ground with enormous potential. We have the ideas, the people, and the platform to do something genuinely extraordinary across our men’s team, our women’s team and the Allstars, who are only just getting started.

“The biggest risk to everything we’ve built is misallocating our resources and running out of time to use them properly. We won’t let that happen.

“I don’t want our football club to be nothing more than a reflection of my own ego or a mere servant to one person’s infatuation with the white whale that is the Premier League. I’m not sure it’s the El Dorado that so many think it is.

“Moving to Step 4 will mean significant budgetary savings that will be reinvested into other key parts of the business at a crucial time, including employing MORE people while we significantly invest in building home attendances at our new ground.

“This could be the best thing that ever happened to us, at the perfect time. This is not a relegation. It is a revolution.”

What happens next?

The final decision now lies with The FA. The Isthmian League has already said it could not speculate as to what happens next, but stated “the usual situation where a club resigns during a season is that the club is treated as a relegated club” whilst adding “the club finishing fourth from bottom is reprieved”.

For now, Hashtag United continue their season as normal.

“What comes next, we will show you rather than tell you,” Owen added. “We’ll attract plenty of naysayers, I’m sure.

“But fortunately, spending a decade running a football club called Hashtag United has made me fairly comfortable with being uncomfortable.

“The results won’t be instant; it may take some time. But we are committed to delivering on our goals and changing the game in the process.

“We are taking a big swing, but that’s the only way you get a home run. We are on a mission to make football fun again.”

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