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- Clubs to vote on temporary one-tier system for first teams plus reserve and C team league merger.
- Do you think placing Jersey’s first teams into one league for the first part of the season is a good plan? Take our poll below.
FOOTBALLERS in Jersey could play a programme of 22 league matches next season if a Jersey Football Combination proposal to put all first teams into one division is accepted by clubs.
Following the recent withdrawal of St Martin FC, and Magpies 12 months ago, the league is now top heavy with ten Premiership clubs and just six in the Championship.
JFC president Tim Darwin: ‘Yes it may mean that some clubs will struggle against the top sides, but it would also mean that the current Championship clubs would not have to be playing each other four or five times.’
In a move to get back to even numbers, with eight playing in each division, it is proposed to put the 16 clubs into one division in the forthcoming season.
They would all play each other once before a split would be made, in mid-January, with the top eight clubs then playing a further round of games in the Premiership and the bottom eight doing likewise in the Championship.
If accepted, the move would give all clubs four league matches more than last season, and the league season would start a couple of weeks earlier – when Charity Cup matches are being played in August.
The proposal also includes the reserve and C teams being taken into consideration.
Division I would include all of last season’s clubs, plus the two promoted from Division II, while the remaining Division II clubs would be joined by the C teams, the latter who cannot win promotion or play in the same division as their club’s reserve team.
Combination president Tim Darwin, who steps down from the role at the JFC’s annual general meeting on 20 July, said: ‘With the imbalance of clubs competing in the divisions, the reduced number of C teams and players wanting more games, we have put this proposal together for the clubs to decide on how they would like to proceed.
- Merge the 16 Premiership and Championship clubs into one division for the first round of fixtures.
- After 15 games (one against each team), the top eight will move into the Premiership, while the bottom eight will form the Championship.
- Clubs will then play one more round of fixtures in their respective division, with promotion and relegation applying ahead of the 2016/17 season.
- For reserve and C teams, Division I will comprise all of last season’s clubs (plus the two promoted sides), while Division II will feature the remaining reserves and all C teams.
‘However in my opinion, and in the opinion of the JFC executive, this proposal appears to tick all of the boxes.
‘Yes it may well mean that some clubs will struggle against the top sides, but it would also mean that the current Championship clubs would not have to be playing each other four or five times.’
If the proposal is approved promotion or relegation would still apply after the mid-season split, and the 2016/17 season would then begin with two divisions of eight. However, the door could be open for clubs to elect to play in a 16-club division annually and split in to two divisions for the final seven league matches each season.
Should clubs not vote in favour of the new proposal they would remain with ten in the top fight and six in the Championship next season – with a plan to level the divisions to eight apiece by adjusting promotion and relegation.
