National League to delay kick-offs in aid of 3UP promotion bid

8 hours ago 30

A Barnet player chases after the ball during a League Two fixture. He is wearing an orange and black kit with an advertising hoarding, fans and a coach seen standing in the background.

All National League fixtures on 15 November will kick off three minutes late as part of a campaign to grant fifth-tier clubs a third promotion place to League Two.

The English Football League (EFL) has resisted previous calls for an extra promotion spot, but the National League is continuing to push for change and will highlight the issue again next month, with all 12 fixtures on the day kicking off at 15:03 GMT.

The campaign also has the support of the 48 clubs in National League North and South.

National League chair Jack Pearce said: "Our 72 clubs simply won't accept the current circumstances blocking them from parity and fairness with all the other professional teams in England."

Every National League club wrote to the EFL board in February as part of the 3UP campaign, demanding the introduction of three promotion and relegation spots between the two leagues, beginning in the 2025-26 season.

Despite talks taking place, that failed to come to pass, with the EFL saying that it intended to wait for the newly established Independent Football Regulator (IFR) to resolve funding disagreements before making alterations.

The EFL also said any changes need to be part of a broader package of reforms across all levels of the game, but that the issue remains under consideration.

Pearce added that the weight of opinion was firmly behind the clubs.

"Since launching 3UP, we have been contacted by a remarkable number of EFL clubs who are privately supportive of the change but haven't even been given the chance as a group of clubs to formally discuss it," he said.

The change also appears to have strong support among fans.

A Football Supporters' Association poll commissioned earlier this year found 93% of fans surveyed across all divisions backed an extra promotion place from the National League to League Two, with 83% of fans who follow EFL clubs supportive.

The change in regulation would require a majority of the 72 EFL clubs to vote in favour, plus a majority among Championship clubs.