President says element of doubt is nothing new for North Caledonian Football Association
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
North Caledonian League president Iain Whitehead admits the uncertainty around Fort William’s participation next season is far from ideal – but says they are used to dealing with similar doubts.
In theory, Fort William will be one of two new additions to the division next season, alongside Clachnacuddin, after their relegation from the Highland League.
However, the Fort are disputing their demotion after pulling out of the relegation play-off.
That appeal is still ongoing, meaning that while Fort William and Clach’s application to join the North Caley FA have been accepted, the former’s participation is still subject to some doubt.
From the NCL’s perspective, it would be better to have some certainty to allow them to plan for the upcoming campaign – but thankfully the number of fixtures are not dependant on Fort.
If they are taking part, there will be 13 teams in the league, and one team will be idle every weekend. If a late decision reduces the division to 12 sides, they will play the same number of matches over the season.
“It would have been better if it was resolved before now, but obviously they have to go through a process to put the appeals committee together,” Whitehead explained,
“A lot of people think that it should have been dealt with by now, but I can understand it without knowing all the details.
“I don’t know why Fort William are pushing this, because it’s probably not going to change anything. I don’t think it will mean that they can stay in the Highland League, but it would be better if we knew exactly what the situation was.
“We have that past experience of having doubts over teams after the AGM anyway – whether they are going to stay in existence, or teams that have struggled to get a manager.
“It’s obviously better to know, but it’s not uncommon to have doubts over teams before the start of the season.
“Over the last three years, it has been pretty steady, but looking back on history when we were losing teams, you would always give them the benefit of the doubt right up until kick off.
“Fort William are like that this time around. We’re going through the process with them, and they will be a member of the North Caledonian FA, but if they decide not to play or they’re in the Highland League, it’s won’t matter too much.”
