Northern Premier League

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Overdue Promotion finally Granted for Motormen

Vauxhall Motors have finally been promoted after the FA announced that the club will move up a tier following a reorganisation of the non-league system.

The Rivacre Park club has been denied promotion for the past three seasons despite barely losing a game during that period.

The last two campaigns have been declared ‘null and void’ due to the fallout of coronavirus, even though Motors had already secured a promotion spot in 2019/20 before the season was canned.

Vauxhall were once again on target to move up to the fifth tier of the non-league system this season, but despite another campaign being cut short, they will now finally reach the North West Counties League Premier Division.

Club vice-chairman Alan Bartlam said “ This is great news. We did expect to be uplifted but until you actually hear the news nothing is certain.

“Mick and his squad fully deserve this promotion and hopefully will be the start of some great times ahead for our club.”

A statement on the FA website said: “We can now confirm that the National League System (NLS) restructure at Steps 4-6 has been completed and the club allocations for the 2021-22 season have been confirmed, subject to FA Council ratification.

“The restructure will see 107 clubs in total upwardly moved within the pyramid at Steps 4-6 in order to facilitate the new divisions, with a new additional division at Step 4 and two additional new divisions at Step 5 and a reduction of divisions, from 20 to 17, at Step 6.

“The restructure will have a positive impact on a significant number of clubs, supporting them with reduced travel and costs and providing greater opportunities for generating income via localised fixtures.

“We would like to thank all of the clubs across the National League System for their hard work and effort in completing their applications for upwards movement and we look forward to welcoming them back for the 2021-22 season.”

Some teams of note that Motors will now face next season include AFC Liverpool, phoenix club Macclesfield FC, Northwich Victoria and Runcorn Town.