Injustice that could stop York, Carlisle and Scunthorpe being promoted

The EFL are coming under huge pressure to agree to three clubs being promoted from the National League, with a debate on the subject in the House of Commons on Thursday highlighting the moral and economic imperative of ending a bottleneck which is damaging top full-time professional sides.

Government minister Ian Murray was among those who urged the EFL to consider the strength of fan opinion on the campaign known as ‘3UP’ in an adjournment debate which pressed the case ahead of two vital EFL meetings next month.

Murray, a minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport declared: ‘I hope the EFL listen to the fans on this and see the strength of feeling on what needs to be done. The fan voice is strong on this campaign.’

The Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash – one of 50 MPs now supporting the highly-organised campaign for two automatic promotion spots – triggered the adjournment debate which pressed the case, ahead of an EFL board meeting later this month. That meeting is expected to decide the agenda for a subsequent meeting of all EFL clubs, and rule on whether 3UP will be debated by them.

Rochdale MP Paul Waugh added his voice to the argument, as the town’s top-of-the-table side push for a return to League Two, three years after they were relegated. 

Waugh said: ‘Although we may well benefit this year from going straight up, we know all too often that clubs can sometimes rack up lots of points but still not go up, as York City did last season even though they were 23 points ahead of Oldham.’ 

The National League, whose own clubs met this week, are quietly confident that the topic will be formally discussed at the EFL ‘club meeting’ and though a vote is unlikely to happen immediately, that could push the issue closer to a resolution. It is 12 months since the National League launched a 3UP campaign which has left their clubs feeling united and emboldened.

Clubs near the bottom of League Two are expected to be reluctant to vote for what would be an additional relegation spot, with the prospect of life in a highly competitive National League a fearsome prospect to them. Any side that drops into the fifth tier also loses its academy funding at the end of a second season there.

But EFL chairman Rick Parry has described the lack of three National League promotion slots as ‘indefensible’ given that there are at least that many promotions in the other four professional divisions in the pyramid. ‘We must look down as well as up,’ Parry has said.

EFL self-interest may play a part in getting a third promotion slot added. The EFL are currently seeking to get a better financial settlement from the Premier League, arguing the case for a greater distribution of wealth in British football. To be demanding more of that trickle-down funding while preventing competitive and well-run National League clubs access to the EFL would reek of hypocrisy.

After an overseas investment boom in fifth-tier clubs – Dagenham and Redbridge are under US ownership and York City’s proprietors are Canadian – one of the fears of National League administrators is that future buyers may be put off by a roadblock to the EFL.

The case for three up has also been rendered more urgent by the fact that several very strong and substantial clubs will not be promoted from the National League at the end of a highly-competitive competition this season. 

York City, who were devastated to miss out last season despite amassing 96 points, are currently second to Rochdale. Carlisle United and Scunthorpe United, both clubs with rich Football League histories, are level on points with Boreham Wood. Robbie Savage’s Forest Green Rovers are just behind them. Halifax Town, Southend United and Hartlepool United also have promotion hopes.

When a decision is taken, it seems likely that the 48 clubs who make up League One and League Two will vote on three up, with the Championship sides falling in line with the majority decision.

A Football Supporters’ Association survey showed over 93 per cent of fans backed the change, including 83 per cent of EFL fans who were approached. 

In the House of Commons on Thursday, Murray said: ‘The influence of non-league football extends far beyond the pitch. Clubs are frequently the beating heart of our communities, serving as hubs for social cohesion, education and physical activity, and bringing people and our communities together.’

Pressure on the EFL has been building in the past year by a campaign which included a ‘Day of Action’, at which National League clubs kicked off games at 3.03pm. All National League clubs also wrote to the EFL, arguing the case. 

The campaign has sought to work with the EFL rather than be at odds with its clubs. EFL owners backing 3UP have included Wrexham’s Rob McElhenney, whose club took 15 years to get promoted out of the fifth tier – eventually succeeding in 2023. A promoted National League side will earn £1.5million in their first EFL season, whereas a leading National League team will earn £150,000 without any cup runs.