Knockout plans knocked back

The Football Association has again rejected plans by the Nationwide Conference to introduce promotion play-offs at the end of next season.

Proposals to introduce a two-up, two-down system with Division Three were thrown out by the Football League's AGM last month.

But at their own AGM, the Conference responded by introducing a play-off to decide the one and only promotion place.

The plans were initially rejected by the FA and are now dead in the water after an unsuccessful representation to the FA League Sanctions and Registration Committee.

A statement from the Nationwide Conference read: "Members clubs are bitterly disappointed that once again they are unable to control their own competition with the intervention of the governing body of football.

"The board of directors and member clubs will now discuss the implications of the FA's decisions at meetings to be held in the immediate future."

They had been hoping to introduce a system where the team who finished top of the Conference qualified automatically for a final against the winner of a series of matches between clubs finishing between second and fifth.

Nationwide Conference chief executive John Moules told BBC Radio Five Live: "Football is about principals and the FA is telling us that champion clubs should always be promoted.

"We quite agree with that, but when you only have one place for going up that makes it very difficult for the competition to last the full nine months of the season.

"We are probably the most sanctioned competition under the FA. We're only allowed one up but we have to relegated three clubs.

"What we're trying to do is to take the national game forward but with only 22 voices to be heard, it's very difficult," he added.