A non-league club has been kicked out of the promotion play-offs and relegated following a dispute with the Football Association as the club furiously slammed ‘betrayal’ by the FA
Officials at a successful non-league football club near Bristol have expressed their devastation after the Football Association imposed relegation upon them, just as they were preparing for a promotion play-off campaign.
Portishead Town secured second place in the Southern League Division 1 South this season and were set to embark on a play-off campaign where they were tipped as favourites to achieve promotion to the Southern League Premier South, at what is recognised as Step 3 of the football pyramid.
Instead, the FA have not only excluded Portishead Town from the play-offs, substituting them with the sixth-placed team, but have also demoted them to Step 5 for next season, following a disagreement over the club’s Bristol Road ground.
The FA determined that Portishead Town’s ground does not meet the required standards for Step 3 or Step 4 football – the tier at which they have participated throughout this season – meaning the club must drop to the Western League and Step 5 until the necessary upgrades are completed.
The club submitted an appeal, but following a hearing on Monday, April 27, that appeal was rejected and Portishead Town were left to accept their punishment.
The decision has plunged the promotion play-offs into chaos – with fans of affected clubs warned over the weekend against booking travel to matches due to the uncertainty – and has also provided an unforeseen reprieve to Willand Rovers, who had thought they were heading for relegation, as Portishead Town will now drop in their stead.
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In a sharply-worded statement, club officials alleged the FA had misled them by offering guarantees that all their ground enhancement work would be sufficient, while neglecting to warn them that demotion would result if standards weren’t achieved.
Portishead Town claimed the FA had gone back on their word and withdrawn an extension they had approved to a July deadline for finishing the improvements.
The club explained they had intended to erect new spectator stands by the end of March, but owing to factors beyond their influence, installation would now occur during the summer and be finalised before the new season.
The club disclosed it had sought a short extension to the deadline, and were stunned when this was refused, with an appeal against the decision later dismissed.
“Portishead Town FC is devastated to announce that, despite a remarkable performance on the pitch this season, the club will be relegated to Step 5,” a spokesperson said. “In recent years, this club has expanded, flourished, and thrived at an incredible pace.
“As we have grown, we have relied on the football authorities to guide us through the complexities of moving up the pyramid. It is a bitter irony that we are now, effectively, a victim of our own success-penalised by a system that we trusted to support our rapid progress,” they added.
Portishead Town had expected to challenge for their third successive promotion, having secured the Western League Division One championship in 2024 before claiming the Western League Premier Division title in 2025.
Upon advancing to the Southern League, the FA notified them that new stands required installation and ground upgrades needed completion to satisfy Southern League criteria, with the club believing it had until this summer to finalise those works.
“This relegation follows a decision by the FA to revoke a previously granted extension until 31st July 2026. This revocation stems from ground grading concerns relating to stands not being installed by the end of March 2026,” the club declared.
Club representatives maintained they were on track to complete the improvements this summer, but their FA appeal proved unsuccessful.
“We wish to make it clear that stands were ordered, constructed and awaiting installation but due to outstanding unresolved health and safety matters beyond our control it would not have been safe to continue. We therefore asked for a small extension of time which would have seen all work completed by July 2026. This extension was refused
“Throughout this process, the club followed every instruction provided by FA advisors, who encouraged us to ‘get the small things done’ and ‘apply for an extension’.
“We were never advised that our progress was insufficient,” the statement said, highlighting that amongst the other ten clubs whose grounds failed to meet the required standards, eight were granted extensions while the remaining two were relegated anyway, making the issue irrelevant.
“Despite being told at the start of our appeal that this would be a ‘footballing decision’, it clearly is not,” the spokesperson for Portishead Town added.
“Our appeal has since been rejected, a decision that feels like a betrayal of the spirit of the game. Regardless of local rivalries, football as a whole has lost today.
“PTFC already has plans in place-actioned and funded by our club and the local community-to complete all necessary works on our own accord by July 2026. We remain committed to achieving Step 3 grading by that date, regardless of this setback.
“To our players, management, volunteers, and supporters: we are deeply sorry. You give everything to this club and this community, and you deserved better. We are incredibly grateful for your unwavering loyalty. We will fight on. We will meet the standards required. And we will be back,” they added.
The Southern League issued a statement that made absolutely no mention of what had transpired at Portishead Town. It merely confirmed that Bishops Cleeve, who ended sixth in the final league table – one spot beyond the play-off places – would now meet Malvern Town in the play-offs. “The appeal concerning a regulatory matter has been concluded,” the Southern League statement read.
An FA spokesperson disputed parts of the statement issued by Portishead Town, especially regarding whether an extension until the end of July had been agreed to finish the essential work.
The spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Portishead Town have been relegated to Step 5. This follows extensive engagement with the club on the stadium requirements for clubs competing in Step 4, which Portishead Town were unable to comply with in the required timeframe.”
The FA’s stance was that all clubs had until 31st March following a promotion to bring their ground up to the standard needed to compete at that level. Portishead Town’s promotion last summer meant they jumped from Step 6 to Step 4 within two seasons, requiring substantial stadium upgrades. The FA clarified that its rules stipulate that if a club ‘fails to attain the relevant grade by March 31′, it will not be eligible for promotion or to participate in any play-off match, and will be relegated to the Step immediately below at the end of the season’.
The FA disputed the claim to Bristol Live that its officers had granted Portishead Town an extension until July – stating this only pertained to dressing room enhancements, not the necessary upgrades to the ground’s infrastructure and new stands.
Bristol Live has learned that the FA’s committee did not receive proposals for stadium improvements prior to the decision being made, and the verdict followed ‘an extensive engagement and consultation period between the stadium accreditation team and the club over the course of the 2025-26 season’.