Kendal Town fail in appeal against move into Northern League

Kendal Town FC will play in a predominantly North East based league next season after an appeal against their move failed.

The Mintcakes were relegated from the Northern Premier League into the North West Counties League in 2023, but after a strong season, narrowly missed out on a play off place on the final day of the season.

Both the North West Counties League and the Northern League sit on the same step of the non-league pyramid system, but the make up of the Northern League and Kendal Town’s South Cumbrian location means a number of lengthy away trips, predominantly to the North East.

The North West Counties League contains clubs mainly in Lancashire, Merseryside and Greater Manchester.

A spokesperson for Kendal Town, who play their home games at their stadium on Parkside Road, said they were shocked by the decision.

In a statement, the club said: ‘’Kendal Town FC have today been informed by the FA that the appeal against our lateral move to the Ebac Northern League has been rejected.

‘’This has come as somewhat of a shock. We believed we put forward a strong case and felt the appeal went well - with a number of key points being acknowledged and accepted by the panel. It would seem numbers in the respective leagues has been the driving force and not what is best/appropriate for clubs.

‘’As a club, we now face at least one season in the Ebac Northern League, and in order to get back to our natural geography, we need to be promoted.

‘’Our management team and all club officials have committed to Kendal Town for the 2024/25 season.

‘’We're now challenging the people of Kendal to unite behind us in our attempt to get promotion from the Ebac Northern league to the Northern Premier League West and return to where we've always enjoyed our football.’’