Uhlsport Hellenic League Division One East side Marlow United have joined Premier Division Brackley Town Saints in resigning their position in the competition.
It’s never an easy time to run a Step 5 or 6 football club, and recent events have made clubs’ futures even more uncertain.
The Buckinghamshire side won promotion back to the Hellenic at the end of the 2018/19 season but said in a statement (which can be read in full here): “The football club relies heavily on sponsorship, fundraising and match attendances. As the economy begins its recovery, which is a while away yet, there is no realistic chance of any substantial sponsorship and it may be many months before fundraising events can be held. With this in mind, there is simply no way forward for the football club at step 6 level.
“With no clear way to generate meaningful funds we had little choice other than to terminate our Hellenic League membership by the 31 March deadline and reapply to join the Thames Valley Premier League.”
External link: Read the Brackley Town Saints statement
Marlow United won nine of twenty-two matches in the Hellenic League Division One East this season before it was cut short. They look likely to return to the Thames Valley Premier League where they had been very successful in recent years.
