The Committee re-affirmed their intention to hold play off matches should there be more than eight clubs eligible to be promoted.

Of the fifteen leagues at Step 5, four have no clubs seeking promotion. Of the remainder it is possible that some may not have an eligible club following the grading assessments and clubs final league positions. After the initial round of assessments carried out last week it is possible that a further two leagues may not have a club eligible for promotion.

Should there only be eight Champion clubs eligible following the grading visits then all will be promoted. Should there be more than eight clubs eligible for promotion then an open draw will be held to determine the play off line up.

Should there be less than 8 eligible Champion clubs, then these will automatically be promoted and the remaining places will go to eligible 2nd placed clubs from the leagues not providing a Champion club. This may involve play offs for these clubs. Should this process still not provide eight clubs then it is likely that clubs in Step 4 relegation places will be retained at that Step, as has been the case in previous years.

FA Leagues Manager, Mike Appleby commented: "It is not practical to come up with a final proposal until the ground grading inspections have taken place and the Committee has a clearer picture of which clubs will be eligible to be considered for promotion".

"In previous seasons there was always the possibility of there being more clubs eligible for promotion than there were spaces. This season is no different, the only change will be that promotion will be decided on the field of play, by way of play offs rather than a club’s fate being decided by individuals following a grading visit. It is possible that there will not be more than 8 eligible clubs and if this is the case then there will be no need for play off matches to take place"