Bulls Hoping For Promotion After Season Ends Early Again

Jersey Bulls are hoping to be promoted within a restructure of the National League system - after the Combined Counties season was declared null and void for the second year in a row.

Gary Freeman's side only played five matches in the 2020/2021 campaign - winning all of them.

The last game was on 10 October.

The season was then suspended when England went into lockdown. Matches resumed in early December when the lockdown ended, but the Bulls decided not to play 'to protect the health and safety of their players, management team and fellow islanders'.

The country then went back into lockdown, with the English FA deciding to survey clubs in steps 3 to 6 of the National League system to see if they wanted the season to continue or be curtailed.

The FA says 76% of teams across all divisions indicated a preference to end the season now, if it couldn't restart with spectators or hospitality before 1 April.

"During this process, taking into account views of clubs and leagues, it was decided that extending the 2020-21 league season beyond the end of May 2021 would not be a viable option. This was due to various considerations, including the financial implications for many clubs, player contracts, and the extent of the fixture scheduling issues caused by the national lockdown and various postponements which had resulted in there being 81 per cent of matches left to complete for Steps 3 and 4, and 75 per cent at Steps 5 and 6. 

"Taking into account the survey results and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, which continues to adversely affect incomes for clubs due to restrictions on both spectators and hospitality, our alliance and leagues committees have reached a consensus that, subject to the approval of FA Council, the 2020-21 league season for Steps 3-6 of the NLS should be curtailed with immediate effect, with no further league matches taking place this season."

The Bulls technically won promotion last season after winning all league matches, but that campaign was also written off and the club had to stay in the same division.

A potential restructure of Steps 4 to 6 has been on hold since the 2019/2020 season. The English FA and FA Council are due to 'revisit discussions' on that 'in due course'.

Jersey Bulls says it will look to apply for a promotion, if that option became available.

It has been confirmed that Jersey Bulls’ season has been declared Null and Void ⛔️

The FA are considering a possible restructure and we can confirm we would be applying for a promotion if that option is available to us ⚽️

Find more reaction below ⤵️https://t.co/bGnjkwYnqT

— JerseyBullsFC (@jersey_bulls) February 24, 2021