Strength in numbers as Wolverhampton league gets ready for big return
Despite the many troubles brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the Wolverhampton Sunday League is emerging from it in an exceptionally strong state.
They are welcoming more than 20 new teams to their ranks while they plan to get back going at the start of next month.
The demand is so high, in fact, that Division Five, which had to be scrapped two years ago, has been brought back.
“We haven’t stopped working as a league,” said Phil Reade, general secretary and referees appointments officer.
“We’re planning on kicking off our season on September 6. With all the teams, it’s unbelievable.
“We’ve got 22 new teams joining the league. It has blown me away, and blown the committee away as well. We lost a few clubs last season, throughout the season, as most leagues do. Now, we’ve got 22 teams coming in, so that’s 64 clubs for next season, which is phenomenal.”
With the Covid-19 outbreak bringing such a financial hit, too, it was wondered whether so many clubs could carry on given the various fees they have to pay.
However, given the lengthy break, interest in playing has gone through the roof, and the Birmingham FA have helped lower costs for Wolverhampton Sunday League sides as well, offering free affiliation to all clubs.
“We’ve brought back Division Five, which we lost two seasons back,” said Reade.
“Some players had lost the will to play Sundays, so it has surprised us in terms of how many wanted to join the league.
“My phone has been hot all summer, really. Clubs have been ringing all the time. We’ve sent information packs and then they’ve done all the rest.
So, it’s looking very promising.”
As was the case all across grassroots, the Wolverhampton Sunday League season was cut short and teams then had to vote on how it was concluded.
In the end, 31 of the 45 teams at the time opted for campaigns to be decided on a points-per-game basis with promotion and relegation.
And Reade is looking forward to what the new season brings, as he added: “Obviously, clubs will have to follow guidelines.
“Clubs have to be sensible, sticking to social distancing rules when changing before games and things like that.
“But we’re confident we can get going again on September 6 and looking forward to seeing how the season pans out.”
