THE North Gloucestershire League could drop a division ahead of next season to counteract the loss of sides mid-season.

Last year’s Division Two runners-up Redside were one of three teams to fold this season, alongside reserve sides at Soudley and Viney St Swithins.

League secretary Roger Sansom admitted the move from five divisions to four is on the agenda but a decision will not be made until the committee and clubs meet at the annual general meeting in June.

“It’s something we’ve discussed,” he confirmed.

“I think it was more or less a consequence of losing three sides in Redside, Soudley Reserves and Viney Reserves.

“There don’t seem to be enough players to go around at the moment.

“We want to be able to provide clubs with enough fixtures. We’ve had a good winter but some teams have finished their seasons already.

“Normally we’re well into mid-April and on mid-week fixtures so with teams dropping out and fixtures not being fulfilled it’s something we’re looking at.

“It’s not a definitive decision and we need to see what teams will look at entering the league or if more will drop out.

“We won’t get a clearer picture on that until the AGM in June. There has been talk about it but nothing to be decided at this stage.”

Rumours have swirled that Staunton & Corse FC may look to rejoin the league from the Cheltenham League in the summer, while controversy surrounds a newly-crowned champion.

Runaway Division Four winners Sedbury United were removed from the FJ Pope Cup this weekend, as both Blakeney Reserves and Tidenham Reserves were reinstated having been knocked out by United.

But Sansom said he couldn’t comment on why Sedbury were kicked out of the competition due to an ongoing appeal by the club to the Gloucestershire FA.

“It’s just something that we discovered but I can’t comment on it while the appeal is ongoing,” he said.

“We reinstated the two sides so that at this stage of the season we could organise the cup finals. It’s a messy situation.”

Sedbury United representatives were unavailable for comment when contacted by The Forester.