West Cumbria’s two Sunday leagues based in Workington and Egremont are to merge for the new 2023/24 season.
The merger has been discussed for a while now and it is hoped it will support the existing structure and develop new opportunities for players in the west of the county!
A potential merger was first brought to the attention of Cumberland FA in July 2022, with the west-based leagues keen to support their teams and future proof Sunday football for their players.
Following a number of initial meetings with the respective leagues, actions were agreed to explore the possibility of the merger one of which was to lead a consultation with managers and players.
Cumberland FA’s football development officer Ray Sempill said: “In March, and before moving forward with the merger, we asked managers and players across both leagues for their views.
“As a result 95 per cent of existing member club managers and over half of registered, regular players completed our survey and it was it was clear from the results that most members were in favour of a full merger of the Sunday leagues in West Cumbria.”
As well as the merger question, the consultation also included views on kick off times, among other things. With both leagues kicking off at different times – morning and afternoon kick-offs – it was vital to get the views of the current players and managers.
During consultation, it was clear that while the league will kick off at 11am the clubs were all in favour of the merger, they would like to retain some of the history behind the respective leagues; both of which have been an integral part of West Cumbrian footballing life for a long period of time.
A quarter of managers said they preferred to preserve some regional cup competitions for the teams within the league. Therefore, the new league will be retaining some of the regionalised cup competitions going forward.
Following the consultation, Cumberland FA analysed the results and then met with the Egremont and District Sunday League, the Workington and District Sunday League and West Cumbria Youth League in April to discuss them and agree actions ahead of the meeting with member clubs of both leagues in May.
A recent meeting saw Cumberland FA meet with representatives of both current league committees to discuss detail and the way forward.
Many other preferences have been highlighted by members during the consultation process. CFA staff and the respective committees are working hard behind the scenes to try to accommodate the suggestions where possible, whilst also considering the wider grassroots community.
Ray said: “The aim of the new West Cumberland Sunday League is to retain most of the foundations that have made the Egremont and Workington Leagues so successful over the years, at the same time also trying to adapt elements to suit the modern player.
“While we don’t expect this new league to counteract all the reasons for adult male Sunday team numbers recently declining, we hope that this new league will help Sunday football to grow and become a more exciting prospect for adult players in West Cumbria.”
