Frome Town update FA Trophy, promotion & relegation, finances and the season ahead

As we reach the end of January, we at Frome Town FC thought it was right to provide an update on the current club situation regarding a number of areas. Including our thoughts on the current league situation.

FA Trophy support

Since we last issued a statement, we can confirm that we have reached an amicable resolution with the FA regarding our exit from the competition. We look forward to trying to match and better our progress in the competition next season.

League decision and survey

At this point we have been contacted by the Southern league regarding the potential conclusion to this season. We are in agreement that for the safety of all players, staff and supporters, that football should not return until it is safe to do so. That includes the ability to have fans and an open clubhouse for any games. 

The league has offered a range of options and as a club, we hope that you support our decision to back #ProjectNonLeague’s proposal. This includes in the proposal that the FA should press on with the planned restructuring of the divisions, allowing clubs to fill the team gaps throughout the non-league pyramid. 

This proposal ensures that no team will be relegated from any division and that clubs based on a number of criteria should be considered for promotion. This seems to us as fair proposal that ensures clubs can take some heart from the two affected seasons.  

The clubs promoted will be judged on their points per game () over the two seasons, their structure and financial position. Clubs would be invited to apply for these “promotions” as to not enforce a promotion on a club that deems itself not ready.  

If we are invited to apply, the club would be looking to take this option to return back to the Southern League Premier League.

Club finances

The club is in a safe position considering our situation 9 months ago, however we are not in a position where we can look to ‘dig in’ until August. We have a well-managed budget well, but are still working on overcoming our substantial inherited liabilities which are still in the process of being resolved.

We as a board are working with a number of bodies in regards to securing grants to help support the club potentially through the next 6/7 months. We will keep everyone informed of this progress and we are hopefully of receiving some income through this route.  

We are blown away by the support for the club’s 50:50 prize draw, as this money is helping us to service the club with the ongoing costs regardless of the lack of football at the Robin’s Nest. If you’ve not yet joined, please take the time to consider how your small contribution can help the club. 

Merchandise & shirts

Although our Junior T-shirts are now in stock. We are still sad to state that our order with Puma is still undelivered. With their production in Europe, we have been disappointed that it is now 5 months on from the fans’ order point. We will continue on with the order and will be awaiting the delivery. If you wish a refund please contact us via the website.

With this in mind, we are able to confirm that we will be continuing on with the 20/21 matchday shirts into 21/22. So that fans will be able to get longer to enjoy their shirts when they arrive.  

Next season

Whilst everything is still at an uncertain stage, we will be making further statements once we have some more news. We will look to provide an update as soon as we can. However we can state that we will be offering our season ticket holders, player sponsors and sponsors a range of options based on each individual situation.

Questions

If you have any questions or need any further information, let us know and we’ll come back to you.