THE North West Counties League have left the door ajar for a newly-formed Chester club to kick-off a new campaign in August.
Chester City were expelled from the Football Conference at a specially convened meeting at Rushden and Diamonds’ Nene Park ground on Friday after breaching five league rules.
The Vaughan family, who still own the football club, have expressed their wish to continue trading as a company despite facing a winding up order from the HM Revenue and Customs on March 10 due to an unpaid tax bill.
The Vaughans are believed to be investigating the possibility of ground-sharing with Welsh Premier League club TNS, or re-starting life in the Unibond League.
But newly-formed Chester supporters group, City Fans United, are in the process of trying to create a new club after meeting representatives from AFC Telford, AFC Wimbledon, FC United of Manchester, and Supporters Direct.
Revealing that no application had yet been made to join any league, CFU spokesman Jeff Banks aid: “City Fans United have not applied to join any league, and we will not be applying to join any league while the current football club still exist.
“The CFU are continuing to work closely with Supporters Direct in relation with our future plans, and they have agreed to help guide us along with the FA to look at which league we can join.
“The CFU believe that they can start in a higher league than the North West Counties League, possibly in the Unibond Premier, or in Unibond Division One North or South.
“We are also staging ongoing meetings with the local council in conjunction with the possibility of leasing the Deva Stadium.”
North West Counties League secretary John Deal has urged the club to get in touch for guidance and assistance if Chester are wanting to be part of the non-league pyramid.
He said: “We were contacted by an individual representing a club called FC Chester on January 11, asking if we as a League would accept a new club and asking for the League’s point of view.
“We confirmed that this would not be a problem, as FC United of Manchester, AFC Liverpool and Runcorn Linnets have followed this route in recent years, but we informed him of the initial steps they would need to take if a newly formed club was aiming to play in our Division One next season.
“A new club would need to be affiliated to a County FA, produce a business plan, seek approval from the FA Leagues Committee to bypass the normal entry level at Step Seven and obtain a ground up to the minimum standard of Grade G.
“Once this criteria has been met, the new club could be presented to the league’s member clubs at the AGM in June to seek election to our league, subject to there being vacancies, and after promotion issues with the Step Seven Leagues have been satisfied.
“As there are five vacancies at present and only three applications from Step Seven clubs this should not present a problem.
“We also passed details of the enquiry to Mike Appleby, the FA National Leagues manager, to make him aware of the interest.
“Since then, we have had no contact from them at all, but we have been contacted by both newspapers and radio stations, asking if a newly formed club from Chester will be playing in our league next season.
“As it stands at the moment, the answer is no, as we have had no contact from anyone in Chester since the initial enquiry.
“However, if there is an intention that a new club is formed and the founders are interested in joining our League, we would urge them to get in contact as soon as possible, and we will be happy to provide any guidance and assistance they may require.”