THE FUTURE of the proposed merger between the Western League and the South West Peninsula League has been thrown into doubt following an exchange of statements put out by the two administrations, writes Josh Goodman.

The two competitions were supposed to become one upon the conclusion of the 2022-23 season with the merger creating the Western Peninsula League.

In their statement, which was posted to the South West Peninsula League’s Twitter account, Phil Hiscox wrote that the offer from Western League representatives to have him doing the administrative work at Step 6 would not be ‘something I could ever agree to as it is both insulting to my experience, would create a two-tier system that is unfair on the clubs, and a flagrant breach of the promise John [Pool, Western League chairman] made at the very start of this journey.’

The Western League retorted with: ‘The merger between the two leagues was always intended to bring together the best of both leagues and whilst a huge amount of progress has been made, talks broke down over the roles and responsibilities that will sit at the heart of the new league’s administration.’