Grounds for Complaint - Playoff-Chasing Non-League Club RELEGATED Instead by FA Over Stadia Rulings

Portishead Rage After Shock Relegation Decision

The hierarchy of high-flying non-league team Portishead Town FC have stated that they are ‘devastated’ after the FA made the decision to relegate them, despite them preparing to go into a promotion play-off.

Portishead Town FC had finished second in the Southern League Division 1 South this season, a regional division located in the 8th overall tier of English football. This was enough to grant them a place in the playoffs to grant them a space in the Southern League Premier South, found in the 7th tier or, more commonly, 'Step 3' (with levels of non-league football being referred to as steps - the Enterprise National League is Step 1).

However, the FA have not only decided to remove Portishead Town from the playoffs and replace them with 6th-placed Bishop's Cleeve, but they have also relegated them entirely down into Step 5 football after a row over their Bristol Road home ground.

Portishead Relegated Following Cruel FA Ruling

The FA have stated that Portishead's ground is not fit for purpose to play at Step 3 or Step 4 level, the latter of which they have been playing all this season. As a result, the club have to go back down to the Western League in Step 5 until improvements were made. The club appealed the decision, naturally, but following a hearing on Monday afternoon this was dismissed, sealing Portishead Town's fate.

The ground-breaking decision has not only thrown the promotion playoffs into uncertainty - fans of participating clubs have been advised last weekend not to plan trips to the matches owing to the chaos cause - but has also provided a surprise saving grace for Willand Rovers, who had been relegated on results but will stay up with Portishead taking their place.

Sad news from Step 4:

Portishead Town will not feature in the Step 4 Play-offs and will be relegated to Step 5 following Ground Grading issues.https://t.co/EPSPke7RE0

— NonLeagueHQ (@NonLeagueHQ1) April 27, 2026

The club did not mince their words in their following statement, with the club's hierarchy accusing the FA of misleading the team with reassurances that their ongoing works to improve their ground already would be sufficient and that relegation owing to their stadium conditions would not be a consideration.

The club continued by accusing the FA of going back on their word and of having revoked an extension provided of July this year to make the neccesary improvements to the ground. Portishead had planned to install new stands for supporters by the end of March, but matters beyond their control pushed the installation back to the summer, with plans to have them ready for the new season.

Portishead Seeth in Strong Statement

Portishead stated that they had asked the FA for a short extension to the deadline and were left rocked by this being refused, as well as their subsequent appeal being dismissed.

“Portishead Town FC is devastated to announce that, despite a remarkable performance on the pitch this season, the club will be relegated to Step 5,” a spokesperson said.

“In recent years, this club has expanded, flourished, and thrived at an incredible pace. As we have grown, we have relied on the football authorities to guide us through the complexities of moving up the pyramid. It is a bitter irony that we are now, effectively, a victim of our own success-penalised by a system that we trusted to support our rapid progress,” they added.

Portishead won the Western League Premier Division in 2025 after having won the Western League Division One title in 2024 and were gearing up for a third promotion on the spin. When they came up to the Southern League, the FA told them that they needed to install new stands and make improvements to the stadium so that it met the expected standards of their new division - the club claimed they had been given until the summer to make those improvements.

Club Statement ⚪️⚫️ pic.twitter.com/SnoxrJVBy0

— Portishead Town FC (@PortisheadTown) April 27, 2026

“This relegation follows a decision by the FA to revoke a previously granted extension until 31st July 2026. This revocation stems from ground grading concerns relating to stands not being installed by the end of March 2026,” the club continued.

“We wish to make it clear that stands were ordered, constructed and awaiting installation but due to outstanding unresolved health and safety matters beyond our control it would not have been safe to continue. We therefore asked for a small extension of time which would have seen all work completed by July 2026. This extension was refused.

“Throughout this process, the club followed every instruction provided by FA advisors, who encouraged us to ‘get the small things done’ and ‘apply for an extension’. We were never advised that our progress was insufficient,” the statement continued, also mentioning that, of the other ten clubs whose grounds didn’t meet the standards required, eight were granted extensions and the other two were relegated anyway owing to results so it didn’t matter.

2nd place Portishead Town are relegated due to failing to meet ground grading Deadline

📸 @puffpuff65 #nonleague #nonleaguefootball pic.twitter.com/mQNrj2dMkP

— Non League Bible (@NL_Bible) April 27, 2026

“Despite being told at the start of our appeal that this would be a ‘footballing decision’, it clearly is not,” the spokesperson for Portishead Town went on to add.

“Our appeal has since been rejected, a decision that feels like a betrayal of the spirit of the game. Regardless of local rivalries, football as a whole has lost today.

“PTFC already has plans in place-actioned and funded by our club and the local community-to complete all necessary works on our own accord by July 2026. We remain committed to achieving Step 3 grading by that date, regardless of this setback.

“To our players, management, volunteers, and supporters: we are deeply sorry. You give everything to this club and this community, and you deserved better. We are incredibly grateful for your unwavering loyalty. We will fight on. We will meet the standards required. And we will be back,” they concluded.

Southern League Defend Decision in Return Statement

The Southern League have received criticism over their own statement on the matter, in which they did not even mention the circumstances surrounding Portishead Town specifically. Instead, they meagrely confirmed that Bishops Cleeve, who finished sixth in the league and one spot outside the playoff spots, would now square off with Malvern Town in the shootout. “The appeal concerning a regulatory matter has been concluded,” the Southern League statement said.

An FA spokesperson went against parts of the Portishead Town statement, particularly around the issue of whether or not an extension had been granted to the club for the end of July to complete improvement works.

Anyone who visited Portishead Town's ground in the Southern League Division 1S this season knows that it is woefully substandard at Step 4 &, arguably, struggles to meet Step 5 grading standards. I am sorry to see this affair concluded this way, but there are reasons for rules.

— David Hughes 🦁🟢⚪ 🇺🇦 (@BaptistPilgrim) April 27, 2026

They said: "We can confirm that Portishead Town have been relegated to Step 5. This follows extensive engagement with the club on the stadium requirements for clubs competing in Step 4, which Portishead Town were unable to comply with in the required timeframe."

The FA's case against Portishead was that all clubs in the division had until the 31st of March, following a promotion, to get their stadium up to the required standard to compete at that level. Portishead's promotion last summer meant that they had come from Step 6 to Step 4 in two seasons, and needed to make upgrades to their ground.

They continued by stating that their regulations state that a club who 'fails to attain the relevant grade by March 31st' will not be eligible for promotion, nor able to participate in any playoff fixture and will be relegated to the Step immediately below their current one at the end of the campaign.