Harleston Town promoted to Thurlow Nunn League First Division North as part of restructure

Harleston Town have been promoted to the Thurlow Nunn League First Division North as part of a non-league restructure carried out by the Football Association.

To ensure that the revamp of Steps 3-6 ran smoothly, clubs were identified as candidates for promotion using the following formula implemented by the FA: "Each club will be allocated an unweighted points per game figure on the basis of its completed fixtures in both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, i.e. the club’s total points across both seasons will be added together and divided by the number of games it has played across both seasons. Clubs will then be ranked within their respective leagues on the basis of those calculations."

Those regarded to have been ranked high enough in their respective leagues were then invited to lodge an application to go up, with Harleston's performance in the Anglian Combination Premier Division during the last two Covid-19 impacted campaigns sufficient to see them elevated.

It is the second time in the club's history that Harleston have been promoted to the First Division North, having enjoyed a successful 2018/19 season at that level, only to be relegated due to ground grading issues.

They finished second to Swaffham Town, scoring more than 100 goals in the process, as well as lifting the First Division Knockout Cup. But the absence of floodlights and a couple of other requirements resulted in the FA demoting Harleston after just one term.

However, those issues have now been rectified, allowing joint bosses Nicky Howell and Jon Abbott to prepare for next term at Step 6.