The appeal against the decision of the FA Alliance Committee to place Long Eaton United into the Northern Premier League East Division has been rejected.
The appeal was lodged because the Grange Park-based club is Midlands based.
Speaking about the decision to appeal on 14th May, recently appointed Chairman Nick Dargan said: "Having achieved promotion to Step 4 for the first time in the club’s history, the level of excitement from everyone associated with the club, along with the whole local community, was fantastic to see.
"However, with one decision, the mood has changed from eager anticipation to utter despair and fear of the consequences.
“We understand league allocations are complex - but at a time when the FA publicly state that, ‘the restructure will have a positive impact on a significant number of clubs, supporting them with reduced travel and costs and providing greater opportunities for generating income via localised fixtures’, allocating seven fixtures with over 200-mile round trips - four of which exceed 300 miles - cannot be right.
“We fully expected, planned and budgeted for increased travel from our promotion, but the proposed allocation just does not work.
"It is not in the best interests of the FA, the clubs in the NPL East Division, the clubs in the NPL Midlands Division, our manager, his assistants, the players, our supporters, our volunteers and our management group, as well as having a significant negative impact on the environment.
"We have notified the FA of our wish to appeal the decision and look forward to sharing our concerns with them during a personal hearing, where we will suggest what we believe to be sensible, workable alternatives that would prove to be logistically, financially and environmentally better for all concerned.”
In confirming the more recent FA decision to reject the appeal, Mr. Dargan said: “We knew there was little chance of an appeal being successful but, given the logistical and financial consequences, we felt it important on behalf of our players, management, staff and all associated with the club that we went ahead with the appeal and made the FA aware of the impact on our club.
“At a time when we are seeing raging inflation and unprecedented fuel costs, asking a Midlands based team to travel 3500 miles in an East Division rather than 2200 miles in a Midlands Division is unfortunate. We are also disappointed at the length of time the appeal process took and at the FA’s unwillingness to show pragmatism or flexibility.
“We would though like to thank the Derbyshire FA for their help, support and guidance with our appeal along with Chris Berezai of Groundhoppers UK who helped with the travel analysis that was used in support of the appeal.
“It is now up to us all to draw a line under the matter and embrace the new season in the NPL East Division. We as a Board will do all we can to support Ian Deakin, his management team, our players and our supporters in making a successful transition to Step-Four football and the challenges this new league will present.
“It goes without saying that more than ever we will need the support of the people of Long Eaton and the surrounding area. Whether as a supporter or a local business we need you to play your part in getting behind the team and the club and embracing the challenges alongside us.
“We have made even more investment into the Grange Park Stadium this summer with a massive amount of work already done and more still to do for us to be ready to go at the start of the new season. We hope you will be proud of the ongoing development and that you do all you can to fill the Stadium and get behind the team throughout the season.”