By Alex Hoad

Football clubs in Kent have nothing to fear from registering their interest in jumping up the non-league ladder to form a new step 6 division.

That is the message from the FA’s leagues and clubs manager Mike Appleby, who said teams from local leagues and the Kent County League needn’t be concerned about the cost of ground improvements needed to compete at a new level, just below the current Kent League Premier Division.

Mr Appleby is appealing for clubs to register their interest in forming a new division, with a steering committee set to meet for the first time next month as the process gathers pace after years on the drawing board.

Mr Appleby said: "The problem we have is the Kent League is very successful at pushing clubs up to step four and beyond.

"It is losing teams at the top and there is nothing really coming back down or through at the bottom. It could be a problem in four or five years."

Mr Appleby has stated that more than a dozen teams need to register their interest in the idea to make it viable.

He said: "If there are insufficient clubs interested in making it happen then it can’t happen. In my opinion it will only work if we have 14-16 clubs interested.

"We don’t want clubs to fear anything about the cost implications of playing at a higher level and the necessary ground facilities.

"We can give three to five years as a lead-in period. We would not expect everything to be done in year one. It might be that a club could reach point A in season one, point B in season two, C in three, and so on.

"In time it might even be that the whole thing is not viable and the entire grading system across the country needs to be re-assessed."

Mr Appleby said the FA had stepped in to speed up negotiations between the Kent League and the Kent County League and would continue to oversee the process in case it is further delayed.

He said: "We got involved when we felt the situation wasn’t going anywhere. We want all the parties to cut the talking and get on with it.

"Kent has a genuine desire to do something. It is definitely the will of the leagues, there are just things which need to be ironed-out.

"We have set up a steering committee charged with the task of making it happen. We have asked the KCFA to provide an independent chairman with no ties to either of the parties and also carry out the secretarial duties.

"The first meeting is due to be next month and there will be more of a structure after that. We want the two parties to do this themselves.

"If things are stalling we might say ‘you’re not doing anything here’ and step in, but the FA can’t run leagues."

Mr Appleby admitted that the main hurdle was deciding whether the new division would be officially part of the Kent League, part of the Kent County League or an entirely new league altogether.

He said: "That is the stumbling block. Either the leagues will have to agree to merge or we will have to introduce an entirely new league which covers step five, six and seven.

"My own personal view is that it should be a totally new league. But then you have the problem of what to call it - you can’t call it either the Kent League or the Kent County League. It would have to be something entirely different.

"We have to do the spade work now. It would be 2011/12 before we could introduce anything. We don’t want to rush anything. We want to get it right."