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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Pirie

West of Scotland League thrown into chaos as 14 clubs pull out ahead of kick-off

The West of Scotland League will still kick-off this month despite the revelation that 14 clubs plan to withdraw from the new set-up.

The majority of clubs have voted to go ahead with the current start date of October 24 despite fears of kicking off without fans and any further Covid impact.

The start was approved with in a narrow 36 to 31 vote from the 67 clubs in the Premier Division and conferences.

Martin Grehan in action for Gartcairn on his debut (Gartcairn FC)

The new tier six and seven was given the green light by the SFA and Scottish Government to kick-off on the scheduled date as the league was included in the professional sport exemption - excluding clubs from new mini-lockdown measures in amateur sport.

However, in a major blow for the leagues 14 clubs have confirmed they wish to withdraw from the divisions before a ball has been kicked.

Lanarkshire Live Sport exclusively revealed that Kilsyth Rangers had threatened to pull-out of Conference C and mothball for a year.

(Wishaw FC)

Now, 20 per cent of clubs involved in the WoSL have broken ranks with The Wee Gers.

League secretary Kennie Young confirmed a 5pm deadline on Sunday, October 11 has been set to withdraw the notice that they will be quitting or they will accept that they have withdrawn.

Young said in a statement: "As you can imagine any result was always going to have huge implications for us, but this one means we need to move on with haste.

Bellshill have saw their game today axed (wishaw press)

"The Interim Management Group (IMG) met via last night around 9PM and initial plans were discussed.

"The IMG will continue to meet over the weekend and will inform everyone of our plans ahead of a start date of Saturday October 24 as soon as we can."

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on  Facebook or find us on  Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.

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