Inverness City denied promotion
Bught Park, where Inverness City were hoping to play Super League football next season.
NEW North Junior Football Division One Inverness City have been denied promotion to the Super League.
North League officials decided on Sunday night not to promote this year's champions for a second successive season because they have no permanent home ground. Last year, City finished second and were also denied the step up to the Super League for the same reason.
As we revealed online last week, the decision is likely to now throw the future of the club into disarray. It seems that, despite working with Highland Council to find a pitch at the city's Bught Park, this could not satisfy officials at the North's annual general meeting of the Scottish Junior Football Association.
The club have been switching games between the Northern Meeting Park, Nairn’s Showground pitches and Grant Street Park in Inverness.
Last week, chiefs from the SJFA met representatives of the club, which clinched the championship last Tuesday, as well as Highland Council officials to find a way to find a solution.
With rejection looking likely again, City boss Stevie Graham told us last week: “Everyone is so down at the club, it’s unbelievable. There are some tough decisions to be made now for Inverness City. Can we carry on if this keeps happening? That’s a decision we’ll have to make, as a club.”
The boss added that the cricket season is being extended, meaning Northern Counties, who play out of the Meeting Park, as the principal users of the ground, have main access to it later in the summer.
Rock bands Simple Minds and Big Country are also due to take to the stage at the Meeting Park this year, so chances of football fixtures taking place there seem limited.
Mr Johnston, secretary of the Scottish Junior Football Association, said: "Proposals were made by Highland Council back in February that they would offer facilities at the Bught Park to Inverness City. But no substantive work at all has been done since that February meeting.
"The minimum criteria to meet the requirements of the Northern clubs is an enclosed park with a barrier round it, and changing facilities in close proximity. Having decided that Inverness City could get the use of the Bught Park, it's very disappointing that nothing has happened since then. The council knew at that time that these thing would need to be done.
It was decided at Sunday's meeting of the North Region of the SJFA not to promote City, who needed assurances from the council that work on a Bught Park pitch could be completed by August 1.
