GILLFORD PARK FC
Gillford Park Stadium, Carlisle and District Railway Club, off Petterill Bank Road, Carlisle, CA1 3AF
Tel: 07717 103666 (Secretary)

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14th December 2007
Gillford Park bid to create history

Gillford Park Football Club have made history by becoming the first Carlisle club to apply for promotion from the Northern Alliance.

They are currently in third place in the Northern Alliance Premier Division and have submitted an application to The FA and the Northern League to be promoted into the Northern League Second Division should their stadium meet ground grading regulations and the team finish in a promotion spot.

If they are promoted they will join fellow Cumbrian club Penrith Town in the Northern League set up, and would be allowed to enter The FA Vase and FA Cup. They would become the first club to bring Northern League football to the city of Carlisle, something which has always been stated as their main ambition since their formation just over two years ago.

Club secretary Mike Linden said: “As a club, this is certainly the most challenging thing we have attempted. If you take time to think about it, it’s a quite frightening prospect.

“We discussed it at a meeting of the committee on Monday night and it is symbolic of the support and determination at the club that all present felt that we should apply. A big concern is the additional costs of running the club if we manage to secure promotion, but with the support of our loyal band of sponsors and supporters I am sure we can push on through.”

Gillford Park are one of only three clubs in the Northern Alliance Premier who have Northern League standard grounds, and are the only team in the promotion places who, at the moment, could be accepted into the league.

If they were promoted ‘The Park’ would be required to erect floodlights at their Gillford Park Stadium within a year. They have been assigned a project manager by the Football Foundation and are currently undergoing the initial assessments of an application to the foundation for a ‘stadia improvement grant’ which will fund the erection of lights.