After moving laterally from the NCEL to the North West Counties League (NWCFL) for 2019/20 it was a new adventure for Emley, who played in the NCEL for 14 years before the controversial move last summer.

In a single season in the league, Emley visited places stretching from Cleator Moor Celtic, right at the edge of the Lake District to Oswestry on the Welsh borders for a league cup tie. They were also due to visit local rivals Shelley and Golcar but were denied as the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Initially disappointed by the move, Emley embraced it and found themselves sitting a great position, poised to clinch promotion when the pandemic curtailed everything and the season was ended and results expunged. The club is now eager to get going and hopefully continue where they left off.

Interim Chairman, Andrew Painten, said: “We submitted a very strong application, backed by a dossier of evidence, to be returned to the NCEL. We have lobbied hard over many months and I’m very pleased the FA have now granted our wishes. We’re a Yorkshire club - the previous Emley were stalwarts in the Yorkshire League and a founder member of the NCEL - so it’s good to be back ‘home’.”

"We were made very welcome by the clubs in the NWCFL and we wish everyone we managed to meet on our travels the very best of luck. My personal thanks to committee member Ian Mason who supported me with the application.”

Separately, the FA has also revealed they hope the season can start at Step 6 in early September, with friendlies permissible from 1st August - currently behind closed doors. The club are currently working through all the requirements to make sure when we play again, we do so in a way that minimises the risk to players, management, match officials, volunteers and spectators.