GROUND GRADING - HOW IT WORKS and what you need to do...
Whether your Club is seeking to achieve promotion through the non-league pyramid, or in to the 'promised land' of the English Football League, you will be required to assess the requirements specific to your target league, and ensure that you are fully aware of the implications of promotion.
In most instances, there will be well defined and explicit timeframes within which you will have to satisfy the certifying authority that you can achieve or have already achieved the required upgrades to your stadium.
At TSS, we are unique in the industry because we have combined expertise in the delivery of funding and design & build options for Clubs across the non-league pyramid and the EFL, and as such have a proximity to the regulations, which afford us the ability to propose pragmatic solutions which are not only fully compliant, but which will also future-proof your venue against any likely upcoming changes to the guidance.
Below, you will find a useful summary of the requirements whatever your position in the pyramid.
EFL GROUND GRADING REQUIREMENTS
Advice for Clubs seeking promotion from the National League...
The EFL requires that the ground occupied by a club promoted to League 2 must have a certified capacity of at least 4,000 (with the ability to be increased to 5,000) which shall include at least 500 seats (with the ability to be increased to 1,000).
By 1 May in its first season as a Member of the Football League, the club is required to have a certified capacity of 5,000 or above which shall include at least 1000 seats (with the ability to be increased to 2,000).
By 1 May in its third season as a Member of the Football League, the club is required to have a certified capacity of 5,000 or above which shall include at least 2,000 seats.
As clubs develop their ground to meet the above criteria it’s important to remember that by the end of their third season in the Football League the SGSA will require them to have brought any terracing up to the prescribed standard or take that terracing out of use which would therefore reduce the capacity of the ground.
