The Cornall FA has announced that its new Cornish league at Step 7 of the National League System will be called the St. Piran Football League.

The organisation has revealed the name as part of an update surrounding the proposed restructure of football and the National League System in Cornwall and Devon, and in particular the creation of the new Cornish league at Step 7.

The new league comes as part of a wider change in the structure of Cornish football, which is headlined by the creation of two South West Peninsula League Premier divisions - one for the east of the region (i.e. Devon) and one for the west (i.e. Cornwall), which will replace the current single Premier division that covers the two counties.

Below that will be three Step 7 divisions to replace the current two SWPL Division 1 East and West divisions. One of these three will cover Cornwall, with the other two covering Devon.

The Cornwall FA statement reads: "The South West Peninsula League will now operate two Divisions of 20 teams at Step 6 of the National League System, sitting below that at Step 7 will be three leagues comprising 16 teams. One league will consist of teams based in Cornwall, one league will consist of teams based in North and East Devon, one league will consist of teams based in South and West Devon.

"All teams who submitted an expression of interest to participate in the new league will be required to submit a formal application to Cornwall FA no later than February 24th 2019. All relevant clubs have been sent guidance on what this entails.

"For a club to be accepted into the league they must meet the minimum Ground Grading requirements for Step 7 of the National League System or following a ground grading inspection be able to demonstrate they will be able to meet the minimum requirements by March 31st 2021. Failure to meet the minimum requirement will result in automatic relegation.

Of the 16 teams who will comprise the Step 7 League in Cornwall no more than 50% may be reserve teams of clubs competing at Step 6 or above of the National League System."

How will the members of the new league be decided?

The Cornwall FA has also announced the method of allocating teams to the new St. Piran Football League, which is shown below:

Priority 1 – Any Cornish teams currently competing at Step 6 or 7 of the National League System who are either unsuccessful with their application to play at Step 6 of the National League System or who have applied to play specifically at Step 7.

Priority 2 – Cornish teams competing in the LWC Drinks Cornwall Combination League or the Mortgage Advice Bureau East Cornwall Premier League Premier Division who have submitted an official application – Entry will be decided using a points per game ratio.

Priority 3 – Cornish teams competing in the Mortgage Advice Bureau East Cornwall League Division 1 who have submitted an official application

Priority 4 – Cornish teams competing in The JJ Jones Duchy League and Whirlwind Sports Trelawny League who have submitted an official application - Entry will be decided using a points per game ratio with priority going to teams in higher divisions of the respective leagues

Teams will only be considered from priority 3 and 4 should there be insufficient numbers to create a league of 16 from those teams in Priority 1 and 2.

Who will be in the new league?

The Cornwall FA also announced which teams registered their interest for the new division prior to the December 31, 2018 deadline.

Those who registered their interest are shown below:

SWPL Division 1 West: Bude Town, Ludgvan.

Cornwall Combination League: Falmouth Town Reserves, Hayle, Helston Athletic Reserves, Illogan RBL, Penryn Athletic, Perranporth, Perranwell, Porthleven Reserves, St Agnes, St Day, St Ives Town, St Just.

East Cornwall Premier League Premier Division: AFC St Austell Reserves, Liskeard Reserves, Millbrook Reserves, Polperro, Saltash United Reserves, Torpoint Athletic Reserves, Wadebridge Town Reserves

ECPL Division 1: Morwenstow, Newquay Reserves, St Stephen.

Trelawny League: Mousehole Reserves

Duchy League: Calstock, Foxhole Stars, North Petherwin, Sticker Reserves, St Dennis Reserves.

What happens next?

The Cornwall FA will release a further statement once it has a list of confirmed applications after the February 24 deadline and arrange to meet with representatives of all local leagues to discuss the impact the restructure will have on them, with the possibility of an open forum to clarify things further should there be sufficient interest.

To ensure as much consistency as possible in relation to rules, regulations and fees a joint liaison committee has been set up, with representatives of the new Step 7 Leagues in Cornwall and Devon, along with members of Cornwall and Devon FA’s.

The new Cornwall Step 7 league committee will be meeting on a regular basis over the coming months to discuss issues such as sponsorship, administration, finance, future promotion and relegation.

Anyone with any questions can contact Richard Pallot at Cornwall FA on 01208 262983 or email richard.pallot@cornwallfa.com

What could the new senior football set-up look like next season?

Given the above information, here is what the two Cornish football leagues at Step 6 and Step 7 could look like next season.

First is the new SWPL Premier West at Step 6. This is not strictly limited to Cornwall clubs only (there may be some overlap with West Devon clubs depending on membership) but the vast majority of clubs will be from the Duchy.

Falmouth Packet:

The above 20 teams are made up of the 13 Cornish teams competing in this season's SWPL Premier, who are joined by the seven highest-ranked Cornish sides in the SWPL Division 1 West, based on points per game.

The list of clubs is subject to whether the clubs have applied for the Step 6 league (which is likely given that none applied for Step 7) and whether they meet the ground grading criteria.

The list is also written under the assumpion that no West Devon clubs need to be transferred from the Premier East if that division is full.

If we assume the above, then that is how next season's SWPL Premier West would look if the current season ended today.

Falmouth Packet:

Let's move our attention to the new St. Piran Football League at Step 7. Unlike the Premier West above it, we know that this will definitely be an all-Cornwall affair.

There are 16 spaces to fill, and in accordance with the list of priorities included in the statement, the first places would go to any Cornish side in Step 6 or 7 who failed to make the cut for Step 6 or who applied specifically for Step 7.

Dobwealls and St Blazey would be the remaining Step 6 applicants who wouldn't make the cut (as it stands), while Bude Town and Ludgvan join them having applied for Step 7 only.

The remaining 12 slots are filled by East Cornwall Premier League Premier Division and Cornwall Combination League teams on a points-per-game basis, as per Priority 2.

Again, this is all on the assumption that the club submit their formal application and meet the necessary ground grading criteria.