The new St Piran Football League will now run with 32 teams – double the initially planned allocation of clubs.

The initial plan of a single Cornwall division of 16 teams has been scrapped and replaced by two East and West divisions of 16 teams due to a number of recent withdrawals amid concerns over excessive travel.

The new division has been created as part of a national re-structure of football and will operate at Step 7 of the National League System – one step below the new South West Peninsula League Premier West, which will include Falmouth Town, Helston Athletic, Porthleven and Wendron United in the 2019/20 season.

The league, which will be run by the Cornwall FA, was initially set to include 16 teams in a single countywide division, which would include promotion to the SWPL Premier West and relegation into the East Cornwall Premier League and Cornwall Combination League.

The new league was set to include teams from both of the above divisions, but there have been a number of withdrawals due to fears over increased travel, most notably from sides based in the east of the county that were concerned with the number of journeys to the likes of Ludgvan and Mousehole Reserves.

This has prompted the league to draw up a new proposal, with the league now operating with two divisions, with the intention being that each division will be comprised of no more than 16 teams. There will be an East Cornwall Division and a West Cornwall Division.

There are currently ten teams allocated to the West Cornwall Division: Ludgvan, Penryn Athletic, St Day, Helston Athletic Reserves, Falmouth Town Reserves, Perranwell, Hayle, Wendron United Reserves, St Agnes and Mousehole Reserves.

The remaining six places will be filled using the following criteria, in order of precedence:

  • Combination League clubs who withdrew their application but now wish to reconsider.
  • Combination League clubs who now wish to apply.
  • Trelawny League Premier Division clubs who now wish to apply.

The ECPL and Cornwall Combination Leagues will continue to act as feeder leagues for the St Piran League and will be formed from teams who do not apply to The St Piran League and teams who make applications to join from The Duchy League and Trelawny League.