Invergordon boss Gary Campbell targets SFA club license amid ambitious plans to build Highland League-ready ground by 2026
Invergordon Football Club would “seriously consider” entering a Highland League promotion play-off if ambitious plans to meet the criteria for a Scottish FA license are successful, manager Gary Campbell has said.
Plans to install floodlights, erect a stand and build a wall around their pitch at the town’s Recreation Grounds were revealed in a planning application to Highland Council a fortnight ago.
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Team manager Gary Campbell says the plans represent the North Caledonian League champions’ first step towards applying for full membership of the Scottish Football Association – with the goal of having a Highland League-ready ground by 2026.
“We have applied to become an SFA member,” Campbell explains. “And to complete the criteria for that we need to upgrade our pitch to include a grandstand, floodlights, turnstiles and fencing.
“That’s what we’ve applied to do with the council in this phase.
“It has yet to pass planning and we still need to secure a longer term lease on the ground at Invergordon’s recreation area.
“Once we get past that stage, we can start to raise funds to meet the licensing standards.
“It’s an exciting time for Invergordon, not just for the club but for the town too. Young kids in the town can look at the stand and the set-up and aim to play for the club.
“Hopefully more people will come and watch us on a Saturday, which can lead to a bit of growth for us, the social club and even the shops on the High Street.”
An entry-level Scottish FA license would be a minimum requirement for the Easter Ross club if they are to entertain ambitions of a step up to the fifth tier of the North of Scotland football pyramid – better known as the Highland Football League.
The move could be seen as a logical next step for the successful club, who have won the North Caledonian League twice in the last four years.
Invergordon currently in second place in the table, three points behind leaders Halkirk United with two games in hand.
Now in his 10th year as manager of the North Caledonian League champions, Campbell says the club do have aspirations to earn promotion to a higher tier - but they must be ready for the challenge in all aspects.
“Our initial target was to have it for the end of this season, but we are just aiming to get it done as soon as possible.
“The idea has been bubbling for a long time, and we have had several meetings bringing us up to this point. We now hope to have everything in place by next year.
“Promotion is something we would aspire to do, but we wouldn’t want to go up a level and not be prepared.
“It (promotion) becomes an available option to us. For the likes of Invergordon currently, we can’t entertain the idea of a play-off due to not having a license.
“If we had a license, and we were lucky enough to win the North Caledonian League again, we would seriously consider going to the Highland League play-offs.
“But all the stars would need to be aligned and we’d need to be ready to do so, on and off the park, if we were going to do that.”
Promotion to the Highland League was made possible for the first time four years ago, after north football officials agreed that a ‘trap-door’ play-off would be introduced at the end of the 2021-22 season.
The tie, played over two legs, pits the Highland League’s 18th placed club against an eligible winner from one of the leagues below - which includes the Highland & Islands-based North Caledonian League – creating the first competitive opportunity for teams to earn a place in the Highland League since its formation in 1893.
Just one team has benefited so far, with former North Region junior league winners Banks o’ Dee earning promotion at the expense of relegated Fort William at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
Golspie Sutherland are currently the only licensed club in the North Caledonian League, while Lochee United and Tayport are the only two of 20 clubs from the Midlands League in Tayside who would currently be eligible to take part in a play-off.
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