by YorkshireRoyal99 »
03 Nov 2022 13:35
03 Nov 2022 13:35
Nameless wrote:YorkshireRoyal99 wrote:Nameless wrote:
Semi pro is a bit meaningless isn’t it ? Players get paid a long way down the pyramid and paying a player isn’t anything to do with who owns the club.
If a club is in itself a limited company then the company doesn’t put any money into the club, it just’s runs the club as a business.
Well no semi-pro isn't a bit meaningless because that's "a level". The level below Steeton, who play at the very bottom standard of semi-professional, is then amateur where some players get paid, others don't. However, at amateur level, playing players usually comes through sponsorships given to the club, whereas in the case of Steeton (and Silsden who I have mentioned), they both have "owners", in the sense of a private limited company owns the club.
Didn’t they get rid of the amateur / pro distinction decades ago ?
None of the leagues are defined by whether players get paid. My local team play in National South where some teams get paid, some don’t. You don’t get stopped from getting promoted because you don’t pay players (it might make it harder though).
Yeah I know they don't stop you from getting promoted, but as you've said, it makes it harder. I wasn't suggesting leagues are defined by whether players get paid or not, it was more a point of ownership. My point was I don't know any team below semi-professional level that are "under ownership" if you like, but a couple of my local clubs, Steeton who play at the lowest level of semi-professional football, are "under ownership" officially.
Also I don't know whether they did get rid of the amateur/semi-professional distinction, they are just terms commonly used at my level. Whether that's historic or whether is still applies now. A quick search on Wikipedia mentions the full-time/part-time distinction, but that more applies to National League/Football League clubs. Wikipedia references part-time as being semi-professional and full-time being classed as professional, but I don't know where that sits within the lower depths of non-league football.