Heys have been placed in Division One North and will meet eight new teams to the League next season in addition to AFC Darwen and AFC Liverpool who were relegated from the Premier Division.

The structure means four fewer fixtures and has been developed to also reduce travelling. Heys travelled 1759 miles in the League last season (not including the postponed trip to Oswestry). This coming season they will travel 1550 but still face some lengthy journeys. In addition to the existing long haul trips to Carlisle and Holker, the trip to newcomers Cleator Moor Celtic (near Whitehaven) is a 274 mile round trip.

There will some familiar faces amongst the newcomers, not least AVRO, with whom we had some hard fought and memorable matches in the Manchester League whilst establishing great friendships off it. Garstang and Longridge have also been visitors to Prestwich in the past, in the Lancashire Shield.

The rules regarding Promotion and Relegation have also been changed:

Relegation from Premier Division and promotion from Division One

At the end of each season, the Clubs in the bottom two places in each of the country's 14 Step 5 (Premier) divisions will be relegated and placed in the most geographically appropriate division at Step 6 (Division One).

These Clubs will be replaced by the 19 Clubs finishing in first position in each of the leagues at Step 6, together with the required number of Clubs finishing in second position at the end of the season on a points-per-match ratio.

Relegation from Division One and promotion from Step 7

The clubs finishing in the bottom two positions in Step 6 divisions will be considered to be in relegation positions, which will be subject to 38 Step 7 Leagues promoting 1 club each.

No more than 38 Clubs will be promoted from Step 7. If more than 38 Clubs are eligible for promotion, they will be chosen on a points-per-match basis.

The season starts on August 4th.

The Club allocations by division are as listed below. In instances where Clubs are joining from other leagues, the league in which they competed in season 2017-18 is shown in brackets.

Premier Division

1 1874 Northwich
2 Abbey Hey
3 Ashton Athletic
4 Barnoldswick Town
5 Bootle
6 Burscough
7 Charnock Richard
8 City of Liverpool
9 Congleton Town
10 Hanley Town
11 Irlam
12 Litherland REMYCA
13 Northwich Victoria
14 Padiham
15 Runcorn Town
16 Silsden
17 Squires Gate
18 West Didsbury & Chorlton
19 Whitchurch Alport
20 Winsford United

Division One North

1 AFC Blackpool
2 AFC Darwen
3 AFC Liverpool
4 Ashton Town (Cheshire League)
5 Atherton LR
6 Avro (Manchester League)
7 Bacup Borough
8 Carlisle City
9 Chadderton
10 Cleator Moor Celtic (Wearside League)
11 Daisy Hill
12 Garstang (West Lancashire League)
13 Holker Old Boys
14 Longridge Town (West Lancashire League)
15 Lower Breck (Liverpool County Premier League)
16 Nelson
17 Prestwich Heys
18 Shelley (West Yorkshire League)
19 St Helens Town
20 Steeton (West Riding County Amateur League)

Division One South

1 Abbey Hulton United
2 Alsager Town
3 Barnton
4 Cammell Laird 1907
5 Cheadle Town
6 Eccleshall
7 Ellesmere Rangers (West Midlands Regional League)
8 FC Oswestry Town
9 Linotype Cheadle Heath Nomads (Cheshire League)
10 Maine Road
11 New Mills
12 Rylands (Cheshire League)
13 Sandbach United
14 St Martins (West Midlands Regional League)
15 Stockport Town
16 Stone Dominoes (Staffordshire County League)
17 Stone Old Alleynians (West Midlands Regional League)
18 Vauxhall Motors (West Cheshire League)
19 Wythenshawe Amateurs (Manchester League)
20 Wythenshawe Town (Cheshire League)