Olney Town set to fold after unsuccessful board hunt

Back in April, the club's current board revealed their plans to step down. But after an unsuccessful hunt for new faces to take over at The Recreation Ground, Olney Town will fold.

The club have played their final game, but currently sit fifth in UCL Division 1 with teams around them with fixtures still to play.

A statement said: "The reality of the situation is that Olney Town FC is only too aware of its position at The Recreation Ground, land that is owned by the good people of Olney yet continued pressure to develop facilities as laid down by the FA make our continued presence in the UCL (Step 5 and 6 of the football pyramid) an impossible task and such further ground improvements would not be possible at East St.

"We as a Committee fully understand this position but are also fully aware that without such Step 5/ Step 6 Football the club would not be financially viable- nor are the existing committee members willing to continue this constant battle and take on further financial burden.

"The sad demise of senior football started some years ago with the folding of Sunday Football and this was soon followed by the Vets-the thankless task of those running these sides is closely mirrored by Saturday football today - the traditions and heritage of former years are just not valued in the same way by modern generations.

"In addition the competitive trading conditions in the town make the operation of the bar simply unviable.

"Having said that, this season can be looked back at with some pride with both 1st Team and Reserves likely to finish in the top 6 (or higher) of their respective Divisions)- we are very fortunate to have Management, Coaches and Players who value the club.

"All of the above makes running of the Football Club incredibly difficult and we have therefore taken the decision to close the Club with immediate effect-without a Committee in place we simply cannot continue to operate and carry out our legal responsibilities.

"A date for an EGM will be set shortly and announcements will be made in due course with regard to the sale of our assets etc. and it is hoped that football will continue at The Recreation Ground in some capacity!

"In the meantime we would just like to thank all of our Members, Management & Players and Sponsors for their hard work and efforts over the last 100+ years."