Whitehawk Football Club is exceptionally disappointed to learn of the decision taken by the Football Association and Premier League in making the fundamental changes to the FA Cup’s structure.

This is a competition embedded not just within our history, but football’s history. It is where the game began, where the memories are made, where the excitement boils. To announce this without consultation, from the grey suits that sit high amongst Wembley’s soulless seats, it is to those who we condemn this irrational, idiotic and iniquitous decision.

During a time when many are struggling financially, gasping for breath in an icy pond, clubs in the lower divisions require help, not hindrance, to move forward as a community, as a family.

As a result, we join the growing list of clubs calling for the FA to review its decision with immediate effect.

Non-league football is the foundation of this country’s most-watched sport. Defile it, and watch as the many clubs asking for but a mere hand slip away silently into the abyss.