A group of Bury FC fans have had their bid to enter a team into the North West Counties Football League (NWCFL) rejected.
The Bury Football Club Supporters' Society (BFCSS) applied to join the NWCFL - the 9th and 10th tiers of English football - at the start of the 2023/24 season and wanted to play its matches at the former Football League club's Gigg Lane stadium.
Bury FC were thrown out of the EFL in 2019 amid financial difficulties and later entered administration. In the wake of the club's demise, a group of fans set up a new outfit - Bury AFC. The fan-owned club currently plays in the North West Counties League Premier Division, having won promotion last season.