Farsley Celtic are disbanded after rescue package fails

Their expulsion from the Football Conference is expected to be ratified later this week after they failed to fulfil their last three fixtures.

The Blue Square North side - who play at Throstle Nest - entered administration at the start of the season with reported debts of 750,000.

The club - who enjoyed a meteoric rise a few years ago under Lee Sinnott, when back-to-back promotions took them up to the Conference - are expected to reform next season in the Unibond First Division.

A statement from administrator Robert Adamson said: "The consortium has known for three months the required level of funding to enable to the club to exit the administration via a CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement], as required by League rules, and they simply haven't been able to raise sufficient funds.

"As an officer of the court, one of my statutory obligations is that I must be satisfied, in my professional capacity as an insolvency practitioner, that a CVA is viable.

"I cannot move forward this offer and meet that statutory obligation. The deal was based on creditors' accepting a reduced return but not all creditors were agreeable to this.

"We are as disappointed as everybody with today's events and we reject Councillor Andrew Carter's comments regarding our understanding of the importance of the club to the community.

"We have worked extremely hard and continue to do so to ensure that the remaining teams are able to fulfil their fixtures with the continued use of the site's facilities, and indeed we met with the Junior's chairman last week to confirm our commitment."