Yorkshire Amateur look to community and youth to drive rebuild after dropping 'unsustainable' model

Earlier this year they took the decision no football club should ever have to: to stop playing football.

After relegation from Northern Counties East Division One last season, they withdrew from the pyramid. They hope it will be a one-year hiatus and are determined it will be no more than two.

In the meantime, a thriving junior section is keeping the name alive.

When still relatively new, The Ammers played at Elland Road after Leeds City folded, and sold it to successor club Leeds United.

Lutel James is part of their history having left in 1993 to play league football for Scarborough in a career which also took in Bury, Accrington Stanley and even St Kitts and Nevis. Now he is trying to steer the future down a more community-led path as a director of the club and chief executive of Chapeltown Youth Development Centre.

“When the charity inherited Yorkshire Amateur there were a lot of unsustainable decisions being made,” he reflects. “People were being paid large amounts to play. The way non-league football is now, people will move for an extra tenner.

“You've got multiple clubs throwing money at players just interested in getting up the leagues. Other clubs get damaged by that.

“We've tried to generate money for three years and every year it's got tougher so we're trying to take a step back before we take a step forward.

“There's lots of things in the background but the first team was draining us mentally and physically.”

They aim to sell their ground and build a more stable footing.

“We're looking to move near to the Caribbean Cricket Club (in Leeds) and have 3G areas and events space,” explains James. “We've got architects working on a new facility, and selling the ground will pay for it.

“We believe in OEG – opportunity, exposure and growth. We'll provide opportunity and exposure, and allow players to grow on and off the field. If that means we're just a feeder club for more luxurious non-league clubs, so be it.

“Yorkshire Amateur gave me an opportunity to move on, and I want to see other people get that now.”

Opening those pathways and others is part of his mission.

“We've got a full-blown academy and it's like we're almost growing an infrastructure out of it,” he says. “We still have hundreds of kids running around in Yorkshire Amateur kit. We've got 35 junior teams and we want to still be visible so people can see we're still active.

“We're saying to the players can you be a sport scientists, can you work in construction or hospitality, and can we help you?

“We thought about putting our scholars into the first team but the commitment is tough and a lot are at an age where they want a Saturday job. From a football perspective, it would have been too much.

“We're targeting a return next season as an honest target but if we can't have the model in place by then, we will delay. Two seasons is the latest but we want the earliest.”

Like all non-league clubs, they need volunteers.

“I played for years but I never really got involved in running a club,” admits James. “As a player and even as a fan, you take a lot for granted.

“There's great people who say they love the club but we need to see more of them at games and helping with little jobs like doing the bins.

“We can't affect what's gone on in the past but we want a business model that's sustainable and enjoyable. The club hasn't had the opportunity to run itself for a long time.”