Guernsey FA withdraw from 2017 Women's Muratti

Many of the island's top senior players have decided to play for Ormer Ladies in the past few months, who are affiliated with the Hampshire FA and as such not eligible for the Muratti.

The Guernsey Football Association has made the announcement of the cancellation after discussions with some of those players were not able to agree to yield a compromise.

In a press release, the GFA says 'there are not enough suitably qualified players to form the GFA representative team', with the competition rules stating that players must play for a locally-affiliated club.

'In March, the GFA board met with senior players and advised them that we had established the Guernsey Ladies Football Club and were developing a competitive match programme in conjunction with the Jersey Football Association,' said GFA chairman Chris Schofield.

'The object of the initiative was to ensure that a ladies' club was affiliated to the GFA and that it played at a more competitive level than the defunct GFA Women's League.

'However, in the summer of 2016, the GFA learned that a majority of the senior island players had elected to play for a newly-formed team, Ormer Ladies, and play their matches in the UK.

'The decision not to proceed with this season's game was taken with great regret by me and my fellow board members and only following lengthy consideration of the matter over the course of several meetings.'

• More in Wednesday’s Guernsey Press.