THE Accrington Combination League has been handed a lifeline after a committee member vowed to keep the near century old league alive.

The amateur football league, known as the Accrington and District Combination, has been running since the end of the First World War and this season would have marked the 99th season.

But the league’s committee said they had no option but to sound the final whistle after just half a dozen teams said they could commit to the league, which was due kick-off next month.

Committee member Simon Cotton, who plays for one of the sides, St Mary’s College Old Boys, said: “I’m going to use the history of this great league as a driving force to try and keep it going.

“The Accrington and District Combination is not dead.”

He added: “The biggest factor driving me is the thousands of players and families who have been associated with the league for nearly a century and we just can’t let that powerful connection dwindle away.

“I’ve had people coming up to me since the league folded, saying, ‘I remember my sons and fathers playing in the league and it was just such a big part of our lives.

“People have made lifelong friendships playing in the league and it would be a great sadness if we lost all of that history and tradition.

“It is not just a kick-a-bout, it is an awful lot more than that.”

He added: “I know it is going to be a big challenge, but hopefully we can get the league going again in the future.”

Mr Cotton said it was too early to say if the league could be revived in time for the start of the 2017-18 campaign but he said the committee would sit down in the next few weeks to discuss an action plan.

The league are also looking at developing closer ties with Accrington’s Junior League as they bid to keep the league alive.

“Whether it is one or two years we are determined to see this through and we will, hopefully, re-launch when it is viable,” he said.

“There’s a lot of work ahead, but hopefully it can be done.”

The league’s secretary Brian Mason has been involved with the Accrington Combination for most of his life as a player, referee and for the last decade as the league’s chief administrator.

“It is heart-breaking to see it finish, I’m just so sad because it is a fantastic league,” said the Accrington Combination secretary and treasurer.

“My dad Allan and the father of the Lancashire cricketer David Lloyd formed one of the league’s clubs Cambridge Street Methodists.

“David Lloyd played for the team when he was 15 and before he went off to play for Lancashire and England.”

He added: “I’m 60 now, but dad took me along as a mascot for Cambridge St Methodists when I was five years old and that’s a dear memory.

“We’d play in all weather conditions then, and we’d carry the ball, kit and the first aid bag from our house to the pitch.

“I remember Altham getting through to the Lancashire Amateur Shield Final, an amazing effort, and Whinney Hill, who now play in the East Lancs League, won the league several times.

“There were so many great times and great matches and I really hopes this is not the end.”

The league’s golden era was in the 1960s and 70s, when the Combination could boast five divisions and attracting players from Hyndburn, Burnley and Padiham.

“I don’t think there is the same commitment anymore from players to get games on and it is the sign of the times,” said Mason.

“Last year, for example, a few clubs said they didn’t want to play when the Blackburn v Burnley game was on, they were either going to watching it on TV or were going to the game.

“That would never have happened in the old days, but we’ve got some young blood on the committee now and Simon Cotton has brought a renewed drive with some fresh ideas, improving the website and promoting the league.

“I just hope it is not too late to save this wonderful league that has brought so much joy to so many people for nearly 100 years.”