The major re-organisation of the non-league football pyramid undertaken by the Football Association has seen Enfield Borough moved sideways from the Spartan South Midland League to the Combined Counties League.

Part of the plan involved a restructuring of Steps 4-6 in the pyramid and clubs could be subject to either movement to different leagues or to a different tier.

In the case of Enfield Borough they will remain at step six, but have been moved to a league whose membership has historically come from Berkshire, Hampshire, Middlesex, Surrey, and the south-western quarter of Greater London.

The Spartan South Midland League has been Enfield Borough’s home for the whole five years of the club’s existence, during which time they gained promotion from Division 2 at the end of the 2016-17 season.

There will be a few familiar faces in the form of Hillingdon Borough, London Lions and Rayners Lane making the swap alongside Borough, while of the remaining teams, FC Deportivo Galicia, Bedfont & Feltham and British Airways are teams that Enfield have previously faced in cup competitions.

But the vast majority of teams in the league will present the Panthers with a fresh challenge.

Club chairman Marvin Walker has admitted it was a surprise to see Borough moved but that ultimately he was excited about what the new campaign might bring.

“We knew that a move was on the cards, but our eventual destination did come as a bit of a surprise,” said Walker.

“We had envisaged a potential switch to a league to the north-east of London. Enfield Borough will always be grateful to the Spartan South Midlands League for granting us membership when we started back in 2016 but after four seasons in the same division, it will be quite exciting to experience something different.

“One of the problems that we have faced in the past was the number of trips up the M1 to clubs in and around Milton Keynes. Whilst that is not now an issue, we will have to travel around the M25 to south-west London pretty often, so that will present a whole new challenge, especially for midweek matches.

“I have always believed that the Spartan South Midlands League was one of the strongest at step six in the south-east, based on those games that we have had against clubs from other comparable leagues, so this will be an opportunity to see if that theory is correct.”

The changes come into effect from the start of the 2021-22 season, which is expected to start in August.