Wauchope president Dane Seymour said they had strong support from most clubs, but it was local rivals Camden Haven, Port Saints, Port United and Kempsey Saints that led the charge.

“There is no doubt the support from the clubs is what got us over the line because without them speaking up it would never have happened,” he said.

The decision will allow the competition to continue to grow and benefits the club as they can continue to develop their junior base into a Premier League pathway.

“We’ll enjoy the off-season now,” Seymour said.

Most clubs had originally been comfortable with FMNC’s decision back in 2017 to cut the competition from nine teams to eight in 2019.

But Wauchope kept fighting.

FMNC chairman Mike Parsons said the decision was made due to receiving “hard evidence” from their stakeholders which implored him to keep the league at nine teams.

“At our previous board meeting Wauchope were anecdotally saying the Premier League clubs were behind them, but we had nothing firm,” he said.

“There was anecdotal evidence, but when you come to any group of people at a meeting, evidence always helps.

“To hear on the grapevine there was support for it is different to receiving hard evidence of that.”

Parsons didn’t feel the decision would set a dangerous precedent for future years with teams who finished at the bottom of the table imploring similar support to stay in the competition.

“It gave me more comfort we were acting in the best interests of our stakeholders and not just one singular club in terms of what we’d all agreed on,” he said.

“It was more than just ‘every other team in the comp wants us to stay’.

“Wauchope made some very valid arguments about their development, the fact they’re building and have done everything they can to create a culture where they may sustain a Premier League side.

“Come the following season (2019) my belief is we’ll have genuine ownership from all of the stakeholders primarily involved and it will be very clear-cut.”

The FMNC chairman said everything was on the table for the 2020 season.

“We are going to have a firm plan for season 2020; it may be eight teams, it may be nine, it may be 10, it may be 12.

“It may be by invitation.

“One thing about relegation is it sends a real message to keep playing to your utmost for the entire season even if you’re not going to make semi-finals.

“It keeps the bottom of the draw alive right up until the final round.”