A new campaign - Protect Football's Future (PFF) - has been unveiled in a bid to safeguard youth development schemes run by clubs outside the Football League.

Oxford United; Mansfield Town; Cambridge United; York City; Rushden and Diamonds; and Wrexham football clubs have united to launch PFF, which wants current youth funding policies altered. Current rules mean that a club relegated from the Football League will immediately lose half of its youth development funding, before the rest is withdrawn after a further two years.

The existing system also means that such clubs are unable to protect registered players, which reduces the ability to recoup funding invested in the maintenance of development schemes. According to the PFF, clubs should be allowed to benefit from funding and registration protection if their youth schemes adhere to Governing Body Qualitative Criteria.

A PFF spokesperson said: "This campaign isn't just about the six or seven ex-Football League clubs, it is about change to benefit all clubs and youth development as a whole. "The current rules impacts on communities throughout the country - young children lose the opportunity to access Centres of Excellence so their opportunities become a postcode lottery."