Farsley Celtic Football Club (FCFC) is facing the prospect of being wound up at the High Court in London on 1 July after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) refused a request to adjourn the hearing.

The board of the Leeds-based club, which currently competes in the Blue Square North league, had appealed to delay proceedings to allow an administrator to be appointed in a bid to secure the club's future. HMRC issued a winding up petition against FCFC over an unpaid tax bill, which the club had proposed to pay through the sale of land at its Throstle Nest stadium for residential development after previous plans for the redevelopment of the site were rejected by Leeds City Council.

A statement from the club's board of directors said: "The financial difficulties of the club were made increasingly difficult twelve months ago when Leeds City Council sounded the death knell on a planning application which, if granted, not only would have realised a significant amount of money to discharge the club's debts but left sufficient funds to develop the ground. "As a result, the club were forced to sell a portion of the ground, the sum for which would only be fully realised once planning consent had been granted and houses built. The economic downturn has had the effect of slowing down this process, and as a result, despite the value of the sale representing more than the value of the money owed."