At the 2025 NCCU AGM it was decided¹ to aim as far as possible for a single annual invoice per county from NCCU, and this would be “up front” in contrast with the late George Horne’s more pragmatic approach of invoicing after the close of the playing season. This meant the aim was that as soon as 2025-26 county team entries were known, counties would be invoiced for

1) 2025-26 county memberships fees (£75 per county),

2) 2025-26 county team entry fees payable through the Unions to the ECF,

3) any amounts similarly invoiced by the ECF through the Unions in respect of prior seasons, such as team entry fees and/or game fees.

The viability of this approach has been destroyed by the ECF’s peculiarities.

Back in May 2025, the ECF confirmed with a copy of a receipted invoice² that the NCCU had paid an ECF invoice dated 3rd September 2023 in respect of the 2022-23 playing season, but that no later invoices had [yet] been issued. In the event, no such later invoices have been received, not for 2023-24 nor for 2024-25. Two other Unions have confirmed that they are in the same situation as the NCCU in this respect.

The backlog of NCCU team entry fees for which no invoice has been received (or chased up) is as follows. I’ll check the figures if I get time, but the link below enables you to check your county’s entries each season. NB entrants to the Unions stages are liable to pay, irrespective of whether they progress to the ECF final stages. The Unions are invoiced by the ECF, and it is then for the Unions to recoup the cost from counties.

County	2023-24	2024-25	Total
Cleveland	1	1	£48
Cumbria	1	1	£48
Gr Manchester	5	5	£228
Lancashire		2	£48
Merseyside	1	1	£48
Northumberland	2	1	£72
Yorkshire	5	5	£228
		all counties	£720

Fees totalled at £24 for Open, U2050, U1850 and U1650, and £18 for U-1450.

For lists of team entries each season see https://mannchess.org.uk/NSeasonal/History.htm.

It seems likely that no team entry fee invoices for 2023-24 or 2024-25 will now ever be issued by ECF. That being the case, it seems quite possible that such team entry fees will be abolished so that NCCU cannot invoice “up front” for 2025-26 team entry fees as there may be none! Concrete clarity on this is being sought from the ECF (e-mail sent 13/01/2026, no reply up to 29/01/2026), but the plan meanwhile is for NCCU initially to invoice counties only for the NCCU 2025-26 county memberships fees (£75 per county), leaving any other items for later invoices if and as necessary.

Of course, it may the that the ECF expects counties and/or Unions to be squirrelling away these sums against the day the ECF finally invoices. Who knows?!

Meanwhile, liabilities for the present 2025-26 season, for which an invoice from the ECF would not be expected until October 2026, on the basis of the 2022-23 invoice’s² timing are expected in October 2026 are expected to be as follows.

County	2025-26	Total
Cleveland	1	£24
Cumbria	1	£24
Gr Manchester	1111+1	£114
Lancashire	11+1	£66
Merseyside	1	£24
Northumberland	0	£0
Yorkshire	1111+1	£114
	all counties	£366

So, is the NCCU to expect an invoice from the ECF in October 2026 for £1,082?!?

1 https://mannchess.org.uk/NNotices/2025-06-21MinutesDraft.pdf (item 10)

2 https://mannchess.org.uk/NNotices/2026-01-15%20ECF%20Invoice%20October%202023.pdf