Sussex could be staging Nationwide Conference football for the first time next season if plans to re-organise the top tier of non-league football get the green light.

Conference officials, fed up with the lack of progress made by the FA in re-structuring the non-league pyramid, have drawn up plans to expand the Conference from 24 to 66 clubs, starting from next season.

They have invited all clubs in the premier divisions of the Dr Martens, Unibond and Ryman League to apply and both Crawley and Hastings United confirmed today that they want to be part of the new structure.

They are even willing to risk paying a £4,000 fine which the Southern League can impose on clubs who resign after their January 1 deadline.

More details will emerge after January 15, the date set by the Conference for clubs to apply. The likely proposal is for two regional leagues to feed into the current 24-club Conference. The plan would need to be approved by the FA but indications are that would be given in March.

League positions as well as ground facilities will be taken into account when the Conference decide who to accept into their new structure.

Around 14 clubs from each of the three feeder leagues could be playing in the new-look Conference and that could have ramifications further down the non-league structure for Sussex teams.

The loss of so many clubs may force the Dr Martens and Ryman leagues to abandon their premier divisions altogther, ending the promotion dreams, for this season at least, of the likes of Eastbourne Borough, Horsham, Lewes and Bognor.

Conference secretary John Moules said: "We have discussed restructuring for some time as have the FA with little or no progress during the past two years.

"The Conference believes that an expanded competition with one additional or two new semi-regional divisions will enable clubs to play on a level basis and plan for future development in a more stable environment."

Both Crawley and Hastings are keen to embrace the proposed new structure.

Crawley's managing director Steve Duly said: "We definitely want to be part of it. The work we did at the end of last season means we now have a Conference-standard ground and we've now got to make sure they can't turn us down on the basis of our league position."

The view from the Pilot Field is the same. Hastings' secretary Tony Cosens said: "It would probably mean less travelling which is obviously cuts down on costs and I'm sure the league would be run on a very professional basis."