CLUB STATEMENT

Following a meeting convened by UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) this week to discuss matters concerning migrant riders in which the Poole promotion were in attendance, the promotion would like to clarify that of the team named so far only Chris Holder is affected.

Co-promoter Gordon Pairman explained "Dakota (North) has British patriality and Davey (Watt) is in possession of a long-term visa and as such neither are affected by the issues that as an Association we are trying to overcome to the satisfaction of the UK Borders Agency and UKVI. However, it does mean that we have some work to do to enable Chris Holder to obtain a new visa as, following the meeting yesterday it is apparent that the current certificate of sponsorship we issued for him will need to be renewed.

"Whilst we have been given encouragement from the government offices that they will do all they possibly can to resolve the issues as quickly as possible, as a club we will need some assurances that this whole matter is sorted well in advance of the start of the season.

"We for one would not be willing to begin the season either riding with or against guests or weakened teams as that would only serve to offer a sub-standard project and we would hope that the BSPA body  recognise that it is not in the sport's interest to do so. We owe it to the fans, sponsors and our colleagues at Sky Sports to track the best possible sides across the leagues.

"We will be calling on our fellow BSPA members to work united on this matter, as is the commitment, but should it become apparent that the issues may not be resolved on a fair basis for all clubs, we would hope the Association would look at measures to allow equalisation across the teams.

The BSPA issued the following statement concerning the problems encountered:

A number of speedway clubs who employ migrant riders (non EU) were asked to attend a meeting with UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) this week.
This meeting was a result of a number of regular compliance visits to individual clubs as the employers.
There are administrative issues which all parties are keen to resolve before the start of the 2015 British Speedway season.
The UKVI have offered to hold an operational workshop for club officials to assist them in this complex process.
In the meantime, the BSPA (British Speedway Promoters' Assocaition) and UKVI remain committed to work towards a satisfactory outcome.
British Speedway Chairman Alex Harkess said: “The UKVI have assured us they will work with us with the aim of ensuring all eligible riders are able to compete in the 2015 season.”