WOKINGHAM & Emmbrook and Bracknell Town will groundshare next season if the Satsumas clinch promotion.

The two clubs had been in discussions for several weeks over a possible groundshare at Larges Lane and The News can exclusively reveal that a draft one year agreement is now in place for next season.

Subject to final approval from both the Hellenic League and the Southern League, and as long as the Satsumas win Division One (East) this season, the clubs will groundshare in August.

Wokingham & Emmbrook are currently three points clear at the top of the table, while Bracknell are bottom of Southern League Division One (South & West) - meaning that the clubs could be Hellenic Premier Division rivals next season.

Robins chairman Tony Hardy was quick to point out that the groundshare deal wasn't the prelude to a merger between the two clubs but was excited by what promises to be a new chapter for both teams.

He said: "We have met and discussed a possible groundshare and there's now a draft agreement in place should Wokingham & Emmbrook come up.

"Hopefully everything should be formalised by the New Year as the deal needs to be in place by January 1 for the Hellenic League.

"It would then just need approval by the Southern League, but it's pretty much all over bar the shouting.

"We know Wokingham & Emmbrook had been talking to other clubs but we had really positive talks with them and I think it was always their preference to play at Larges Lane.

"Their youth team groundshared with us a couple of years ago, so it's more like a reaquaintance.

"Some people might be concerned it's a merger but that's definitely not the case. We see it as forming a partnership.

"We're encouraged and excited by it as it's two local clubs working together.

We'll pool our resources and put our heads together to maximise opportunities and hopefully it will generate some much needed revenue for both clubs." Wokingham & Emmbrook's first team play at Cantley Park, while their reserves and youth teams play at Lowther Road, but neither venue meets Premier Division ground requirements which include a 100-seater stand and floodlights.

The cost of upgrading Cantley is believed to be in the region of £100,000 but Wokingham require a long term lease in order to secure a grant from the FA.

However, Wokingham Borough Council's refusal to sign a 20-year lease that would allow them to set up permanent home there has left the Satsumas with no option but to enter into a groundshare deal.

It is the latest twist in Wokingham's nomadic existence as the club also played at Windsor's Stag Meadow for three years after leaving their Finchampstead Road home in the 1990s and Satsumas director of football Roger Herridge also expressed his delight at the news.

He said: "The two clubs have spoken before about the possibility and now it looks like it should all go through.

"It's obviously a massively important thing for us. The players now know that if we do get promoted, the committee have got them a place to play in the area.

"It can really work as a partnership, with us bringing some money into Bracknell Town FC and a lot of fantastic people in the two clubs working together to the benefit of the two teams.

"I think we have to pay enormous tributes to the efforts of our chairman Mark Ashwell. You have to acknowledge how important his efforts are in the success the club enjoys at the moment and hopefully in the future."