POOLE Pirates promoter Matt Ford insisted he had taken no satisfaction in seeing the World Speedway League suffer further setbacks.

The meeting for the champions of Europe’s top domestic leagues, which Ford pulled Pirates out of for 2016, had been scheduled to take place in Germany in April.

But organisers announced the event would have to be postponed because Wolfslake track did not meet standards set by world speedway’s governing body, the FIM.

Poole took part in 2014, finishing second with a team made up largely of riders from their asset base, but cited potentially prohibitive costs in turning down the club’s place in 2015.

Wimborne Road boss Ford took the same stance this year with Elite League runners-up Belle Vue accepting an invite to replace the Pirates.

Ford told the Daily Echo: “I have to say it was an enjoyable event when we entered and I would not want to be negative about it.

“It is something that has an enormous amount of potential and it is a great shame to see it having problems.

“The postponement would have caused Belle Vue considerable expense because their riders, management and fans would have all booked to go.

“That was one of my biggest bugbears when we went in 2014. In my opinion, there was not enough there to cover those eventualities which makes it very hard but I take no pleasure in feeling that way."

Despite his reservations over the meeting in its current format, Ford still believes it can flourish in the future.

"An event with four competitive teams would sell out venues, I genuinely believe that, but at this point I don’t see that being the case," he added.

“You have two teams head and shoulders above the others and in sport, that is not ideal. It is not like the Champions League in football where just qualifying is very lucrative.

“I mean no disrespect to the owners of the championship. It is just my opinion but until we can put on a show that is on a level playing field, I cannot see it being right for us.”