Andy Landesberg expressed delight following the news that Maccabi London Lions’ first team will return to Rowley Lane following confirmation that new floodlights and 200-capacity stand will be in place later this year.

The club has had to play ‘home’ games away from Arkley since promotion to the Spartan South Midlands League in 2010 as the level of non-league football requires certain facilities which Rowley Lane had yet to develop.

This has meant a number of ground-sharing arrangements, most recently with Hemel Hempstead Town FC; but the club’s committee this week confirmed Rowley Lane will meet the league criteria later in 2015.

Chairman Andrew Landesberg said: "This is a huge step forward for the club. Our ambition is always to have every Lions team from Under 7s to the South Midlands League playing at one ground. We probably progressed quicker than expected, so it’s fantastic that once again we can have semi-professional football in Arkley every week.

"More details will follow, but we wanted to announce that both planning and funding are in place for the stand and floodlights."

Lions will hope to again attract people to Rowley Lane for first team games now the side is playing closer to so many of its club members and community.

First Team manager Tony Gold commented: "We have been a bit nomadic in recent years, so there’s nothing like playing at your own ground; it’s a bit much to expect people to travel up the M1 to watch us.

"We’re excited to be coming back to Rowley Lane and we’ll aim to showcase a young, exciting all-Jewish team playing at a good standard of non-league football."