Woking FC have a proud history as a non-League outfit, but they’re keen for that to end. The fifth-tier side from Surrey, in London’s southern commuter belt, have ambitions to go where they have never gone before and win promotion from the National League to the EFL for the first time in their 135-year history. Change has arrived in the form of new investors Drew Volpe and John Katz, the latter is now chief executive, who share half a century of experience working in the minor league baseball feeder system in the USA. Katz tells The Athletic that they want to emulate clubs that can do it smartly, with a little bit of financial soundness behind it but also build and develop around a core of players that they want to see here for years to come. Darren Sarll will be the man charged with delivering a place in League Two after leaving fellow fifth tier side Yeovil Town to replace Alan Dowson. Sutton United, 30 miles to the east, are a club Katz identifies as one for Woking to emulate, winning promotion from the National League last season and pushing for the League Two play-offs in this campaign despite a budget lower than several teams in either division. Katz’s personal journey from fan to investor moved relatively quickly after his first visit to the UK to watch a Tottenham Hotspur match in 2016 sparked the desire to learn more about the business of football while in his role as team president of the Columbia Fireflies, a feeder team for Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals. The club parted company with popular manager Alan Dowson in February after almost four years in charge. As the sun shines on their immaculate pitch on Non-League Day, there is optimism that challenging for promotion might be on the cards in the near future. Woking's new investors are keen to make a success of the club, and with their experience in minor league baseball, they may just have the right approach to achieve their goals.