Football fans to pitch up at Holyrood for sports debate

Holyrood bosses plan to invite listeners to the Real Radio Football Phone-in show to take the seats usually occupied by MSPs.

The audience will pose questions to a high-profile panel drawn from the world of football while the event, entitled Scotland's Political Football, will be broadcast live across the country.

The debate is being promoted by the Scottish Parliament's think tank, Scotland's Futures Forum, as part of the Festival of Politics in August. There could be spin-off events during the festival on themes such as sectarianism, health inequalities and youth development.

Scottish clubs' disappointing performances in Europe have prompted much soul-searching about the state of the national game. Earlier this week, former SFA chief executive David Taylor said there was a serious threat to the financial health of Scottish clubs if they continued to under-perform.

He warned: "The Scottish game needs to take a good look at itself."

The debate at Holyrood is expected to focus on how clubs can secure their future and encourage new talent.

Scottish Labour leader and Hibs fan Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, said: "When you look around the problems clubs in Scotland and England are having, the golden rule should be that clubs have to live within their means.

"I think Hibs have done a good job of doing that and still bringing young talent through.

"But we also need to get beyond the senior clubs. I have had meetings with Support the Grassroots, who are running a petition to the Scottish Parliament to get better arrangements between youth football and the senior game. They have some serious concerns about the way clubs treat promising youngsters."

Edinburgh Pentlands Tory MSP David McLetchie, a Hearts supporter, said: "The future of Scottish football lies in our own hands, as what has happened with Hearts demonstrates.

"We cannot put our faith in rich men or foreign benefactors because there is not a pot of gold on the other side of the world that is going to come to Scotland.

"The future is in nurturing and encouraging talented players of our own. In both Hearts and Hibs we have a lot of talented youngsters and we need to make them the real stars of the future."

Independent Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald, another Hibs fan and convener of the parliament's cross-party group on sport, welcomed the planned debate.

She said: "I'm delighted the Festival of Politics is acknowledging the importance of football as a sport, as a business, as part of the culture and community of life in Scotland. It's also part of the local economy so there is every reason why we should take an interest in the future of football."