Hint of progress in long-running debate over new league model

The concept of league reconstruction has appeared and vanished with such regularity in recent times that onlookers are perfectly entitled to treat the topic with scepticism.

Nonetheless, progress of sorts was made at a meeting of Scotland’s newly-established professional game board at Hampden on Thursday. For the first time, the chief executives of the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League have been given a mandate to put formal proposals to their member clubs about reorganisation of league structures and what lies below them.

The SFL’s desire to bring closure to this business was highlighted late last month. At that point, a media release issued by the league stated: “For many years, the SFL have been open to a move to a pyramid structure but this must be based on the following four key principles: It must take the form of a Scotland wide structure, it must be fully funded by the SFA, the structure must come under SFA Club Licensing, progression must be obligatory and not optional.”

In short, the SFL remain to be convinced that the pyramid system which was again raised during Thursday’s talks can be readily implemented. If such an option is taken up, only the SFA has the capability – not least because of funding – to oversee it.

The league added: “There must be a direct route of return for any club leaving the SFL and, in the current economic climate, the SFL does not have the financial resources to fund any new structure.

“The Scottish FA are currently carrying out a consultation exercise with a number of Leagues and Associations throughout Scotland to gauge support and it has yet to be determined whether that support is enough to continue with the exercise.”

Under Scotland’s Third Division sit four separate league structures, each with their own operations and agendas. For all there are clubs who would welcome the opportunity to progress into the professional game, there are sides who are perfectly content to remain in, for example, the junior or Highland League ranks. Gala Fairydean may be one exception. Having been linked consistently with a move to the Scottish Football League when past vacancies have arisen, the Borders outfit represent the only region in Scotland still without a professional team.

To many others in the semi-professional ranks, however, the SFL holds little or no appeal and could prove damagingly costly.

Cited during Thursday’s meeting was the prospect of north and south ten-team feeder leagues, from which clubs could earn promotion to the Third Division. Such a structure would need to be enduring, however, and have no prospect of clubs wanting back to their earlier divisional domain within a short space of time. Geographically and practically, there are problems with the environment to which relegated clubs could realistically go. David Longmuir, the chief executive of the SFL, will therefore focus his attention in the coming weeks on what he believes are more rapidly-achievable shorter-term objectives.

“We need to put together something to take to the clubs that has substance,” he said yesterday. “It has to be good for the game. The next stage is this consultation process and it is important we do that properly.”

Understandably, Longmuir is reluctant to offer general detail to the public about what this process will include. Clubs, after all, won’t take kindly to reading about the SFL’s plans in the media before they have been given hard facts. For change to be implemented, the SFL need the backing of 75 per cent of their members.

The recommendations made by Henry McLeish, in the ex-First Minister’s review of Scottish football, are intrinsically linked to what the SPL and SFL will look to alter. The concept of the country’s biggest clubs fielding colt teams in a lower league has not disappeared from view. It is known that Longmuir will focus on the potential merging of the SPL and SFL. That, leading figures within Scottish football believe, will lead to greater marketing clout, co-ordinated fixture scheduling and a more reasonable distribution of wealth among clubs lower down the scale. As things stand, clubs relegated from the top flight see their very existence placed in peril.

That share of money change and the introduction of play-offs between the Premier League and the First Division are regarded as two key plans which can be put in place relatively quickly; again, though, only with a single league governing body. Longmuir hopes to be in a position to speak with clubs in the early part of next year. Beyond that, no timescale is being put on potential reconstruction and re-organisation. Too much talk already on this topic has resulted in next to no action.