SFA to look at summer football in fixture study

THE Scottish Football Association has agreed to give careful consideration to the merits of summer football as part of a wider study of the fixture calendar.

The study, which will encompass potential changes in both the professional and amateur games, will get under way after receiving formal approval from the Professional Game Board and Non-Professional Game Board.

“I believe it is important that we take a serious and evidence-based look at the fixture calendar,” SFA president Campbell Ogilvie said yesterday. “I understand there are many reasons for and against any changes such as a move towards summer football, an earlier start to the season or a winter break but it is important we understand fully the current situation and the possible benefits of a realignment of the fixture calendar.”

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The agreement to commission the feasibility study follows the SFA’s latest Council Debate at Hampden, which was attended by representatives of every level of the game, along with four invited panellists: SFA head of women’s and girls’ football Sheila Begbie; PFA Scotland official Stuart Lovell; Supporters Direct Scotland representative Greig Ingram; journalist Iain King, who is head of sport at The Scottish Sun and is also involved with East Kilbride FC.

“I was encouraged by the willingness shown by everyone at the Council Debate to take the issue forward in the hope of a solution that appeals to the clubs, the fans, the players and the sponsors and that is why we have decided to commission the study,” Ogilvie continued.

The topic of summer football arises almost annually in Scotland, normally making its appearance along with the first wave of postponements caused by frozen pitches.

The mildness of the current winter has seen less outspoken demand for a shift in the calendar compared to the two previous years, when severe weather lasted for weeks but there is nonetheless a growing body of opinion in favour of some kind of winter break.

That opinion is stronger below the professional game, for two reasons. First, far fewer pitches at grassroots level have undersoil heating or other protection, and are therefore more likely to become unplayable in inclement weather. And second, as the majority of football at that level is domestic, there would be no need to harmonise a revised calendar with other European countries – something that would need to happen at professional level.

“In broad terms, the recreational and non-professional game is receptive to the idea of a change to the fixture calendar, to avoid the backlog of fixtures when pitches are unplayable,” an SFA report into the decision explained. “The quest for greater access to existing facilities, largely contained within schools, was also discussed, with the SFA’s new facilities manager, Cameron Watt, central to that objective.”

Scottish women’s and youth football already observe a March-to-November calendar, and are convinced of its benefits. “The rise of the Scotland women’s national team and the success of Glasgow City in reaching the last 16 of the Champions League were made possible by the change, with players getting the chance to play more often in weather and surfaces conducive to good football,” Begbie said.

The fact that summer football is not an instant panacea was shown by Glasgow City’s fate in that Champions League round of 16, when they lost 17-0 on aggregate to German champions Turbine Potsdam. The women’s Bundesliga has observed a winter shutdown for some time and just resumed playing this week.

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Yet the German experience illustrates the difficulty of getting the winter window exactly right. The Bundesliga’s last round of fixtures before the break was on 18 December, but three matches were called off because of frozen pitches.

At professional level, although several European countries already have summer seasons, it would be more difficult to settle on when to have a winter break, as the SFA report acknowledged. “The senior professional game is more complex and, while full integration to a March-to-November season is more difficult to implement for various reasons, there was a positive discussion on a potential earlier start to the campaign, which could facilitate the return of a winter break.”

Ogilvie accepted that a lot of practical details still had to be thrashed out, but he was pleased by what he saw as an emerging consensus. “There are many areas that require further discussion, but it is encouraging that at all levels of the debate there is a willingness to look at positive changes,” he said. “The in-depth study will provide statistical evidence before we look at the next steps.”

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