Scottish FA AGM outcomes
The members of the Scottish FA today unanimously approved the formation of the Scottish Lowland Football League; a key component of the pyramid structure recommended in the McLeish Review of Scottish Football.
The decision at the General Meeting at Hampden Park gives the green light to invite clubs who have expressed interest from the South of Scotland, East of Scotland and Scottish Junior Football leagues to join a new league as early as next season.
The decision was one of 40 resolutions passed by the 84 members present at the meeting. The approval for the Scottish Lowland Football League comes on the eve of tomorrow’s Scottish Football League vote on reconstruction proposals for senior football in Scotland.
Campbell Ogilvie, the Scottish FA President, was also re-elected for a further two years along with his fellow office bearers, Alan McRae, First Vice President, and Rod Petrie, Second Vice President.
Campbell Ogilvie: “The unanimous approval of the Scottish Lowland Football League is a major step forward for league reconstruction. The members clearly share our view that we need to create opportunities for those clubs currently outwith the senior set-up to aspire to emulate the success of Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County on a meritocracy.
“The SFL clubs will themselves vote on the proposals for reconstruction and it is my wish that we can all move forward this summer and work towards creating a more exciting and vibrant product. The Scottish FA has remained committed to the five principles of a single league body, fairer financial distribution, introduction of play-offs, parachute payments and the pyramid and we are confident that the clubs can help achieve that in time for the new season.”
Among the other significant resolutions, the majority of members voted against proposals to introduce strict liability to combat unacceptable conduct in Scottish football. None the less, the members did agree in principle to continued engagement on the topic and to devise an action plan to establish a viable deterrent to such behaviour.
Ogilvie continued: “It is disappointing the resolution did not pass but we will be consulting with the members to provide a more robust set of disciplinary measures. As our Chief Executive, Stewart Regan, outlined, the challenge is in agreeing what kind of behaviours we should expect inside our stadia, while being mindful of the tighter sanctions being proposed by UEFA and FIFA.”
