Scottish football review calls for independent regulator to drive change and end self-interest

The position would be backed with legislative clout and would, according to those behind a fan-led review, help produce better quality players, give fans a louder voice and ensure that those running clubs and the game as whole are fit for purpose.

‘Rebuilding Scottish Football’ is a 64-page paper by the Scottish Football Alliance, sponsored by the Scottish Football Supporters Association, which outlines 15 key objectives and offers up 22 strategic recommendations which they feel will ensure the long-term sustainability of football in the country.

The report, which has been two years in the making, benefitted from input from clubs, fans, and took soundings from the Scottish League Managers’ Association and PFA Scotland. Publishing the results of surveys covering satisfaction levels when it comes to the game and it’s governance, only four per cent of respondents felt that the football authorities value them, 90 percent wanted the Scottish Government to put pressure on them to improve, and the vast majority called far greater fan input at board level and more transparency, saying minutes of board meetings should be in the public domain.

In May 2023, of 1225 people surveyed, 96.2 percent felt that appointing an independent regulator would be a positive step, with the biggest drawback, according to 47.3 percent being the fact that clubs would not welcome it.

That is not an opinion that surprised Stenhousemuir chairman Iain McMenemy, who contributed to the review. But, he believes that clubs will come round to the benefits.

“Whenever there is change there is always that initial fear of what is usually the most extreme thing it could lead to but it very rarely does. I would think that if a regulator is coming, as has happened down south, then I think more football clubs and authorities will start to engage. I would like to think that we will make sure that by the time the regulator comes in, we will be doing things in a more open and transparent way. It means by the time the regulator comes in it will be a very light touch from the regulator.

“Sometimes the bigger and more historical the organisation, the harder it is to accept change or to modernise and move with the times. Things are changing but very, very slowly and hopefully some of these proposals will help that to happen a little but quicker.”

And, he adds that issues of self-interest will always cloud judgement if left unchecked.

“There will be benefits to clubs as well because we want to do things in football and we want to make changes but we just can’t seem to do that because of the way we have tied ourselves up in our structures and our governance processes and the way the voting mechanism works at times.

“We can't achieve that change because of our own self interest and the self interest of our own clubs, or in trying to protect your own division, and all these things come into play. I think a regulator might be able to help us unlock that and allow us to get to a point that is absolutely better for us.

“If you ask me, I'm not for regulating people’s lives if we can avoid it but it does have to happen with some cases.”

While the review also makes suggestions on several other key aspects of Scottish football – including distribution of resources, marketing, competition, grassroots development and public accessibility, its focus is on independent scrutiny and gaining a more integral role for fans in the way the game is run.

“We have just had a discussion in football about the proposed conference league and I don't think the way we engaged with the clubs or the supporters was good enough,” continued McMenemy. “And, thinking back to during the pandemic, when we looked at reconstruction, all the clubs wanted to do that so we could save a few clubs who were going to be unfairly relegated but in the end we couldn't come together to do that, to save our own members from being relegated. We couldn't get past our own self interests. So, I like some of the things in there that suggest how we can break down some of those barriers.

“The review talks about financial distribution and I think we have to look at that. Nothing against the lion's share of the money going to the bigger clubs who have the bigger budgets but I think that distribution has to be fairer and more equitable right down the pyramid of Scottish football.

“The initial response will be concern but I have always advocated that the success of the bigger clubs shouldn't come at the expense of the smaller clubs. There is a way that we can all work together to achieve success. I believe there are ways that our club and those further down the divisions can help the bigger clubs to achieve what they want to achieve and I think that can work both ways. But, we may need to be forced to come together a bit more on some issues. That is absolutely achievable, though, and things like this will help us get that journey off and running.

“The key thing from this [review] is the regulator for football because football can oppose a lot of things but if there is legislation that is put in place by a regulator for football in Scotland then Scottish football has to listen to what that regulator says. So, I think that in itself is something that will finally drive change.”