JUNIOR clubs will take part in the qualification rounds of the Tennent's Scottish Cup from next season if a motion is passed at the Scottish Football Association's annual meeting on June 1.
It is the first significant step towards a long-awaited pyramid structure in Scottish football that could clear the way for the country's leading junior clubs to obtain full SFA membership and, thus, ensure promotion and relegation to and from the Bell's Scottish League third division.
John McBeth, the president of the SFA, revealed details of the groundbreaking plans to The Herald but admitted they must negotiate a political minefield before initiating changes.
If approved at the agm, four junior clubs will be invited to participate in the Qualifying Cup, with their progress used to measure suitability in footballing and infrastructural terms.
The winners of the North, East and West Super Leagues will be awarded places and so too the winners of the OVD Scotttish Junior Cup. "The [Bell's Scottish] leagues are a closed shop at present, there is no disputing that, " said McBeth, "but, if we can vote this through, it opens up possibilities for the pyramid system.
"The plan is to have the best four junior teams enter the first round of the preliminary competition of the Tennent's Scottish Cup and, if they prove good enough, it is possible that in the near future we can have promotion and relegation issues in the Bell's third division.
"The members will vote on it at the next agm and we hope we can convince people that this is the right way forward.
There will be a vested interest.
In some instances it will be like turkeys voting for Christmas, but my purpose in life is to end the perception of senior football being a closed shop."
At present, the Junior Football Association have only one vote and a simple majority vote will decide the outcome. However, the idea is certain to meet with great resistance among the other 78 members, not least the non-league clubs determined to preserve their representation and income stream.
The majority of the 36 nonleague members are expected to vote against the motion and, therefore, crucial to its inception are the senior teams, among whom are clubs whose very futures in senior football might be jeopardised.
An SFA working party comprising Tom Johnston, secretary of the Scottish Junior Football Association; George Peat, SFA vice president; Dick Shaw, Queen of the South secretary;
and Alan McRae, of Cove Rangers, have been behind the revolutionary plans.
Full integration remains some way off but Johnston believes the plan is long overdue.
He said: "A pyramid system can only be good and, if Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Peterhead can survive and prosper in the senior leagues, then I am confident our elite teams like Linlithgow Rose and Pollok could compete in the second or third division."The kick-off for Scotland's World Cup qualifier in Italy next Saturday has been brought forward by 15 minutes to 8.45pm local time (7.45pm GMT) at the request of the Italian FA
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