Willie Haughey, the former Celtic director and football philanthropist, hopes his decision to sponsor the Scottish Cup over the next two years will help atone for the suspended proposal to build a national training complex.

Willie Haughey, the former Celtic director and football philanthropist, hopes his decision to sponsor the Scottish Cup over the next two years will help atone for the suspended proposal to build a national training complex.

Haughey revealed that the current precarious economic climate has stalled the construction of the £17m academy planned for Bothwell, which would have been used as a base for the national team.

After funding projects to kickstart schools football as well as the redevelopment of Lesser Hampden in recent years, Haughey now hopes his £1m-a-season backing of the Scottish Cup will contribute towards developing grassroots football and make up for the personal disappointment of witnessing the training complex fail to get off the ground.

"We were hoping by this time to have started the construction of the academy out at Bothwell but unfortunately, with the financial turmoil we find ourselves in, that's not been practical," said Haughey.

"We had a rethink and thought the Scottish Cup was the perfect vehicle for money to find its way to grassroots football at a senior level. If we're being honest I would say work on the training ground will be suspended for some time to come.

"I would like to think if things turn around we could still build it but it's fair to say, at the moment, it won't happen. I'm really disappointed with the way things have happened as it was a dream to build that academy. I've already spent £5m on it but unfortunately we can't go forward with it because it was predicated against building the houses around about it.

"We've got full planning and I had done £3.5m of work just fixing the ground but it just came at the wrong time. It was another £12m to build the academy, which would have been all funded by myself.

"I'm fortunate that I had the money and could afford it, I wasn't borrowing the money. I was the most fortunate guy in the world that they hadn't started building the houses or I would have been in the same position as a lot of people."

Haughey has elected not to have the competition rebranded after City Refrigeration Holdings, his Glasgow-based refrigeration firm, instead handing over full branding and naming rights to the Scottish Government.

The cup, therefore, will be renamed The Homecoming Scottish Cup for the first year to help promote Homecoming 2009, a year of celebrations planned to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns. Alex Salmond, the first minister, praised Haughey's generosity.

"It's the measure of the man that he took that choice," Salmond said. "The opportunity was there to promote his company but instead he chose to promote the country. Everybody knows times are tough. And when times are tough, tough people make the right gestures."

Haughey explained the thinking behind his decision. "I feel very disappointed that we are not building the academy and felt a bit duty-bound to try to put some money into grassroots and the Scottish Cup was the perfect vehicle.

I would have been getting a double win if we got the branding. We would have been getting a lot out of it, then, rather than just giving something back."

It was the second major sponsorship deal to be announced by the first minister yesterday. EventScotland has secured hosting rights for the final round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge over the next three years after guaranteeing an annual £250,000 investment.

Rugby's Heineken Cup final at Murrayfield and The Open golf championship at Turnberry, are also scheduled for these shores in 2009.