All 42 clubs told: keep discussing reform with your fans

Wednesday 30 January 2013

Scottish clubs have been urged to continue talking with their supporters as they prepare to revolutionise the country's league structure.

Paul Goodwin

Paul Goodwin, head of Supporters Direct Scotland, has asked the 12 clubs in the Scottish Premier League and the 30 in the Scottish Football League to consult with their fanbase before making a decision which could change the face of the game north of the border.

SPL chairmen this week "unanimously" threw their backing behind plans to redraw Scottish football around a 12-12-18 set-up, while reports suggest clubs in the SFL lower leagues, who are due to meet tomorrow, are now considering a 12-12-10-10 proposal.Goodwin and his colleagues from SDS recently met three chief executives of the SPL, SFL and Scottish Football Association - Neil Doncaster, David Longmuir and Stewart Regan - and presented a wish-list that fans want the three bodies to stick to as they continue with their negotiations.They called for a more "equitable" distribution of cash throughout the leagues, a new set-up that does not involve teams playing each other four times a season, fairer voting rights for all clubs and tighter rules to ensure clubs do not fall victim to administration and liquidation.Goodwin said: "Supporters Direct Scotland has had several meetings with the CEOs of the football bodies at Hampden Park in the past weeks to discuss the league reconstruction proposals that are now being considered."As part of this process we were invited to prepare a paper for the Professional Game Board which we did after full consultation with our council. This paper notes the views that we feel are widely held by fans and which we believe the clubs should be taking into consideration."Following the submission of this paper, our Scottish Council was invited to a meeting at the Scottish FA where the detailed league reconstruction plans drafted jointly by the SPL and SFL were presented to us."We were pleased that the Scottish FA acted as facilitators for this and we believe the dialogue and views exchanged proved to be useful for both parties."We would encourage clubs to continue to urgently discuss and debate the finer details of the proposal with their own fans' groups and to urge the Professional Game Board to take into consideration our members' views."

Contextual targeting label:

Sport

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

All 42 clubs told: keep discussing reform with your fans

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED