I hope over time we get back to being allowed to have a drink at a football stadium, says Stewart Regan

The issue of being able to drink at Scottish football was raised again by the sports promoter Barry Hearn when he told an SFA convention it was ??archaic?? that people could not buy alcohol at major sporting events. Drinking at football remains a controversial, divisive issue, with the police and government uncertain whether supporters can be trusted to act responsibly. An alcohol ban was introduced in Scotland after a riot at the end of the 1980 Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Rangers.

There has been periodic support and attempts to allow supporters to drink again inside grounds but there has always been resistance. Regan said he was in favour of a return, but that Police Scotland, the Scottish Government and other vested interests all would be involved in the ongoing consultation process. The sale of alcohol at grounds has been on the agenda of the SFA??s Professional Game Board for several months and the governing body has held talks with Police Scotland.

??We??d like to explore the possibility,?? said Regan. ??Why are there challenges for Scottish football fans in having a drink in a football stadium? Clearly there are issues the police and the government have over what happened in the 1980s in Scotland and we have to respect that and work with them. We can??t make that decision ourselves. We need to work with others and persuade, influence and maybe try some things. Hopefully over time we can persuade people we??re a responsible nation in a very different place [from the 1980s] and fans are much more appreciative of the entertainment and not just there to cause trouble.??

One possibility could be a trial with low alcohol beer at games, which was the subject of a successful experiment at sports events in Australia. A similar option would be to deny supporters premium drinks or spirits.?? The key issue was to enlist the support of Police Scotland, the Government and the SFA??s own members, said Regan. ??We??ve got to learn from other areas. I hope over time we get back to being allowed to have a drink at a football stadium.

??Barry Hearn made the point that people are still drinking [when they go to Scottish football]. They??re having a drink in the pub over the road from the football ground and running in at five to three. That in itself is an issue. Barry Hearn has turned around unfashionable sports like snooker and darts and boxing and made them of interest to 11,000 people to watch a piece of entertainment [darts] they can??t physically see! But they??re paying to be part of that experience. The whole customer experience and marketing expertise is something we can learn from. Barry Hearn comes across as a brash east London guy but behind the noise and front there is a very sharp, astute businessman and we can learn from his marketing expertise.??

The SFA??s first convention attracted a range of speakers at Hampden on Wednesday and was hailed as a success by the governing body but media coverage of the event was dominated by Hearn??s outspoken assessment of the game in this country. The highly successful snooker and darts promoter said it was ??disgraceful?? that the Scottish Professional Football League did not have a title sponsor for the league.

In the summer of 2013 the number of governing bodies was reduced from three to two by a merger of the SPL and the Scottish Football League but Regan said there was still a need for greater unity between the existing bodies. ??I know that there are changes required and there are things we know we need to differently. Probably the biggest home truth that came out of the convention for me, and we all took it on the chin from a number of speakers, is that the leadership of Scottish football needs to actually take responsibility for sorting the game out.

??The biggest one that came out for me in half a dozen speeches is that we we??ve got to actually do it together. The guy from the German FA [DFB general secretary Helmut Sandrock] talked about sitting down with the Bundesliga when there was the catalyst of a poor performance in an international tournament: that was the lightbulb coming on for me. That caused the German FA, with 80 million people in their country, to sit down together and create a plan. We??ve got to do the same. We??re a country of five million people.

??We??re too good at beating ourselves up but we??ve got to actually create the plan and take the good things and put them into a joint plan and try and sell stories. We??ve got to sell a vision. We??ve been trying to do that following the McLeish report but we??ve got to pick ourselves up and do it again. There is still a long way to go. We are not in the best of places financially. That has been made clear. We??re not in the best of places in terms of customer experience and we must listen and learn.??

The SFA??s fixture working party will meet after Christmas to begin planning next season??s dates and Regan said it would look at potentially restructuring the scheduling of the Scottish Cup. Some supporters have criticised staging the fourth round ?? when all the Premiership clubs enter ?? in late November/early December, meaning many of the country??s bigger clubs can be knocked out with more than half of the season left. There were a series of poor attendances at all-Premiership games in the cup at the weekend and Caledonian Thistle and St Mirren drew only 1,300 to a replay on Tuesday night.

??The low attendances isn??t new news,?? said Regan. ??Price is a key part of the marketing mix but your product has to be right as well. In terms of the Scottish Cup we??ve got to review the quality of the product. There??s been talk of teams being out of the Scottish Cup before Christmas and what it means. Equally, there??s been talk of fixture congestions at the back part of the season! Any change to competition rules would be considered by the members and approved through our agm.??