ALL 30 Scottish Football League clubs – including Rangers – will meet at Hampden in a fortnight's time to thrash out their strategy on league reconstruction.
The November 14 date for the get-together pre-empts the November 30 deadline set by the Scottish Football Association for Scotland's two league bodies to reach agreement on the future shape of the game, or else risk the national governing body attempting to implement their own structure in time for the 2013-14 season.
The deadline was one of a number of items in a joint statement released by the executives of all three bodies this summer as SFL clubs mulled over whether to admit the Ibrox club into the first division as a newco, alongside such strategic SFA aims as one unified professional league body, a larger top division, a pyramid structure, and a new model for the distribution of money.
Fast forward four months and Herald Sport understands that SFL chairmen are largely in favour of a lasting settlement incorporating many of those items but are keen that any new agreement should not be rushed. They are sensitive to the view that any restructure which proceeds before the summer of 2014 could be widely perceived as an attempt to fast-track Rangers back into the top flight. If and when agreement is reached, one likely outcome of the restructure is that the existing 42 clubs are distributed among three divisions, rather than the current four.
The topic of league reconstruction is also concentrating minds in the SPL, with the issue of changes to league voting rights – thought to be a vital step in the process – due to be reconsidered this month. Aberdeen, who are thought to prefer a smaller top division, joined Celtic in opposition to the proposal to get rid of the current 11-1 majority required to make changes and standardise it a 9-3.
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