Chairman of the board

Chairman of the board

Sir Jackie Stewart

One of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time, yet he has cited the biggest disappointment of his sporting career as his failure to become an Olympian. Stewart had competed at Monza - he was to claim his first F1 victory there - in clay pigeon shooting long before he arrived as a racing driver. His qualification for the British Olympic team was considered a formality but, while taking part in the qualifying tournament on his 21st birthday, he shot his worst round of the year and missed out by a single point.

Not only as a sportsman but as one of the great sages of world sport, as demonstrated by his crusade for improved safety in motor racing, Stewart would be a fine contender to chair the first Scottish Olympic Board.

Potential board members

Sir Alex Ferguson

He may be an avowed No man but it is hard to imagine the former Scotland football manager turning down the chance to offer guidance to the Scottish sports community if approached in the right way and he could surely be counted upon for forthright advice whatever the issue.

Rhona Howie

It's vital that the winter sports perspective be represented, given that the Winter Games are a separate event and who better to represent them from a Scottish perspective than the woman who famously delivered 'the stone of destiny' 12 years ago in Salt Lake City and was, until recently, head coach of the Great Britain curling programme.

Andy Irvine

A successful businessman, as well as a great former Scotland and British & Irish Lions player, who has twice seen the need to become involved in rugby administration when he felt the Scottish game has reached times of crisis while, as manager of the last Lions tour, he has continued to remain actively involved in sport at the highest level.

Paul Lawrie

With golf to feature on the Olympic schedule for the first time, few sportspeople have done as much to develop young talent while still competing than the down-to-earth Aberdonian whose golf foundation model has been copied by Scotland's latest addition to the European Ryder Cup team, Stephen Gallacher.

Liz McColgan

Scotland's only track world champion was famed for her work ethic and for her unwillingness to compromise, maintains a direct involvement in elite athletics, not least through her support of daughter Eilish's career, and you could probably sell tickets for board meetings if you could guarantee that she and Fergie would be on opposite sides of any debate.

Judy Murray

Setting aside her capacity to insist on the involvement of two Wimbledon champions on the basis that you should always do as yer maw says, Britain's current Fed Cup captain has considerable credibility in the sporting world in her own right . . . so long as she doesn't completely destroy it on Strictly over the next few weeks.

GraEMe Obree

Six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy might seem the obvious cycling representative but small countries need to be able to think outside the box when it comes to gaining a competitive edge and few people in the history of any sport have shown greater capacity to do that than the man who set world records on a bike which contained bits of washing machine.

Steve Ovett

England would obviously hang on to the services of his old rival but, somehow, Ovett's persona always seemed more in keeping with the Scottish outlook and, while he now lives in Australia, he spent much of his life in Dumfriesshire, with the result that all four of his children are native Scots.

David Wilkie

The only person to have held British, American, Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic swimming titles at the same time, the 1976 Olympic 200 metre breaststroke champion has become more prominent again in recent years as a commentator and, as a millionaire business man, could also brings additional expertise.