SCOTLAND'S oldest football club, Queen's Park, has voted to end its amateur status following a vote amongst club members.
The Glasgow club that counts Scotland captain Andy Robertson and Dundee United striker Lawrence Shankland as former players was previously the only amateur side out of the 42 SPFL clubs and is now permitted to offer part-time and full-time contracts to its players for the first time in its history.
Queen's Park, founded in 1867, has decided to go professional in a bid to protect the team from losing their top players for no compensation.
The club will also be leaving Hampden at the end of the season after selling the ground to the Scottish FA, and will play at Lesser Hampden from the beginning of the 2020/21 season onwards.
Queen's Park are one of the most successful clubs in Scotland and have won 10 Scottish Cups, the third-highest total of any team in the country.
The club released a statement that read: "We can announce that the resolution to enable the club to offer professional terms has been passed.
"The club would like to thank the members and supporters for their interest and input over the past few months.
"We recognise the difficulty in introducing this resolution, however, we believe this will enable us to plan for a bright future as we face up to the challenges of moving from the National Stadium and maintaining our senior league place."
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