Falkirk chairman calls for restructure of ‘outdated’ Scottish league
The format of the Scottish league is outdated and should be restructured with a 16-team Premiership to help boost football in the country, says the chairman of second-tier promotion-challengers Falkirk.
Speaking at the club’s AGM, Doug Henderson said the slide of Scottish football, from falling attendances to the poor performance of the national side and their top clubs in Europe, would continue unless steps were taken to change the current system.
Scotland were the only team from the British Isles not to qualify for next year’s European Championship and Celtic, Scottish champions for the past four seasons, regularly fail to make any impact in European competition. Scottish football’s top four tiers are currently organised into a 12-team Premiership with three lower divisions each containing 10 teams.
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“Reflecting economic reality and the need for premier division full-time football, I believe that we must put vested interest aside and reform our leagues bringing about a 16-team premier division,” he said. “Our league structure is out of kilter with the economics of football in Scotland and I believe that my counterpart chairmen recognise what we have currently is outdated.
“Playing other clubs four times a season is not attractive to most football supporters – as surveys show – and there is a slippage of attendance for many clubs in the Premiership. Television dictates our fixtures with high revenue Saturday games often being moved to midweek with little consideration given to fans and their families, or the financial consequences for clubs like Falkirk.
“Our international side does not compete with countries like Ireland, Norway, Iceland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Belgium and others. Even with Celtic’s unique financial position, it has in recent times been incapable of competing effectively in Europe. Our other clubs which qualify for Europe are very frequently knocked out at the early stages of competition.”
He said clubs needed to consider what is best for the Scottish game in the longer term. “[We need] to make sensible restructuring changes which can help to lay a strong foundation for the future, protecting the maximum number of full-time clubs and securing a sustainable platform for growth in our national sport.”
Falkirk last played in the top flight in 2010 and are currently chasing promotion from the Scottish Championship.