Plans for a Conference involving Rangers, Celtic, Hearts and Aberdeen B teams to be established at tier five of Scottish football look set to be backed by Lowland League clubs.
The new division would come into play for season 2024-25 - and the Old Firm and Hearts colt teams could be invited back for another year in the Lowland League to bridge the gap. An indicative vote was held at this week’s meeting of the Lowland League board where the proposals - outlined in a pyramid working group paper last week - were discussed.
Seven clubs were in favour of the move with six against and three abstaining. When the resolution goes to the formal vote it requires a minimum eight clubs in favour - with a casting vote - to pass. That would give the pyramid working group the go ahead to negotiate with the SPFL over the make-up of the new division.
Record Sport told last week how the Conference would be funded by the Premiership sides taking part and established as a separate company meaning there would be no need for the statutory SPFL rule of 75 per cent approval to vote it in.
Discussions have already been held over the size and workings of the Conference - with either a 10 or 12 team division in the pipeline involving the four B teams and a selection of sides from the Lowland and Highland Leagues. The Highland League is understood to be lukewarm on the proposal with only a couple of clubs interested in playing a part.
The new tier, from which the Premiership B teams would be barred from winning promotion to League 2, would be run as a separate company to the SPFL. It would look to exploit commercial rights for the benefit of its member clubs and, with added financial might, would be able to offer parachute payments to clubs relegated from League 2.
However the proposal was slammed by Darvel boss Mick Kennedy last week for 'relegating 200 clubs in one go.' The Ayrshire side along with the rest of the West of Scotland, East of Scotland and South of Scotland clubs would all automatically drop a level further away from the SPFL as a result of the new division.
Kennedy, whose side stunned Scottish football by knocking Aberdeen out the Scottish Cup this season, blasted: “It would be the only reconstruction of any league in European football that managed to relegate over 200 clubs in one go.
“And just to create a platform for four teams. To create a league for them right in the middle of an existing pyramid system is astonishing.
“The only reason it’s happening in this country is the power of Rangers and Celtic. There’s a reason the new Conference requires no voting power - because they already know it’s wrong on so many levels.”
