IT is nearly nine years ago now since Fraser Wishart, the chief executive of footballer’s union PFA Scotland, was called through to Holyrood to speak in front of the Public Petitions Committee during a discussion about the state of youth football in this country.
The former Motherwell, St Mirren, Falkirk, Rangers and Hearts defender, though, is not at all surprised that deep concerns about how young people are treated by professional clubs remain today.
Nor does he believe the complaints which have been made to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) about certain SFA and SPFL rules by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner (Scotland) and campaign group Real Grassroots will bring about changes which he and many others believe are needed.
“If they are told to scrap these rules their next step will be to say, ‘What is the absolute minimum we can do so we can fudge this?’,” said Wishart. “If these rules are found to be breaking competition law, the response will be to say, ‘How can we get away with this now?’.”
The unwillingness of those who occupy positions of power in the Scottish game to accept that improvements need to be made and implement them – even when it comes to a matter as serious as the physical and mental wellbeing of the kids who are in the pro-youth set-up – has long been a source of frustration for him.
He can appreciate why the CMA have been asked to examine if the ‘no poach’, the ‘no approach’ and the ‘development contribution’ rules which are currently in the SFA and SPFL handbooks breach competition law.
He can understand why an outside agency has been urged to look at the controversial two-year registration which children at elite level in the Club Academy Scotland system sign when they turn 15.
He is convinced that a complete overhaul of how football is governed in this country is required for much-needed change to take place.
“Over the years, very little has changed, not just in this area, but in all areas of Scottish football,” he said. “It is important to always remember the game is run by the clubs. We have clubs investigating clubs, clubs setting the rules for the clubs. For me, that is a major issue. They won’t change unless they’re absolutely forced to.
“Nobody is asking awkward questions. At PFA Scotland, we do ask awkward questions. But there are not enough people doing that in my view. Little changes unless you actually force through change.”
There have been growing calls for Scotland to follow the lead of England and appoint an independent regulator who can help to safeguard the financial stability of the senior football clubs and ensure there is good governance of the game.
Maree Todd, the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, refused to commit to bringing one in following a debate in the Scottish parliament last year, but cross-party discussions have since been held about the feasibility, effectiveness and cost of having someone in the new role.
Wishart is not in favour of that move. However, he has seen how clubs in Scotland and down south are increasingly involving fans in their day-to-day running and is convinced that a drastic change in how the sport in this country is governed is vital. He would like to see players, managers, coaches and supporters have a far greater say going forward than they do at the moment.
“My position, and the position of PFA Scotland, is that there is no need for an independent regulator up here,” he said. “It would be costly and it would take money out of the game.
“But that’s dependent on the governance model changing. The biggest challenge for the SPFL and the SFA is how they involve stakeholders like ourselves. We have regular meetings with the SPFL and the SFA to discuss issues, but we don’t have a formal role in the governance of the game. Nor do other stakeholders, like supporters.
“There should be no need for a regulator, but you do need to have a collaborative approach. You need to have people with different opinions and you need to be able to make an informed decision, not just have rules that are there simply to protect football clubs and ensure they get compensation for kids.
“I’ve asked people, ‘Why are PFA Scotland not more involved in the governance of the game?’ They reply, ‘It’s because you ask awkward questions’. But that should be for the good of the game.”
Wishart continued: “I am on the FIFPro global and European boards. The European board deal with UEFA. We have just signed a memorandum of understanding with UEFA. We are going to work together on all sorts of topics.
“We will also have two seats on the UEFA executive board from 2026. It means we are sitting around the table with clubs, the leagues and UEFA and can find solutions to potential problems.
“I’ve got good relations with the governing bodies in Scotland. We had a meeting last week to discuss a number of topics. The door is always open. But when it comes down to the overall governance of the game, the clubs don’t want us in the door, they don’t want managers and coaches in the door, the don’t want the supporters in the door.
“Behind the scenes, they control things, they decide the rules, they decide the regulations. But it’s not good governance if you’ve not got different voices at the table. It’s very much a case of, ‘You stay outside, we’ll run our industry, don’t bother coming to tell us what to do’.
“It’s about control for the clubs, the bigger clubs especially. If they feel they’re losing a bit of control, they don’t like it. I’m not particularly in favour of politicians having a great influence over the game of football, but in matters of public interest like the treatment of children, you have to listen to them.”
Wishart is certainly unsettled by how kids are treated by many professional clubs, how few of them make the successful transition into the paid ranks and how they are viewed as prized possessions to be cashed in on, not people.
“I have become very aware in recent years of clubs always talking about compensation when they talk about youth players,” he said. “That is all they speak about, they are utterly obsessed by it. Players, whether they are 12 or they are 21, are treated like commodities. It is just about money.
“The problem for me is that clubs are not actually looking to develop these young lads into good players, to help them break into the first team, to give them a career. I think they’re only interested in selling them. For me, that is an unhealthy obsession in Scottish football that we need to change.
“It’s just not right. It’s clogging up the system. You’ve got players at clubs who aren’t getting a game, but their club won’t release them because they want a compensation fee. So they just stagnate. When they eventually leave the club for a free transfer at 22 or 23, it’s hard for them get first team football anywhere and their career’s gone.
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“There are exceptions. Lennon Miller has done well because he has played a lot of games at a young age. But it goes back to the fact that clubs almost don’t want players for their clubs, they want players they can turn them around and sell on quickly.
“Are they interested in a kid who might take more work over a five or six-year period, but who will end up as a first team player for 10 years? Not really. They want instant hits or you are out of the door.
“Their obsession with compensation, with controlling the player’s career, is to the detriment of the player. If he’s not going to make it at your club then let him go, don’t hang onto him hoping for a compensation fee.”
Wishart added: “One of the worst things that is in place is the two-year registration. When you’re 15 years old you sign a registration that ties you to the club until you’re 17. But they don’t have to offer you a professional contract when you are 16.
“You might want to become a pro footballer at another club, you might have an offer there, but you can’t go because a club has your registration. The whole system is just wrong.
“The fact that it is so confusing to us and requires lawyers to look at it is wrong as well. What do most parents make of it? Do parents understand how it works? I am not sure they do. If I am still not 100 per cent clear about how it all works then what chance do they have?
“Parents are running their kids to training three nights a week and taking them to games at the weekend. They are giving up so much. For what? Hardly any players become professionals at the end of it all.
“How many players who started in the system when they are 11 are still in it at 21? How many are playing professional football? How many are playing on a Saturday? There are very few.
“But clubs would rather stop a player leaving their club and developing elsewhere than that just allowing them to go and be happy. If a 13-year-old isn’t happy, why should he be stopped by registration, by compensation, by rules which are designed to be unclear? Why is that allowed?
“Maybe he isn’t enjoying the training, maybe he isn’t enjoying being at the club, maybe he fancies going back to playing with his pals for fun. Why have we got a system like that? The question you have to ask is, ‘If you’re not going to play young players why are you bothering developing them?’ The answer is easy. It’s about money.
“It is not just the youth registration which is an issue. If you are out of contract after turning professional at the age of 16 before you turn 23 and you move from a Scottish club to an English there is a FIFA matrix that determines how much compensation is paid.
“If you move in Scotland, though, it’s still an unknown. An independent panel is set up to give a very subjective view. But that scares off Scottish clubs from signing a young player from another Scottish club. It is another case of clubs making rules for clubs so that nobody ever leaves. Clubs like grey areas.
“Nobody has any idea what the compensation is. But clubs like that because it means that a buying club won’t take that gamble. It might be £100,000, it might be £500,000, it might be £1 million. So clubs won’t take that gamble. But that is what it is designed to do. It’s designed to restrict the movement of players. Clubs like a mess, like uncertainty, like the waters to be muddy, so that nobody will use the rule.
“I think we have got ourselves in a bit of a mess with the player trading model. When you look at the Premiership teams on a Saturday, you’re lucky if there’s any Scottish players under the age of 21 playing.”
