A leading Scottish football fans group has urged clubs to give the Conference League plan a “bloody nose” and vote it out at tomorrow's SFA AGM.
The controversial proposal for the new 10-team league at tier five of the Scottish pyramid to incorporate Rangers, Celtic, Hearts B sides looks doomed to fail when it goes to a poll at Hampden despite a late appeal from SFA chief Ian Maxwell.
More than 40 clubs have publicly stated their opposition to the plan - and with a majority of the 102 clubs with a vote required to back the plan it is looking increasingly unlikely to pass. Critics have blasted the three Premiership clubs for self-interest and using the plan as a vehicle to elevate their B teams into the SPFL proper at a later stage. SFA chiefs have also been accused of failing to consult with clubs across the pyramid over the proposal which in essence will relegate over 200 teams below at tier five and below.
On Monday St Mirren, Livingston and Queen of the South became the latest clubs to voice their opposition with the fan-owned Buddies revealing 83 per cent of those supporters they surveyed were against the plan.
Now the Scottish Football Supporters Association have urged the remaining clubs to put the final nail in the coffin tomorrow - while urging SFA bosses to come up with bigger and better ideas for youth development. Chairman Andy Smith: said: “I really hope that this daft idea based on the self-interest of just three members gets the bloody nose it deserves on Tuesday.
“The main difference between the clubs coming out and saying no and the SFA is that the clubs have been talking to their fans and communities, something the SFA and SPFL never seem to do.
“Fans know that Scottish Football needs change and changes and are happy to help but we need to have a plan and a programme and that starts with asking the right questions, not the usual railroading nonsense.
“We need some bigger thinking and football needs to realise that common good will always out trump self Interest. Fans are the real stakeholders and we want clubs to vote no to this nonsense and to ask for more and better from those who run the game.”
Aberdeen had been invited to become the fourth side to enter a B team in the Conference - with each of the big four paying a six-figure annual fee for the right - with the rest of the division made up of teams from the Highland and Lowland Leagues.
But the Dons turned down the opportunity stating their preference to continue sending players on loan to further their development. Clyde, Cove Rangers, Kelty Hearts, Stenhousemuir, Stirling Albion and Cowdenbeath were among the clubs who noted their opposition to the plan over the weekend while scores more in the Lowland and West of Scotland Leagues will also vote no.
However, SFA chief Maxwell believes the proposal would boost youth development at the 19-21 stage and help bridge the quality gap at the top end of the international game.
He said: “We’re looking at it purely from a player development perspective. There is evidence from Croatia, France, Germany and Spain who have got B teams – I think seven of the top 10 nations in Europe have got B teams within their domestic structures.
“Croatia are often flung up as an example. How can a country with a smaller population perform so well when we can’t? What are they doing that we’re not? They’ve got B teams.
“I’m not saying if we implement B teams in a Conference League we’re going to qualify for every World Cup to come. But we know we have a problem and this is a potential solution to try to fix it.”
