The SPFL and Scottish FA have announced the introduction of a Cooperation System and a revamped Challenge Cup format for the 2025/26 season, aimed at enhancing youth player development.
The new system allows players aged 16-21 to move between parent and partner clubs for more game time.
The Challenge Cup will feature Premiership B teams in a league phase, providing young talent with senior-level experience.
The lack of first-team minutes handed out to young homegrown talents across Scotland's top-flight has been a prevalent topic throughout the current campaign, with Motherwell's Lennon Miller and David Watson of Kilmarnock proving to rare rare exceptions.
Neil Doncaster, CEO of the SPFL, highlighted the benefits for Scottish football’s future.
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He said: "There are few things more exciting for football fans than a young player breaking through the system and making a successful impact on the first team, whether that’s Lennon Miller at Motherwell or David Watson at Kilmarnock, who first made his debut aged 16 in the Challenge Cup.
"We believe that this new Cooperation System and new Challenge Cup format will help encourage more players to come through, which can only be good for the league and the men’s national team.
"Our new Challenge Cup format will provide more opportunities for young Scottish players to progress than any previous competition set-up. We look forward to sharing further details on the new format in due course."
Meanwhile, SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell commented: “Today’s announcement is a significant step forward in enhancing first-team opportunities for the most talented young players in Scotland.
"The publication of the Transition Report - written by our Chief Football Officer, Andy Gould, and Head of Men’s Elite Strategy, Chris Docherty - brought home not only the alarming trend of young players getting less and less game time but it also included a series of practical solutions that have been proven to have worked in leagues across the world.
"We are pleased that clubs have bought in to the principles of the report and that the first two innovations have been approved in time for next season.
"We look forward to seeing young Scottish players given a platform to fulfil their undoubted potential with greater opportunity."
