Former Rangers academy director Craig Mulholland has been appointed as chief football officer at the Scottish FA.
As first revealed by The Herald, Mulholland was selected for the key role at Hampden where he will be responsible for "shaping and delivering the vision for football development and performance across Scotland".
Mulholland will be part of the Senior Executive Team and lead "strategies that elevate elite performance, strengthen grassroots participation and ensure Scotland’s football ecosystem thrives at every level".
The 48-year-old will replace the departed Andy Gould in the SFA post after Gould left to take up a position with FIFA as a High Performance Specialist after three decades at the governing body. Head of Men’s Elite Strategy Chris Docherty has also left his role.
Mulholland served a period of notice at Premier League club Nottingham Forest before assuming the position with the Scottish FA. He previously worked for the Scottish FA 20 years ago, having started out as a football development officer, progressing to senior youth development officer.
Mulholland spent 20 years at Rangers, initially joining as football in the community manager and holding an assortment of roles before heading up the academy for eight years from 2015. Head hunted for a job at Nottingham Forest by former Ibrox Sporting Director Ross Wilson, Wilson has since left for Newcastle United.
Read more:
- Ally McCoist labels new Rangers signing as 'overdue' amid boyhood club homecoming
- Rangers' Scottish contingent is addressed again as star is offered renewed terms
- Key Rangers academy figure posts farewell message ahead of Auchenhowie departure
The Scottish FA’s chief executive, Ian Maxwell, said: “We’re delighted to have Craig on board. He was the outstanding candidate from a thorough process.
“This is a critical role within the Scottish FA – and Scottish football in general – so we wanted to make sure that we took our time to find the right individual who can help drive improvements across the board.
“Craig comes highly recommended to us from his position as Head of Football Development & Talent Management at Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League, but we’re equally enthused by his varied experiences in Scottish football.”
Mulholland added: “I am delighted to be joining the Scottish FA at a critical time for the game in our country, which I care passionately about.
“We have the World Cup to look forward to, and that excitement brings the ideal opportunity to implement positive change throughout all areas of our game, building on the many strengths we have as a nation.
“I have loved my time working in the Premier League, where every day you are exposed to the world’s best players and coaches, but when I heard the desire and willingness from Mike, as President, and Ian, as CEO, to really implement an exciting period of growth and change here in Scotland, it was something I was excited about, delighted to accept, and privileged to be asked to lead.”
“I wish Steve and Melissa good luck for the upcoming internationals and I look forward to working with them, and all of the team at the Scottish FA, to build an exciting future with an innovative and creative approach to how we move forward at all levels of the game”
