The architects of a new co-operation system between clubs in the SPFL believe the initiative will improve the performance of Scotland’s national team on the world stage.
The Scottish FA have given clubs the green light to go live with the agreements from June 16 in a bid to tackle the dearth of young players playing first team football in the senior leagues.
Talks over tie ups are already underway with Celtic talking to Queen’s Park, Rangers in discussions with Raith Rovers, Dundee United studying a link up with Montrose, Aberdeen preparing to work with Arbroath and Cove Rangers and Hearts negotiating with League Two Spartans.
Recent figures from CIES Observatory show that St Mirren offered just 0.8% of their available first team minutes to players aged 21 or under. Dundee had the highest figure in the SPFL Premiership with 24.8%.
Concerned by the trend, a consultation period between the governing body and clubs concluded with Scottish youngsters aged between 16-21 granted more flexibility to move between their parent club and a lower league partner when the transfer window opens in two weeks’ time.
Authors of a transition report into the issue published last year, SFA Chief Football Officer Andy Gould and Head of Men’s Elite Strategy Chris Docherty studied similar systems in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Hungary and Serbia and persuaded clubs that the national game had to embrace change.
“This can definitely make a difference to Scotland teams of the future,’ Gould told Herald Sport.
“It’s an opportunity for clubs to use a system that enhances their chances of getting players into their first team.
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“At the top end of the game it gives them a greater opportunity of selling those players and, down the line, there is an opportunity for the national team to get the benefit of that.
“That’s not necessarily going to happen overnight, it does take a period of time.
“How many years is difficult to predict, but we need to find a competitive system which gives us a competitive edge over others and at the minute we don’t have that.”
Clubs in the SPFL Premiership or Championship will be permitted to sign agreements with clubs in League One, Two or the Highland and Lowland Leagues allowing them to place a maximum of three players eligible to play for Scotland’s national team on a ‘cooperation list.’
In contrast with loans those players can move freely between parent club and the lower league partner during the league season. Parent clubs will pay the salary of the player in full and maintain the player’s registration, with the right to recall the player at any time and send another one. The loan system will remain in place, allowing clubs to use a combination of the two to increase the maximum number of players they can take from the same parent outfit from three to five.
Scotland face Iceland at Hampden on Friday night with Motherwell captain Lennon Miller, Kieran Bowie of Hibs, James Wilson of Hearts in the squad, with Docherty citing the trio as a positive development.
“Not all of those players will start every World Cup qualifier. But Steve (Clarke) has called up players like Lennon Miller and James Wilson, now the youngest ever Scotland player, and he has shown clubs in the SPFL that if you put a young player in the first team at a young age and start to develop them they have a real chance of making it into a Scotland squad.
“So I think the national coach, in this case, is sending a signal to clubs that if you develop young players that will develop the national team and help them as well.”
