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The Herald Scotland
15-05-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish football to retain current league set up
Scottish football is set to retain the current league set up after plans to revamp the lower leagues failed to attract enough support. Championship teams were asked to consider expanding the second tier from 10 clubs to 12 or 14. Proposals to reduce the quarter-final and semi-final of the Championship promotion play-offs from two legs to one were also placed on the agenda. Read more: With Premiership clubs unwilling to countenance proposals put forward last month for a bigger top flight, a meeting of the Competitions Working Group ended this (Thursday) morning in stalemate and an agreement amongst clubs that there should either be widespread, significant change or none at all. The promotion play-offs will remain two-legged affairs, and the CWG will recommend a policy of no change to the board of the SPFL. The preservation of the status quo after weeks of debate is likely to anger clubs in League One and League Two keen on the idea of a new 16 or 18 team third tier sitting above an eight-strong League Two in the SPFL pyramid.
Scottish Sun
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
How Scottish lower leagues could look if new SPFL reconstruction proposals go through – with one less division
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE immediate prospect of returning to a 10-team Premiership has been defeated - as has the notion of expanding the top league. That much became clear yesterday when the SPFL revealed that their controversial move to remove two teams from the top flight would understandably FAIL to get the 11-1 majority it would require to pass. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Neil Doncaster and the Competitions Working Group have come up with new proposals Credit: Kenny Ramsay 3 The league's top brass say there is 'broad agreement' around potential changes Credit: The Sun It was at the beginning of this month when it was revealed that league reconstruction was back on the table. SunSport told how SPFL chiefs wanted Scotland's top 42 clubs to consider various different forms of reshaping the leagues. But while that idea has been dismissed for now, it's being claimed there is 'broad agreement' around potential changes to the William Hill Championship, League 1 and League 2. That in itself is quite an interesting claim considering how difficult it has proven at all levels to get agreement about restructuring in the SPFL boardroom. The SPFL statement read: "The SPFL's Competitions Working Group met on 29 April to discuss the possibility of league restructuring. "It was agreed that there was no reasonable prospect of achieving consensus around a new format for the William Hill Premiership. "There was, however, broad agreement around potential changes to the William Hill Championship, League 1 and League 2. "These will be worked up with a view to conducting a consultation with clubs and other stakeholders." So what could these reshaped leagues look like, and when could they come on board? Well, it's believe that the discussions when they reconvene on May 7 will centre on the SPFL Championship expanding to 12 or 14 teams. Celtic have clinched the Premiership title - now Hatate could leave with SIX players coming in And assuming there are no new teams being admitted into the current senior set up of 42 senior teams, that would leave a third tier of either 16 or 18 teams. It's thought the earliest these plans could come into place would be the start of the 2026-27 season. It would put an end to the current ten-team format of the Championship, which has generally provided one of the most evenly-contested divisions in UK football. But one spin off COULD be greater leeway for Championship clubs to field younger players - IF the percentage chance of relegation drops given the presence of two more teams in there. Also, should relegation out of the senior leagues occur at the bottom of tier THREE rather than tier four it remains unclear exactly what the fourth tier would be. 3 Moves are afoot to split the Lowland League into West and East as well as the Highland League. But would that mean there's a place for the winners of all THREE leagues to go up to this 18-team third tier each season - something which would at least open up the pyramid at long least. That would be a surprise, considering that the club's rank and file teams will have to assent to any such proposal and the bottom placed team in the SPFL each year currently only has to submit to a playoff. One thing is clear: the devil will be in the detail if these plans are to fare any better than the hundreds of other ones which have been left on Scottish football's cutting room floor. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
The Herald Scotland
29-04-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Deadlock at the top, green light below: SPFL reform update
Herald Sport broke the news of a fresh move to reshape the leagues on April 1. And discussions will now revolve around expanding the Championship from 10 teams to 12 or 14, with Leagues One and Two merging to form one league of 16 or 18 clubs. Further talks are scheduled for May 7. The move followed a feeling by lower league representatives on the CWG that the time was right for a conversation. SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster has also spoken of the need address the issue of fixture congestion caused by the expansion of UEFA club competitions and to help to secure a softer landing for community clubs like Brechin City and Cowdenbeath when they drop out of the senior set-up to the largely unfunded Lowland and Highland Leagues. While supporters broadly favour an expansion of the top flight to end the practice of clubs playing each other four times, the Competitions Working Group were unable to come up with a plan likely to obtain the 11-1 majority required to for major change in the Premiership. An assessment of ten, 14 and 16 teams found flaws in all three structures with no agreement reached. Read more: In contrast, there was a consensus around the idea of expanding the Championship and reshaping Leagues One and Two. In a statement the SPFL said: The Competitions Working Group met on 29 April to discuss the possibility of league restructuring. 'It was agreed that there was no reasonable prospect of achieving consensus around a new format for the William Hill Premiership. 'There was, however, broad agreement around potential changes to the William Hill Championship, League 1 and League 2. 'These will be worked up with a view to conducting a consultation with clubs and other stakeholders. Any rule changes are unlikely to take place in time for next season, with 2026/27 is considered a more realistic timescale. Any formal resolution put to clubs by the SPFL Board would require the backing of 11 of the 12 Premiership clubs, eight out of 10 Championship teams and 15 of the 20 teams in Leagues One and Two to pass. A recent discussion sent to clubs proposed that the current fifth tier of the pyramid – the Highland League and Lowland League – should be replaced with a new tier of three regionalised leagues, based on the north, the east and the west.
Scotsman
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
SPFL confirm reconstruction on cards but calls for bigger Premiership fall on deaf ears
No consensus on expanded top flight but lower leagues set for shake-up Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Calls to increase the size of the Premiership are set to fall on deaf ears after the Scottish Professional Football League admitted there is no prospect of a consensus being reached. The SPFL's Competitions Working Group, made up of representatives from clubs across all four divisions, met on Tuesday to discuss the prospect of league reconstruction, including proposals for an expanded top flight of 14 or 16 clubs. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, it has been concluded that the Premiership will retain its current 12-team structure due to the unlikelihood of any changes being voted through. The Championship, League One and League Two could undergo change, though, after a "broad agreement" was reached on a possible shake-up to the lower league set-up with a formal consultation set to take place. The SPFL are considering four options for league reconstruction involving the Scottish Premiership. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group Any proposed changes would require the backing of 11 out of 12 Premiership clubs plus 75 per cent of Premiership and Championship clubs combined, as well as 75 per cent of the 42 SPFL clubs combined in order to pass. A statement issued by the governing body read: "The SPFL's Competitions Working Group met on 29 April to discuss the possibility of league restructuring. It was agreed that there was no reasonable prospect of achieving consensus around a new format for the William Hill Premiership. 'There was, however, broad agreement around potential changes to the William Hill Championship, League 1 and League 2. These will be worked up with a view to conducting a consultation with clubs and other stakeholders." Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scotland's top flight has consisted of 12 teams since switching from 10 for the 2000-01 season. There has long been a demand from many supporters to see the league increased in number in order to add variety and cut down on the number of times teams face each other in a season. However, there is also concern among those responsible for sourcing TV and sponsorship deals that increasing the number of teams in the league would dilute the overall quality and reduce the number of showpiece fixtures between the bigger clubs.
STV News
29-04-2025
- Sport
- STV News
No return to ten-team Premiership as SPFL eyes changes to lower divisions
There will be no return to a ten-team Premiership after the SPFL admitted that there was no consensus around changes to the top flight. Discussions around league reconstruction returned earlier this month after it was revealed that a working group was considering options to change the format of the professional league set-up. Different proposals were to be discussed, including a 14 or 16-team Premiership or even a return to a ten-team top flight. The issue was being consideration partly to try and find a way to lower the number of games being played, as an increased number of games in UEFA competition and a busy international calendar had made for a tight schedule with little room to accommodate postponements. Consideration of a ten-team Premiership proved controversial, with many fans and clubs opposed to a smaller top division, but some within the game believing it was the best option for the future. The SPFL sub-committee held talks to see what recommendations could be put to member clubs and have reached a conclusion, ruling out any reconstruction that involves changing the size of the Premiership. However, there is an appetite to look at changes to the other three divisions and a consultation is to take in the views of clubs and others affected. An SPFL spokesperson said: 'The SPFL's Competitions Working Group met on 29 April to discuss the possibility of league restructuring. 'It was agreed that there was no reasonable prospect of achieving consensus around a new format for the William Hill Premiership. 'There was, however, broad agreement around potential changes to the William Hill Championship, League 1 and League 2. 'These will be worked up with a view to conducting a consultation with clubs and other stakeholders.' Tha announcement gives certainly about the format of the Premiership at the end of a season where 'the split' has ensured a fight to the end of the season to confirm European places, and a hard-fought battle between several teams to avoid relegation. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
