SFA Take heed

SCOTTISH football – the working man’s sport, a game by the people for the people; but there has been little evidence of this recently.

The reputation of our national sport lies bloodied and broken as attendance levels dwindle and our premier league as a genuine competition has all but died.

The average attendance in the 2009/10 season for Kilmarnock – Scotland’s oldest premier league team – is 5596, for Falkirk 5695, and for Hamilton Accies the average attendance is 3135 – less than many English conference teams.

Consistently there are more teams in the SPL fighting to avoid relegation than there are fighting for a top-six position.

With their fight for SPL survival, these teams are also fighting for their footballing lives, as relegation would almost certainly result in financial ruin and administration.

However this is not a challenge specific to the lower teams, as even Rangers – reigning league champions and champions elect – struggle to clear their debt and find a buyer for the cash-strapped institution.

This, a club steeped in history with a huge worldwide fan base and who are part of arguably the biggest match day derby in the world.

Universally agreed as a league title battled out between the Old Firm, once giants of the Scottish game such as Dundee United, Aberdeen, Hibernian and Hearts, fight for the secondary prize of a European cup place, but offer no real concerted competition to the Glasgow pair.

So what can be done to assure the future of football in Scotland so that our national sport may preserve its once rich history and drive itself forward to become a contending force again?

Now that Gordon Smith – who many considered as Scottish football’s white knight – has left his post as the Chief Executive of the SFA, the gravity of the question deepens.

Well it could do far worse than to take a leaf from the book of Ireland’s Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA).

The GAA is a community based volunteer organisation promoting Gaelic Games, and since its inception in the Thurles in 1884, the organisation has enjoyed a long, colourful and successful history.

A democratic association with a clear, structured hierarchy, the GAA truly is an ambassador of a game by the people, for the people.

The structure of the sport is quite astonishing. Two-and-a-half thousand teams play on a weekly basis in local leagues. If players are good enough they then get chosen to play for their county of which there are 32.

Counties compete during the summer at the sports world headquarters – Croke Park – for the Sam Maguire (Gaelic football) and Liam McCarthy (Hurling) trophies, in front of a consistently full capacity of 82,300.

But the structure of the leagues and competitions is not what is so impressive. The story of the funding of Croke Park is a brilliant tale of national pride.

Much of the €120 million cost of renovation for the stadium was raised through funds from the pre-sale of executive suites, premium seats and term tickets for ordinary seats – this is even before the stadium was designed. Although there were healthy contributions by National Lottery funding and the Irish government, the stadium – which has a floor area of 16 acres – was paid for by the people.

The 2,500 teams mentioned earlier, held a series of fundraising events over the course of seven years, the funds of which went towards the construction of this marvellous arena.

Seven years. This was not a half-hearted attempt to ‘help out’; this was a commitment, a concerted effort by the people. This was history in the making.

In 2008-9, all but €300,000 of the operating surplus of €25 million generated by the stadium was redistributed throughout the association – right the way to the 2,500 ground-level teams that helped fund the project.

This is a venture which the GAA are fiercely proud and protective of.

When Landsdowne Road closed for renovation to increase its capacity and update facilities, the FAI and IRFU’s request to host their respective international matches at Croke Park was initially denied after a vote by all members of the GAA. After a second vote, both associations were given permission; however the GAA said this will be the last time that a non-national sport would be allowed to be played at the stadium.

The combined fees raised through the rent paid by the FAI and IRFU amounted to nearly €40 million by the time the new Lansdowne Road was completed. After covering the costs for new floodlights at Croke Park, and clearing the final amount of debt held by the GAA, the remainder of this amount was again cascaded throughout the organisation to ground level.

Match day prices at Croke Park are more than reasonable: €10 for an adult, €5 for a child and concession, as well as several special packages, including a free adult entry for four child tickets paid.

A stadium and organisation like this could be expected to charge upwards of €30 per ticket, and indeed when the Irish Rugby team competed in the Six-nations over the past two years, the IRFU charged €40 for standard tickets.

However, the ethos of the GAA – again – is that this is a game by the people, for the people; so why would they charge their own ‘over-the-odds’ prices resulting in a half-full stadium for non-final ties?

By charging so little, the GAA can guarantee that the stadium will be more than three-quarters full for every game.

And what a brilliant ethos it is; one that the SFA and Scottish football as a whole would do well to take heed of.

An adult ticket at Rugby Park costs £20 for a non-Old Firm game, £25 when the Glasgow giants come to town – a pricing structure mirrored by Falkirk and Hamilton. Is it any wonder then that the attendance levels for these teams are so low?

When Kilmarnock played Ayr United in a 2008-9 Scottish Cup replay (held on a Thursday night), the Ayrshire club charged fans £13, pulling in a crowd of 11,563. This may have been a local derby, but the statistics clearly speak for themselves.

So, as the Scottish game finds itself at this negative juncture in its history, it could do far worse than take a leaf out of the GAA’s book by helping each other, by pulling together, by giving something back to the working family, the fans. Do this, and they will give back.

Do this, and who knows; Scottish football may become great again.

Ayrshire refs rule the roost

BY Fraser Wilson

UNSURPRISINGLY this seasons Scottish Junior Cup semi-finals have a distinctly Ayrshire tinge to them.

However, as Largs United gear up to face Clydebank, it wont be the West-coast teams’ involvement that will have the Ayrshire faithful following the ties.

Played over two-legs on April 10 and 17, three of the four games will have Ayrshire referees in charge.

Ross Haswell of Stewarton, Greg Aitken of Kilmaurs and Kevin Graham of Kilmarnock, have all been rewarded for their fine command of games throughout the season.

Rightly acknowledged as a great achievement for Ayrshire Refereeing, the three involved are all hopeful this could be a catalyst in their careers, and are excited by their appointment.

West Region referee of seven years, Ross Haswell, said: “This is a massive coup for me personally and I’m honoured to receive this appointment from SJFA and SFA.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to be involved in the final-stages of a National competition, and hopefully its a great game without any major incidents.”

Of his representatives, Dougie Smith, Ayrshire Referee Association Manager, said: “From our point of view, these are three well deserved appointments and just-reward for all the hard work put in by the guys, not just over this season, but throughout their careers so far.”

The first match between Lochee United and Linlithgow Rose will be stewarded by Kevin Graham, the return leg of which will be charged by Haswell.

The second-leg of the Largs Thistle and Clydebank match will be refereed by Greg Aitken.

Lochee have already lost to their SuperLeague rivals this season, being humbled 3-1 at home to Linlithgow, and sit four places behind their semi-final opponents.

Of the game, Haswell said: “Being a West region referee, I’m looking forward to an exciting match between two of the East regions top clubs, both of whom have reached the final in recent years.”

Smith concluded: “It’s great for refereeing in Ayrshire to receive three prestigious appointments from the SJFA, and the whole association is proud of their achievements.”

Attack at amateur match

By Fraser Wilson

AN amateur football match played in good spirits, was marred last Saturday by a group of Stevenson locals who attacked both sets of players as they walked to the changing rooms after the match.

The Ayrshire league tie between Ardeer Rovers and Stewarton United had gone without incident, with both sets of players eager to enjoy the game.

However, the young crowd – who had been drinking for the duration of the match – had verbally and physically abused opposing players and the referee throughout the game, throwing bottles towards the playing area.

Their behaviour climaxed as the teams walked off the pitch, with women and children caught in the attack.

An female onlooker said: “I’m really shaken up by this. I don’t think it mattered that there were women and kids walking with the teams.”

Although no one was seriously injured in the skirmish, two of the Stewarton players were attacked with chairs, and another punched in the face.

As the teams tried to change and leave the premises quickly the youths attacked again, throwing a punch towards Stewarton manager Martin Boyle.

This is the second time such behaviour has occurred at an Ardeer home match this season, however the club were quick to distance themselves from the ‘supporters’ involved.

A report will be submitted by the match day referee, after which it will be down to the Scottish Amateur Football Association to deal with the matter.

Mr Boyle said: “It’s a shame that Ardeer may be held accountable for the trouble after the game, but something has to be done to ensure no other teams experience this in the future.”

SCOTLAND misses out on wind-farm

SCOTLAND has missed out on plans for a new wind turbine factory, which will create an estimated 700 jobs.

German manufacturing giant, Siemens, have unveiled to invest £80 million in an offshore wind turbine production facility in the UK to meet future demand.

Despite previous discussions with Scottish Enterprise, the firm are looking at sites in the east and north-east of England.

Siemens president and chief executive, Peter Loscher, said: “With the new wind turbine production plant in the UK we’re pushing ahead with our strategy of investments in attractive growth markets for eco-friendly technology.”

RAUF faces another police probe

THE £138,000 double benefits cheat backed by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is now at the centre of a third probe.

Officials at the Scottish Legal Aid Board are to examine an application by Adbul Rauf, 59, of Glasgow, as it emerged he had an undisclosed source of cash to repay money from a previous fraud debt.

Scottish Legal Aid only provide legal help to people in Scotland who would not otherwise be able to afford it.

Rauf appeared at Glasgow’s sheriff court in January over a Department of Work and Pensions scam after pocketing £80,000 of income support.

Rauf will be sentenced for his £80,000 income support scam in May.

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