THE SCOTTISH FA has been accused of providing insufficient practical and financial support for the league pyramid below the SPFL.
A ‘restart group’ has been assembled featuring representatives from the Lowland, Highland, East of Scotland and West of Scotland Leagues with a view to starting the 2020/21 in the coming months.
The body held their first meeting last week and the discussions were described as ‘very worthwhile’.
Clubs at that level hope to resume training in August with a view to starting their respective campaigns on September 26 or October 3.
While there is light at the end of the tunnel, the semi-professional divisions remain ‘disappointed’ by the perceived inaction of the Scottish FA ahead of an upcoming meeting with its chief executive Ian Maxwell.
A joint statement from the restart group said: “We have been in discussions and expressed our disappointment at the lack of information and practical support, including finance, for our semi-professional level of the game.
“We have a meeting scheduled with the Scottish FA.”
The ambitious prospective start dates for the pyramid system would actually see football resume earlier than in the Championship, League One and League Two, which will all begin on October 17.
However, it has been acknowledged that those plans are at the mercy of the Scottish Government and Scottish FA as they seek to navigate a path through the Covid-19 crisis.
The statement continued: “We are hoping to restart training in August and playing from last Saturday in September or first Saturday in October.
“These are only indicative dates for now, they will be confirmed or otherwise in line with Scottish Government/ Scottish FA instructions.
“In the meantime, all clubs will continue to observe Scottish Government guidelines which means no training or matches can take place until formally advised.
“To do otherwise would be illegal, contravene a Scottish FA Board directive, not be covered by insurance and could result in disciplinary action, and result in the restart at semi-professional level being further delayed.”
