Rangers and Celtic twist makes Scottish football politics interesting after latest news
Rangers and Celtic are facing big opposition in their hopes of seeing a restructure to the lower rungs of the Scottish football ladder, according to the Guardian’s Ewan Murray.
The Old Firm sides are in favour of introducing a 10-team Conference League below League Two, with a vote set to be held at the Scottish Football Association’s annual general meeting.
Both clubs, and Scottish Premiership rivals Hearts, want its introduction to give a permanent home to their ‘B’ teams but many sides further down the ladder believe bringing in an extra tier would essentially see them relegated by one league, with the politics set for a new twist.
“The core motivation for the proposal is providing a long-term home for the B teams of Celtic, Rangers and Hearts, from season 2024-25,” Murray wrote.
“Aberdeen had considered joining but regarded the scheme not worth the six-figure cost. Queen’s Park also appear to have backed away despite initial interest.
“What the Old Firm want in Scotland, they tend to get; which renders the politics of this situation hugely interesting.”
It’s understandable
Whenever changes to the structure of league pyramids like this get mentioned there are always two sides to the story.
Basically, change can be beneficial, but change can be detrimental too.
Promotions in Scottish football are already extremely difficult, and teams way down in the Highland or Lower League will undoubtedly feel like their pathways to success are being closed off by the money boys.
At the other end of the spectrum, if you are Rangers or Celtic the introduction of the league means their young players are getting some valuable minutes at a competitive level as they aim to forge a path towards the first team.
The benefits are clear and, thinking more broadly, it could help the long-term prospects of Scotland’s national teams if young players are being exposed to regular competitive football.
You can always empathise with the less wealthy clubs in these situations, but the position of Rangers and Celtic in this scenario is understandable.
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