SFA National Football Survey

[Frankie 8,186]

The findings of the first-ever Scottish National Football Survey have now been published, with almost 7000 supporters having their say on the major issues affecting the game in this country.

 

Commissioned by the Scottish FA, and issued in conjunction with the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Football League and Supporters Direct Scotland, the National Football Survey provides invaluable feedback on all aspects of the game and highlights key areas for improvement.

 

Split into two sections, the survey has captured responses on the four strategic pillars of the Scottish FA strategic plan â?? Perform and Win, Strong Quality Growth, Respected and Trusted to Lead, and Better Financial Returns â?? as well as a comprehensive section on club-specific fan experience.

 

Among the headline findings:

 

* The majority of supporters wish to see a larger top league, operated by a single league body, and with no more than three senior divisions.

 

* Supporters consider greater financial distribution and a merger of the SPL and SFL to be the most important aspects of any reconstruction.

 

* While the majority of fans consider the National Menâ??s A Squad to be seriously underachieving, the majority also consider the Womenâ??s National Team and the National Youth Teams to be performing as expected or overachieving.

 

* Better Coaching, increased grassroots participation and better facilities are the three main factors in improving standards.

 

* There is no consensus on the optimal fixture calendar between the traditional season (August to May), March to November or an earlier start with an extended winter break.

 

* Majority of fans believe the new Judicial Panel system delivers more speedy disciplinary decisions.

 

Stewart Regan, Scottish FA Chief Executive: â??We believe the Naional Football Survey will be an essential tool year-on-year to gauge the mood of Scottish footballâ??s fans and measure the progress of our own targets within the strategic plan Scotland United: A 2020 Vision. Naturally, league reconstruction is the hot topic among the supporters at the moment and while the numbers remain subjective, the overwhelming majority of fans believe a single league body, fairer financial distribution and pyramid are essential in any reconstruction process.

 

â??While ultimately it is a matter for the league bodies to decide on, the feedback from supporters is in line with the Scottish FAâ??s view and I am sure the results of the report will be taken on board by the respective bodies.

 

â??The survey has also shown that the success of the national Menâ??s A Squad is inextricably linked to the perceived success or otherwise of the Scottish FA as the governing body. This has been a traditional perception that we have worked hard to dispel and we will continue to promote the other areas that come under our jurisdiction: Scottish Cup, Performance strategy, grassroots development, referee development, compliance and club licensing to name just a few of our focus areas.

 

â??What I found particularly interesting within the report is the fansâ?? preferred communications methods. The Scottish FA has already established a positive relationship with Supporters Direct Scotland â?? indeed, they have been heavily involved in the survey â?? and we will continue to cultivate that relationship.

 

â??We have also recently held a QnA with our national coach and members of the Scotland Supporters Club and we believe that type of forum, with direct input from fans, should be taken on the road via our six established regions to discuss and debate all issues affecting the game.

 

â??It is also reassuring to note that the majority of supporters are seeing the benefit of the new Judicial Panel, which has improved the efficiency of disciplinary process significantly with the help of our compliance officer, Vincent Lunny, and our cab rank of more than 100 panel members.

 

â??In general, the National Football Survey has provided us in the first year with some excellent baseline data from which the Scottish FA, the league bodies and Supporters Direct Scotland can shape future objectives and measure the success of our existing and ongoing strategic goals. I would like to thank all who participated in what will become an annual survey.â?

 

Neil Doncaster, Scottish Premier League Chief Executive: â??The response to the National Football Survey has been excellent. The fact that more than three quarters of those responding considered football as an important part of their familiesâ?? lives is an incredibly powerful sentiment, and supporters have once again proved that they care deeply about their club and indeed the wider game in Scotland.

 

â??Encouragingly, the results show that match day in the SPL is now considered a very family friendly experience, and this is credit to the hard work being carried out at each club under the Family Champions programme. We recognise that, among other barriers to attending, supporters would like safe-standing areas to be introduced. A change to the SPL rules now allows for safe-standing pilot schemes. We will continue to strive to improve the SPL match day experience.

 

â??On behalf of each club I would like thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey, and provide extremely valuable information that will be used to guide continued improvement in our game.â?

 

David Longmuir, Scottish Football League Chief Executive: â??Scottish football supporters are the most passionate in the world. They have demonstrated by this response how much they care about Scottish football's future. All three football bodies will take these views seriously and where possible deliver against them.

 

"The Scottish Football League is particularly proud of the role we are playing in helping clubs do more in their communities, which brings fans closer to their clubs and makes them aware of the important role their club plays in a wide range of areas. The principles which are helping us shape the future structure of the game seem to be shared by the views of the fans who responded to the survey. That in itself is very significant and encouraging.�

 

Paul Goodwin, Head of Supporters Direct Scotland: â??The results of the survey are not a surprise to us as they mirror the views expressed by football fans and members of Supporters Trusts in Scotland for some time now. The Scottish FA should be applauded for recognising the importance of supporters in shaping the future of the game and for making the results available for everyone to see.

 

â??The report contains many very important findings which will help shape the development of the game in the future, on and off the field, including a number of areas that SDS has been highlighting and has been keen to see adopted for many years - greater financial controls and improved accountability to supporters including representation on Club boards.

 

â??With the spectre of administration and liquidation showing no sign of abating this is essential if our game is to remain sustainable. The survey shows that fans want clubs to be embedded in the communities that they serve and not subject to the whims of individuals who put personal desires above that of the development of sustainable football clubs.

 

â??Working closely with the football bodies and through our Scottish Fans Parliament, we are confident that in the coming years the correct level of supporter engagement will be developed at all levels of the game.â?

 

Click here to view National Football Survey report.

 

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_football.cfm?page=3689

[GovanAllan 0]

Oh look another survey they can just ignore, why do they even bother with these things when they know they are just going to do what they want anyway.

[Frankie 8,186]

Oh look another survey they can just ignore, why do they even bother with these things when they know they are just going to do what they want anyway.

 

Agreed. It makes for interesting reading but unless we're punishing Rangers, most clubs just aren't interested.

 

SKY would be the ones better running such a survey.

[GovanAllan 0]

Agreed. It makes for interesting reading but unless we're punishing Rangers, most clubs just aren't interested.

 

SKY would be the ones better running such a survey.

 

You just know they are going pick the bits out that actually match up with their hair brained idea and say look we gave you what you want we just couldn't do it all, then tell us we don't understand the finer details of running the game and some of the things we want just aren't commercially viable.

 

Never mind the fact that its the fans that make clubs viable and the fans aren't watching the game anymore because we are fed up.

[Tom Davison 0]

Yes, Neil Doncaster thinks the survey is valuable but he chooses to ignore the preference for a larger top league.

Stewart Regan says that numbers in any reconstruction initiative are subjective, whatever that means.

 

There have been many questionable decisions in relation to Scottish football taken in recent years but the hiring of Regan and Doncaster to provide leadership makes the other decisions to appear sound and reasonable.

[Zappa 0]

I think the funniest and most ridiculous thing is them all (Doncaster, Regan & others) taking it in turns trying to convince the public that the size and structure of the leagues isn't what's important and that we should all just ignore the actual league structure in their restructuring proposals. That in itself makes them all either stupid or devious lying snakes.

[craig 5,199]

The things they are fighting hardest for arent the most important in my opinion.

 

Part of the reason that Scottish football is at its lowest ebb is because we have 4 divisions with too few teams in each division. Given that we have 42 teams there is no reason they cant have a top division of, say, 18 and then a 2nd division of 24 - effectively giving us the same (similar) numbers to the EPL and Championship.

 

Yet the things they keep banging on about are not necessarily the things they should be....

 

One league body - yep, all for this. Yet it looks like it will be the incompetents of either Regan or Doncaster (heaven forbid it be BOTH) who head this up instead of Longmuir who would probably be the better option.

 

The financial re-distribution - which is no bad thing in itself, but what is being forgotten about is that if you STILL have 4 divisions and teams playing each other 4 times then eventually sponsors will STILL walk away from it, leaving a smaller financial pot to distribute. What they need to do is try to find a way to re-invigorate the supporters into supporting the game which could, in turn, see the sponsors come back. IMHO that simply wont be achieved by having 3 divisions whereby the only real change is in the bottom division (they do realise that the only reason there is interest in the lower leagues this year is because of US, right ?).

 

When we get back to the SPL that lower division of 18 becomes, effectively, pointless because the sponsors will no longer care about it as we arent in it.... so what are they left with ? Funnily enough, a top division of 12 (same as currently, and the game is in the toilet) and a 2nd tier with 2 extra teams (that, no disrespect, the sponsors wont care about).

 

So how about go for a top league of, say 18, and a 2nd league of 24 - allow promotion from the Juniors or other semi-professional leagues (ala the Conference down south) into the league structure to ensure that the bottom tier have to continue to operate properly - and introduce play-offs to go from the 2nd division into the top - as well as allow for relegation from the 2nd division via play offs too.

 

Sadly, what I see from our administrators is them simply regurgitating the same old drivel - and if they HONESTLY think this is the "new dawn" for Scottish football then I very much despair. We are in a pitiful state and these "wonderful, bright ideas" are nothing more than a re-hash of what we already have.

 

In short, we are being served up dog shit and being told it is caviar. No thanks from me.