Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond commits to improving Scottish football
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond has made a commitment that the Scottish government will do everything possible to help improve football in the country.
Salmond made the remarks at a Scottish Football Review that was chaired by the former First Minister Henry McLeish at the Scottish parliament.
The review was attended by a number of government members and high ranking officials from the Scottish Football Association including the SFA president George Peat, vice-president Campbell Ogilvie, chief executive Stewart Regan and the Sports Minister Shona
Robison.
McLeish, a former footballer, issued a report at the meeting outlining 53 recommendations to improve and benefit football in Scotland. Creating a system for football academies and summer camps for children were two of the items included in his recommendations.
Speaking at the review, First Minister Salmond said, "Football is an important part of the fabric of our nation and communities the length and breadth of Scotland benefit from the valuable contribution of our favourite national sport.”
“At today's meeting with the SFA and Henry McLeish, we discussed how the Scottish Government can work with the SFA now and in the future to take forward the recommendations of the McLeish review,” added the Scottish leader.
In April, McLeish issued a report on football in Scotland and said that the game at professional, amateur and youth levels, was in a crisis.
The former First Minister stated that the government would need to invest £500m to attempt to deal with problems such as a lack of coaches, academies, camps and training facilities.
Since then, McLeish has compiled a report, which was released today, to tackle these issues.
Salmond and the SFA pledged their support for the recommendations and the First Minister said, "We all share the same goals for a healthier population and for Scottish football to be the very best it can be.”
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