Up for the cup

February 22nd, 2010

Politicians don’t get much in the way of thanks for getting involved with football.

If they turn up for cup draws or trophy presentations, they get accused of cashing in on the publicity.

If they come up with ideas, such as showing all Scotland matches on terrestrial television or backing an Olympic Great Britain team, they are told to mind their own business.

But when the post-mortem begins after another shocking result, politicians and government are first in the queue to get the blame for lack of investment.

I may be because he actually played the game at a decent level but the one politician who seems to have escaped that criticism is my old colleague and former First Minister Henry McLeish.

He has taken on a poisoned chalice by agreeing to chair a wide-ranging review into our game for the SFA

Henry certainly has his work cut out – 12 years since Scotland last qualified for a major tournament and our clubs routinely embarrassed in Europe.

A few pegs down from Hampden, the grass roots game is also beset with problems, from inconsistent coaching structures to a chronic lack of all-weather facilities.

A petition was recently lodged in the Scottish Parliament by two youth football coaches, William Smith and Scott Robertson, representing the east and west of the country.

They voiced concerns about the compensation system in place for young players, the funding of grassroots football and the facilities available.

It has already attracted nearly 700 signatures and generated a lot of interest from local coaches who actually know what they are talking about.

I please that they shared their concerns with me and I hope to feed them back to Henry, who has already indicated a willingness to come and meet with local fans and coaches to listen to their ideas.

It won’t get us to the next World Cup but it might give some of our local youngsters a chance of playing on the game’s biggest stage one day.