Maxwell: SFA & SPFL merger is not on cards
BY ALAN MARSHALL NEW SFA chief Ian Maxwell has ruled out a merger with the SPFL.
Ross County chairman Roy MacGregor and former St Mirren chief Stewart Gilmour are among those who have called for Scottish football to be managed by one organisation to improve the running of the game.
Maxwell agrees the SFA needs to work more closely with the league after SPFL boss Neil Doncaster admitted to “tensions” between the two bodies when he joined the SFA board earlier this year.
However, the 43-year-old revealed combining the two bodies is not on the cards because they have entirely different remits.
He said: “No, I think we’re two different things, set up for different reasons.
“The SPFL run the league and commercialise the league.
“The SFA govern the game and have a much wider remit for football in the country in general, from a participatory level and a governance level.
“So no, they are entirely different organisations but the closer they can work the better.”
When asked if he thought he could bring them closer together, Maxwell said: “I absolutely do. That’s important.
“Everybody wants the best for Scottish football.
“The SPFL and the SFA are made up of members and a lot of those members are the same.
“It’s only right both organisations would work as hard as they can together to do the best for their membership as a whole.”
Former Partick Thistle general manager Maxwell is looking forward to work beginning for the new campaign after a thrilling season in Scottish football.
He said: “It has been hugely exciting in all the divisions right the way through the pyramid.
“And it’s important we refocus on that and keep maximising the interest we have in the game.”