Reserve League is under threat as clubs count the cost of Covid-19
Scotland’s cash-strapped clubs are queueing up to quit the SPFL Reserve League in the coming season in order to save money in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown.
The competition may need to be mothballed until 2021/22. That could lead to emerging talent being put on the back burner for 12 months at a vital stage of their careers – and there are fears that they may be lost to the game for good.
The costs of testing players, staff and officials for reserve games will be just as expensive as first-team fixtures, and club directors are reluctantly choosing to prioritise the latter.
Four of the 10 clubs in the top tier of the Reserve League come from the Championship, and cash concerns will prevent at least two of them from participating next season, with Premiership teams also set to pull out.
One chief executive claimed: “There’s no desire for reserve leagues or academies in the current financial climate.
“You can have 140 kids on your books in that set-up and, with no money coming in, that’s just too much for most of us to carry right now.
“The safety protocols for reserve matches are just as expensive as they are for the senior team’s.
“I believe most clubs will go with a squad of just 18-20 next season, although hopefully that will only be for a year.
Even so, you wonder about how many of these kids will then be lost to the game.
“You also wonder who the likes of Kilmarnock, Motherwell and St Mirren will have left to play against.”
Dunfermline released 17 players three weeks ago, and chairman Ross Mcarthur has confirmed that the Pars have also withdrawn from the Reserve League.
Morton and Queen of the South are believed to be considering their position.
Rangers, Celtic and Hibs chose not to join the Reserve League, and now Hamilton Accies, who topped Reserve League 1 when it ended prematurely, have decided to withdraw from it.
Chairman Allan Maitland revealed that the Lanarkshire outfit were ready to pull the plug on it before lockdown.
“It’s not just about the cost of testing,” he claimed. “There are lots of reasons for us pulling out.
“I didn’t see how we benefited from being in it, even though we did well. It wasn’t competitive enough.
“We were also having to travel to Inverness and Dingwall on Tuesday afternoons for games, so it didn’t make a lot of sense for us.
“We’ll try to arrange friendlies instead, but my concern is that kids are going to lose a whole year of their development – a crucial year – as a result of this.
“And I don’t see how they can progress in the same way after that.”