SPL clubs back new-look Scottish league

LONDON (AFP) –

View of the Hampden Park pitch in Glasgow, Scotland on September 11, 2012. Scotland’s 12 Premier League clubs gave their “unanimous backing” Monday for a complete revamp of Scottish football’s entire league structure.

Scotland’s 12 Premier League clubs gave their “unanimous backing” Monday for a complete revamp of Scottish football’s entire league structure.

The Scottish Premier League (SPL) clubs have thrown their weight behind a 12-12-18 plan which would see senior clubs in Scotland squeezed into just three divisions.

This contrasts with the four-division 12-10-10-10 system including First, Second and Third Divisions below the SPL, which is currently in place.

Clubs in the existing Scottish Football League (SFL) will discuss the proposals, which include a merger with the SPL, on Thursday.

SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster, speaking after a meeting at Glasgow’s Hampden Park on Monday, said: “We got unanimous backing of the way forward today so it now goes to Thursday and the Scottish Football League clubs will have their views.

“But today, the Scottish Premier League clubs were united in their view that this is the way forward.”

Earlier this month, Rangers warned they could quit Scottish football completely if the league restructuring plan was approved.

The new format could be introduced in time for next season, which would mean that Rangers would remain on the bottom rung of the Scottish league ladder even if they secured promotion from the Third Division (fourth tier) this season.

Rangers, 54-time Scottish champions, were relegated to the Scottish Third Division after going into administration at the end of the 2011-12 campaign.

They currently lead the Third Division table by 20 points, although they have played three more matches than nearest challengers Queen’s Park.