Official Report 1061KB pdf
The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-19672, in the name of George Adam, on the importance of football within Scotland. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
I invite members who wish to participate to press their request-to-speak buttons, and I invite George Adam to open the debate.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament recognises the importance of football, culturally, economically and socially; believes that clubs such as St Mirren FC play a role in tackling issues of health and social inclusion in the community, and understands what it sees as the important economic role they play across Scotland, including in Paisley.
17:44
No one will be surprised at my choice of topic for a members’ business debate, but it is not just about my love of our national game—more importantly, it is about the fantastic work that our football clubs do in our communities throughout Scotland.
My personal love affair with the greatest game in the world started a long time ago, in a town called Paisley—many of my stories start in a similar manner. Football has been one of the great loves of my life, along with Stacey—I have bored members in the chamber with that story on numerous occasions—and my family, and the historic town of Paisley. I was not simply raised in Paisley; I was dragged up—no, in fact I was woven by it, like the famous Paisley pattern. Weaving something a wee bit scrappy into a pattern seems, against the odds, to have worked, and—to paraphrase the immortal words of John Candy—I quite like me.
Football itself I have loved all my life, whether playing it as a kid or watching the game, but, above all, St Mirren Football Club has always been there—
Would the member give way?
Would the member give way?
That one mention of St Mirren seemed very popular; I will take the intervention from Mr Kerr.
I was astonished that George Adam had got a minute into his speech and had not mentioned St Mirren or anything about cup finals. I am worried about him, Deputy Presiding Officer—he may not be entirely with us today; I do not know.
Mr Kerr should not worry—he will not be disappointed as my speech continues.
I have followed St Mirren since the halcyon days when Alex Ferguson was manager. Who knew the heartache that I would endure for the rest of my life? St Mirren will break your heart and—many football fans will recognise this—then remind you why you gave it to them in the first place. Even the name of our old home—Love Street—does half the emotional work for you. At Love Street, from 1894 to 2009, we played football, and it made our lives either worth living or absolutely miserable. For big daft boys from Paisley like myself, it was a place where we dared to dream, and I remember how emotional it was when I left Love Street for the last time.
Would George Adam confirm for the record that, great though St Mirren is—and it is a great football team—it is, in fact, not the best team in Scotland that plays in black and white?
Members: Oh!
I know that Ms Sturgeon and her family are big supporters of Ayr United. I have gone down there for many a pre-season game. Our teams have never been in the same leagues—St Mirren are normally in the top echelons of football—but it is a nice trip down to Ayr on a Saturday for a wee friendly.
Football can give us moments such as Kenny McLean scoring from the halfway line against Denmark. It provides sheer joy when Scotland qualify for the world cup, as the First Minister acknowledged when he stated that we should have a bank holiday on the Monday after the first game of our world cup finals.
On that point, I was reminded by Advice Direct Scotland that, for some people, following football can be very expensive. Last year, the charity urged Scotland fans to enjoy the excitement of the 2026 world cup responsibly, but to try to avoid falling into financial difficulty. With the tournament set to take place in North America, the costs of attending could be astronomical and could easily run into thousands of pounds, so the charity has urged supporters to think twice before borrowing money or using high-interest credit in order to fund such trips.
Nevertheless, football unites us in Scotland, even when we are arguing over the ins and outs of the game. There is much to be said about the latest controversy, on the use of the video assistant referee—VAR—but, in order to keep the play flowing, I will say just one thing. Could we not go down the same route as rugby and the National Football League, in which the microphones are live and we can hear the decisions that the referees are making? However, that is an example of how the game brings us all together, regardless of our backgrounds, even when we have opposing views on the subject.
In Paisley, we always look after our own, and St Mirren proves that every day. Under the leadership of Gayle Brannigan, the club’s community work supports people of all ages, from weans kicking their first football to adults getting back into fitness. It is not just about sport—it is about confidence, belonging and giving people a chance to be part of something bigger.
The work goes beyond the pitch, too, supporting families, older residents and people who are facing real challenges, and strengthening the very fabric of our town. St Mirren is the heartbeat of Paisley and, through partnerships with organisations such as the University of the West of Scotland, it creates real pathways into education, skills and opportunity. All that comes from a fan-owned, community-based football team.
A couple of years back, I had the great pleasure of going to St Mirren for a mental health awareness day, which was wonderful. It was amazing how much work the community trust had done.
Would Mr Adam agree that clubs such as St Mirren, Aberdeen and Hibernian, which are involved in mental health work, including through the changing rooms project, are doing immensely well for the people of Scotland?
With issues such as mental health, in particular for males, football is a conduit to get through to a group of people who do not normally want to talk about such issues, and it is extremely important in getting the message across
We in Paisley have a fan-owned, community-based club, which is a model on which I am proud to have led the fans’ trust. The club’s success in that work is matched by its success on the pitch, with a Premier Sports cup win, three consecutive top-six finishes and a return to European football after 37 years. As with all clubs, however, every penny matters. That is why I believe that the land around the SMISA—St Mirren Independent Supporters Association—stadium should become a sporting community hub, working with UWS, West College Scotland, local schools and the community, not to chase medals but to build healthier, stronger lives and a better future for people in Paisley.
I am grateful to the member for being generous in taking interventions. He said that “every penny matters”. Would he agree that that is the case for fans as well, and that fans in Scotland are increasingly being priced out of buying away tickets because we have no equivalent to the price cap that is in place in England? All teams in Scotland, in particular top-tier teams, should be seriously considering that.
That is a problem for families in particular, as it becomes very expensive if you start following your team throughout the country, with the travelling and everything else. I agree that we have to look at that.
There is another long-standing issue in our game, in my view, which is the ban on alcohol at football. As members know, I have raised that issue repeatedly, because allowing the sale of alcohol would give our clubs a vital new income stream that could be reinvested directly into football and into the community work that I spoke about. We have already seen a number of pilot schemes across Scotland, including one recently in Paisley, and one in Aberdeen. It is now time for football authorities to gather that evidence and make the case for change.
We are no longer in the 1980s, and football fans and football culture have moved on. The tartan army alone has shown how modern supporters represent Scotland positively and responsibly wherever they go. Alcohol at football is not about excess—it is about adults and families enjoying the match-day experience responsibly, just as they do in other licensed venues such as theatres and cinemas and at other sports.
I take the member’s point that some fans are responsible, but would he accept that we have a few problems at football with pyrotechnics and people throwing things on to the pitch?
I agree, but that issue has been policed recently. Some clubs need to engage with it. At St Mirren, we had a situation where we sat down with the club’s young ultras, and the older fans actually policed the younger fans because they were embarrassed by what they were bringing the club into. It is the responsibility of the clubs to deal with that as well.
Most fans behave themselves at football grounds, and alcohol at football could be regulated in exactly the same way as it is in other licensed premises. I am open to constructive discussion on how we achieve that, but the current reliance on short-term, temporary licensing offers no way for clubs to plan or invest. Licensing should sit, as always, with the local authority licensing board, which can provide proper oversight, and enforcement where it is needed. Done properly, that one change could help football clubs to grow their community impact, strengthen their finances and keep those clubs firmly embedded at the heart of the communities that they serve.
There is much to celebrate in Scottish football, so let us celebrate it: not just the trophies or the European nights for St Mirren after 37 years, but the lives touched, the skills nurtured and the hopes that are woven through our whole nation. In Paisley, St Mirren belongs to its fans. St Mirren also belongs to Paisley, and that reminds us that, when community comes together, there is nothing that we cannot achieve. We cheer for the goals and celebrate the wins, and we cry at the heartbreak. That is football and that is St Mirren and, above all, it belongs to us, to Paisley and to the generations yet to come.
We move to the open debate.
17:53
I should begin by declaring an interest as a match official for the Scottish Football Association.
I have to say that I do not enjoy every day in the Parliament, and sometimes I make that obvious, but today has been one of the good days. I started off at the Education, Children and Young People Committee with Mr Adam, where I was able to speak about milking cows, and I am ending the day with a debate from Mr Adam about football, which is another interest of mine.
I thought that I might be speaking later on in the debate, Deputy Presiding Officer—I was going to say that it is a shame that we have such long debates in the chamber about football and no one mentions refereeing. However, you called me early, so I can put match officials right at the top of the debate, because I doubt that many other members will mention them, although we have had a passing reference to VAR.
For some people who love football as our national game, and who may have an interest in clubs but want to be involved in football, refereeing is a route for them. It has brought me great enjoyment—I continue to enjoy football—and more and more people are going down that route. I am thankful for that, because referees—love us or loathe us—are an integral part of the game, and refereeing is now seen as an opportunity for many people to get involved, to get fit and stay fit and to get to an extremely high level in the game, both domestic and international.
Will the member give way?
I give way to Christine Grahame, who is perhaps a recruit to refereeing.
Well, we must stick it out and see, but I am genuinely interested: why did you choose to be a referee rather than a player? [Laughter.] It is a serious question. Obviously I am out of my depth, but there we go.
Always through the chair, although I am a match official as well.
Of course—we have another qualified referee here, in the Deputy Presiding Officer.
Christine Grahame asked why I chose to be a referee. It was not so much a choice, but a decision that I could take only because I had no ability whatsoever to play football. My skills are extremely limited, and no club would ever have me, down to the lowest leagues—I was so poor that I could not get involved. I am very encouraged now that my two boys are involved in a mini dribblers group and are practising far earlier than I did; I hope that they will have more opportunities to play. Given my complete lack of talent at playing football, I had to look for an opportunity to still be involved in the game.
There was a small article at the back of The Press and Journal—I have mentioned the P and J in the chamber already today—looking for recruits to come on board and take refereeing classes. I did those classes in Elgin and I refereed my first matches down in Ayrshire, where I was at college; those were under-14s and under-15s school matches.
I went from there to officiating—as I still do—in the premiership in Scotland and going to world cup and European qualifiers and champions league matches, officiating with players such as Ronaldo and Messi. My sons now ask me about those players, and I can say that I have shared a pitch with them. I was on the pitch on Sunday, at the match between Dundee and Heart of Midlothian, where fans of football across the clubs say that Craig Gordon made one of the best saves ever seen in Scottish football. I was lucky enough to be on the pitch to see that.
I say that by way of encouraging future referees, and to highlight that, apart from playing, there are other opportunities to get involved in and see football at the highest levels, including some of the greatest sporting achievements by individuals and clubs. It is a great opportunity.
At the game at which the member officiated on Sunday, was there a VAR decision that had to be made? [Laughter.]
There was—I knew that I was going down that road, and that I probably should not.
In the short time that is left to me in the debate, however, I want to say how important VAR is. I made an error in that match: I wrongly flagged a Dundee player offside when the footage showed that he was onside. My error was corrected on the pitch and a decision was taken so that my mistake did not have an impact on the game.
That is why I support the use of VAR—I think that the match officials should not be the only ones in a stadium who can see that a mistake has been made. I have gone to games where people have seen on their phones, straight away, that a goal was offside and should not have been given, and now we are able to correct that. There are still problems with VAR, and I hope that it can be improved. There is continuous work within the Scottish FA to try to iron out some of the problems with VAR, but—more often than not—it will correct mistakes that we, as humans, make, and I think that that is a good thing.
I know that my time is up, Deputy Presiding Officer but I want to say something briefly. We are seeing some great achievements in refereeing in Scotland—for example, Nick Walsh was recently promoted to the elite level in European refereeing. Our match officials in Scotland on the international list are performing, as they have been for many years, at the highest level in European competitions.
Recently, Molly Alexander, who was formerly an international female official based up in the Highlands, joined the SFA’s referee committee in Scotland, which is another positive move. Under Willie Collum, the head of refereeing at the SFA, and Tommy Murphy, the deputy head of refereeing, we have Martin Atkinson, who came from the English Football Association and is helping us with VAR. We have some of the top officials from previous years now involved in the recruitment and retention of today’s officials, and I hope that that will continue in the future. In a debate about football, I think that it is important that our match officials are also mentioned and recognised.
I say again that refereeing is a great opportunity: anyone who wants to be involved in the game but who, like me, lacks any ability to play football can referee—as you have shown yourself, Deputy Presiding Officer.
You are exposing my conflict of interest, Mr Ross, but I heartily endorse those sentiments.
17:59
I start by observing that the importance of football can sometimes be overstated. I imagine that most of us will be aware of Bill Shankly’s age-old maxim about football being much more important than life and death. I think that that is somewhat overstating it, but nor should we understate the importance of our national pastime. That was never underlined more than by the delirium with which the men’s team’s qualification for this year’s world cup was met last year, when an earthquake began, literally, as a result of fans celebrating at Hampden park.
If I could give one piece of advice to those of a younger vintage than me, I would say that they should not do what I did when I was 19—I did not think to bother to go to the world cup for which we had qualified because I thought that Scotland’s failure to qualify in 1994 was an aberration and the norm was regular qualification. If people have the means—of course, there has been significant debate about the cost—I would urge them to try to see Scotland in the flesh.
I intend to speak largely from a constituency perspective, as I expect many members will. However, I will indulge myself a little at the outset of my contribution by focusing on my club. Unlike George Adam, I do not support a club that is based in my constituency, so I cannot combine the two things, but my first, and most enduring, love has been Partick Thistle Football Club. I am not alone in this institution in having such an affliction—Michael Matheson, Bill Kidd and Ivan McKee share that particular perspective, along with previous colleagues such as Bill Butler, Patricia Ferguson and, indeed, Bill Aitken, who, as some members might remember, was a youth player at Partick Thistle as well as a fan.
We have had our ups and downs—losing on penalties to Inverness Caledonian Thistle last night in the league challenge cup was a particular down. Nevertheless, given that this is George Adam’s debate, I want to reflect on a particular high on 13 April 2002, when Partick Thistle won 2-0 at Love Street to secure promotion to the premier league. I know that Mr Adam will appreciate my recognising that.
I could expound much more on my team, but I will leave it at that. It is very important to me personally in relation to the friendships that I have and being able to take my children to watch the team. This year is, in fact, the club’s 150th anniversary, which I think should be recognised in the Parliament.
I turn to my constituency, where there is an abundance of youth and amateur clubs. There are too many to mention individually, but I place on the record my thanks to them for the recreational opportunities that they provide to people in my area.
I will focus on the four clubs that are in the Scottish football pyramid, starting with Cumbernauld Colts Football Club, which was formed in 1969 and has more than 500 players involved across a range of ages. It has had a senior team in the Scottish lowland league since 2015. Colleagues might be aware that Jackie McNamara, Derek Whyte and—this one is for George Adam—Dougie Bell all began their careers there. Cumbernauld Colts is a really important organisation and football club that provides opportunities to young people in particular, but it also does a lot in the community by taking in food bank collections, working with Network Rail to promote safety to the young people who play for the team, and co-operating with Scottish Gas to put in place school holiday football activities.
I also want to highlight Cumbernauld United Football Club, which was formed in 1964 and has been a long-term fixture in junior football. [Interruption.] I can hear Gordon MacDonald behind me agreeing—I think that I recall him telling me once that, as a young man, he sold pools coupons to raise funds for Cumbernauld United, so let us place that on the record, too.
Cumbernauld United is present in the first division of the west of Scotland football league, and I wish the team well as they seek to gain promotion to the premier division of that league. The team’s most famous player is, of course, Kenny Dalglish, who began his career there on loan from Celtic.
Both Cumbernauld Colts and Cumbernauld United have growing women’s teams. Last year, Cumbernauld United won the regional league plate and Cumbernauld Colts got to the final of the regional league cup. It is great to see that they are growing. The clubs also compete annually in the Cumbernauld cup, raising money for local charities.
I see that the light on my microphone is flashing, Deputy Presiding Officer, so my time is nearly up. If you will indulge me for a moment—otherwise I will get into trouble–I will quickly mention Kilsyth Rangers, formed in 1913 and the Scottish junior cup winners in 1955 and 1967, and Kilsyth Athletic, formed in 1999 with a focus on youth football. The latter also has a team in the west of Scotland football league that, until recently, had the youngest manager in the entire Scottish football pyramid before he moved to Falkirk Football Club.
I thank all those teams, and I thank you for indulging me, Deputy Presiding Officer, because if I had mentioned only the Cumbernauld clubs and not the Kilsyth clubs, I would have been in trouble.
Thank you, Mr Hepburn.
It would not be a debate about Scottish football if there was not somebody dampening the mood, but I am conscious that we reached decision time late and that there are events being held in the Parliament this evening, so I will have to keep members to their time limit from here on in.
I call Michael Marra for up to four minutes.
18:04
I will do my best, Presiding Officer.
I thank George Adam for lodging the motion for debate, and I add my congratulations to St Mirren on their league cup win. I saw the Buddies win silverware—the Scottish cup—back in 1987. It was a thoroughly miserable experience for a seven-year-old Dundee United supporter. Perhaps Mr Ross might be able to enlighten me as to how Kevin Gallacher was offside when Iain Ferguson put the ball in the net. It was a ridiculous decision, frankly. As Celtic found out to their cost a few weeks ago, for every winner, there has to be a loser—that is the way life goes.
Scottish football is a very significant part of our national culture and our daily conversations. It is not just a business and a significant part of our economy; it is part of who we are as a country. We are the most football-obsessed people in Europe. We have the highest per head attendance rate of any national professional league. Those are the reasons why our Parliament should discuss the state of our national game. That is important, because it matters to people and it matters to Scotland.
It is also incumbent on us to recognise the challenges that the football monoculture of our sporting landscape presents for diversifying sporting activity and ensuring maximum participation in the game. That includes the women’s game, which has made great organisational strides in the past decade.
That being said, I strongly believe that the game should manage itself and that it should be supported to do just that. That is part of that essential culture. It is what makes the game representative of the communities that we live in and serve, as other members have pointed to. Law makers in the Government should act to protect that independence and the health of local institutions and not attempt to run them, which is, at times, a fine line to tread. The Government’s approach should be partnership, and the Parliament’s approach should be to hold up a mirror to the game. On that basis, I will comment on three issues on which I seek responses from the minister in her closing speech.
First, from my engagement with clubs—not just in my region but more widely—I am concerned that Scotland’s stadium infrastructure is reaching a critical moment. The seated stadia of the post-Taylor report era of the early 1990s are approaching the end of their lifespans. They are increasingly challenging to maintain, and compliance issues with access and safety are a growing concern, as that burden on clubs increases. The next Scottish Government should turn its attention to what that will mean for the professional game over the coming decade in relation to standards, safety and access for fans.
I also want to advocate on behalf of walking football and for the inclusion of that game in what will be, as we heard yesterday, a summer of sport for Scotland. I have played that game alongside my father in recent weeks. He is in his mid-70s, and he has a weekly game with Tayport Junior FC. Walking football can help men with loneliness, and it also provides healthy exercise and improves mental health. I pay tribute to Paul Berg, Tom Malone and the rest of the group that organises the weekly sessions in Dundee.
Walking football is being played right across Scotland, in all the communities that we represent. There has been a quiet revolution in how we see physical activity in later life, particularly for men who are so enthralled with the game. Walking football can also combine a cross-generational and cross-sex aspect, which should be considered. The minister might explain, in her closing speech, the opportunities to include walking football in that summer of sport.
Pretty much the only thing that has recovered in this country since Covid has been attendance numbers at football—most likely because the Scottish National Party Government and its Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery had nothing at all to do with it. I wonder whether it has to do with people’s pent-up frustration at having not been able to be with people when watching football. Watching streamed football at home was a thoroughly miserable experience for so many of us. That is not what the game is about.
Growing attendance at clubs such as St Johnstone, Morton, Motherwell and St Mirren—which are traditionally outwith that top rank—talks to the fan culture that has been imported into Scotland by YouTube. However, that comes with its challenges, as does my speech time—I am coming to a close, Presiding Officer.
We have already heard about the issues with pyrotechnics. The Government must also consider how exuberance and passion for local teams can be balanced with safety, inclusivity and the prevention of the return to the widespread violence that we saw in the 1980s. Cocaine use is a significant issue in that regard.
I hope that the minister will reflect on the three issues that I have raised, both in her closing speech and in her next few weeks of work.
18:09
Football has always played a crucial role in the psyche of most Scots, whether they follow a big team or just the local lads side. Whether because of the emotion of the game, the intensity of the sport, the inevitable characters such as the ones that George Adam refers to or simply being part of the whole picture, soccer remains at the forefront of national sport for most participants and audience members.
The game does crazy and unexpected things to us, including leading us into temptation—and how. I know of someone who, one minute, was standing having a couple of drinks with friends in a bar in Dumfries and then, a few days later, unexpectedly found himself sitting on a plane alongside the team heading to Copenhagen, in Denmark, to watch Queen of the South play in their first, and only, major European cup match—a UEFA cup tie against FC Nordsjaelland on 26 August 2008. The Doonhamers on tour. Who would have thought it? When you are caught up in the sheer emotion of the rare opportunity to witness such a historic sporting spectacle, you sometimes just have to go with the flow. At least, that is what I told my wife—my now ex-wife. The memory of being part of that impressive army of almost a thousand Queens fans will live with me for the rest of my life. I just had to be there, because the chances of it happening again are somewhat slim.
The game has changed in recent years, especially for clubs such as Queen of the South, and my other team, Stranraer, as they attempt to survive in today’s finance-driven climate. Gone are the days of large crowds, except for local derbies.
Clubs now concentrate a lot of their effort on becoming even more community oriented, as is happening at Queen of the South under the excellent stewardship of Dan Armstrong, a former Queens player and now the youngest chief executive officer in British professional football. Dan is a true gentleman and a real asset to the club. His postgraduate degree in football business and his proactive engagement with other clubs in the Scottish Professional Football League and the SFA have strengthened the club’s regional and national profile. He has been incredibly successful in reinforcing community ties, enhancing fundraising, modernising the club’s commercial efforts and bolstering its visibility.
Dan and his crew work tirelessly to connect with the community and to support the people of Dumfries and Galloway. He has successfully strengthened educational and academic links with local schools, colleges and universities, the national health service and local clubs, as well as beginning enterprises to sustain the club and build footfall. First team players are encouraged to take part in as many school activities as possible in order to provide the young people with role models.
Dan and the Queen of the South Community Trust have received national recognition. That has included an invitation to 10 Downing Street and the accolade of being honoured at the King’s garden party at Holyrood because of the club’s regional community impact, along with many other awards.
Among the many initiatives that have been launched recently has been the changing room project to address men’s mental health issues, while walking football, as we have heard, remains a favourite for those seeking a more active approach. Poverty remains a major worry and the club has not shied away from that—it runs three separate breakfast clubs that attract more than 100 young people every day. The club’s extra time project distributes meals to many local families who would otherwise struggle, and local food suppliers are encouraged to make donations to support the club’s food bank.
Similarly, Stranraer Football Club has shown that a community club can be a civic anchor by using the public space at Stair Park to bring people together and by delivering tangible local benefits, such as improved health and increased public participation in sport. Once again, walking football has proved to be a winner with all ages, and it has allowed many seniors to relive their youth. Stranraer’s mini-kickers work with local nurseries to build physical literacy and nutrition awareness, while in-school soccer sessions regularly attract about 700 primary school children. The club is working with grass-roots clubs such as Millennium FC and Lochryan’s boys club to create under-13 and under-15 teams, and it is also involved with Alzheimer Scotland and Arthritis UK to offer safe and sociable activities for older adults.
I do not have much time for my speech today, but it would be remiss of me not to mention other clubs such as Threave Rovers, Dalbeattie Star and my home-town club of St Cuthbert Wanderers, which do hugely important work in our communities.
Football remains a winner, thanks to wonderful community-inspired ideas and initiatives. Long may that continue.
I can see that my appeal for members to keep to the time limit is falling on deaf ears and I might have to resort to disciplinary action if members’ behaviour does not improve. I call Christine Grahame to speak for up to four minutes.
18:14
Why is that always said just before I rise to speak?
I, too, congratulate George Adam on securing the debate, although it was, of course, too much to hope that it would be a Paisley-free zone when that would be his specialist subject should “Mastermind” ever come knocking. He made at least eight references to Paisley.
I have confessed previously in public that sport, whether as a participant, a referee or a fan, is not in my DNA, so colleagues might wonder why I have opted to speak in the debate. Football remains a foreign land with a language of its own: to VAR or not to VAR—that is the question. Names of people have been mentioned that mean absolutely nothing to me.
I will focus on the extraordinary turnaround in the attitude to women and girls in football—words that we would never have seen previously side by side on the page. It is not that long ago that girls were not even considered to play football, and, even at a competitive level, it is only recently that the stands have begun to fill up. That is partly due to the successes of the Lionesses and Scotland’s women’s national football team—which qualified for the FIFA women’s world cup for the first time in 2019 and, as of June 2025, is 24th in the FIFA women’s world rankings—which have worked their magic and their inspiration, as have Scottish Women’s Premier League teams Aberdeen, Celtic, Rangers, Hamilton Academical, Hearts, Hibs and many others.
All that high-profile activity has encouraged development where it really matters—at grass roots. That brings me to Penicuik Athletic Football Club, which has been part of the town since 1888. It is built, as many such clubs are, on volunteers, families and local sponsors, and it runs more than 20 boys and girls teams. It gives girls a place to belong, with the early touches team for the teeny weenies, through to the teens. Hundreds of girls turn out week in, week out to play football. Teams are supported and sponsored not only by the invaluable volunteers but by local businesses.
Girls football in Gorebridge is also booming, with dedicated squads and multiple age groups, matching the national picture. Female participation is now at a record high at Arniston Rangers Youth Football Club, which has 300 youngsters, with its girls section playing across age groups.
We can talk about football even if we are not a fan of the game and do not get overexcited or weep at defeats, and we can see how valuable it is to others. It is not just about the roar of Hampden, the glamour and dreams of competing in—let alone winning—the premier league or being in a national team. It is about the local parks that are bursting with excitable young girls. It is about being part of a team and not sitting in front of a computer, and it is about running about, even on a dreich day—playing to win, of course, but also for the challenge and the sheer fun of it. It is about learning about the thrill of winning, dealing with defeat and growing from those experiences. It is also about life skills, not just football skills—we might even say that it is a bit of a rehearsal for life itself.
I am conscious of the number of members who still want to participate. I am minded to accept a motion without notice, under rule 8.14.3 of standing orders, to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes. I invite George Adam to move such a motion.
Motion moved,
That, under Rule 8.14.3, the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes.—[George Adam]
Motion agreed to.
18:18
Are we sitting comfortably with this extra half hour? I thank George Adam for bringing the debate to the chamber. It seems a bit of a regular occurrence that Mr Adam and I extol the virtues of football in the chamber.
I will start by declaring an interest: I have coached at Ayr United, at George Adam’s beloved St Mirren and at Kilmarnock. I can even claim to have played for Ayr United’s first team. It was pre-season, and was for 45 minutes after half time. I can remember the dulcet tones of the then manager, Gordon Dalziel, as he shouted across, “Whittle, get your shinnies on, we’ve run out of players.” My contribution was well summed up in the Ayrshire Post report, which said that I ran about a lot and drank a lot of water; however, they still talk about my mazy run to this day.
My football career after that was tragically cut short through a severe lack of talent.
Were both your football boots on during that time? [Laughter.]
Members should always speak through the chair.
There was no need for that. There may be a point of order later, Deputy Presiding Officer. [Laughter.]
I thank Douglas Ross for raising what I otherwise would have forgotten to: what participation is all about. It is not just about being active in sport. You can also be a coach—I still am. I book-end my week in the Parliament with coaching as a level 4 coach. I have been a senior coach for longer than I was an athlete, which is a scary thought. Our officials and administrators keep our sports going and also participate in sport.
I am associated with what I would class as proper sport, but I know that the motion points to the crucial role that football and football clubs play in our wider communities. Many supporters are being encouraged to participate in exercise and weight loss programmes that are organised by clubs. I have also visited mental health groups in football clubs, which are run by Kilmarnock, Ayr, St Mirren, Hearts and Hibs, to name but a few.
Many participants would not access similar help from statutory services. Football clubs provide an environment in which supporters feel comfortable. They walk in the same paths as their heroes and heroines, who they watch week in and week out.
Football clubs are central to many community activities, beyond just people watching club games. It is important that we support those efforts and do not just assume that clubs will foot the bill, despite the fact that such interactions are very positive for football clubs. The bonds that football clubs have with their respective communities deliver for the long-term future of the clubs and their supporters. We need to look at how we can build on that relationship for the health and future of communities.
Members will not be surprised to hear me advocate for the role of sport in general in our society. I do not think that we give the value to sport and physical activity that they deserve, which I have said that many times. Physical activity is a cornerstone of good health, and we need to consider how we do more to encourage it, given our poor health record in Scotland.
School sport has declined, along with access to sport, at the same time as the number of fast food outlets has exploded. The cost of obesity to the Scottish economy now stands at £5 billion, with a mental health bill of £4.5 billion. We need to take sport much more seriously and ensure that support is available, whether that be for school sport, community sport or professional football.
As I said, football clubs are perceived by many to have money in their coffers. That can be far from the truth, and I would like there to be co-investment in community projects that are associated with football clubs, efficient use of funds and encouragement of clubs to continue to invest in their communities.
We have a wonderful summer of sport ahead. Let us partner sport clubs, including football clubs, to ensure that we maximise the potential legacy for our communities, because we have not been particularly good at that in previous years.
I thank George Adam for allowing me to talk sport one more time.
18:23
We in this chamber can spend an awful lot of time focusing on what is wrong with the country, so I thank Mr Adam for bringing this positive debate to the chamber.
I still play football twice a week. I know that that it is hard to believe, because I am creaking at the seams a wee bit. I have been to three world cups, and I am thinking about going to the next one if my brother delivers the tickets for me.
It has been wonderful to learn about the breadth of the community programmes that are based in many local clubs. I looked up St Mirren, which has a men’s shed programme and a team for those with additional support needs, which is tremendous.
Football can be controversial at times, but local clubs and supporters can be a medium for social good. I briefly call attention to several local groups in my area. One group of supporters donated more than 200 toys to the Machan Trust, which is a support group that helps young children. It made the trust’s event a tremendous time for them, especially in these hard times.
Beyond community work, football clubs are an important place for family to come together, and for friends—old and new—to come together to bond and discuss the game, and even disagree. For most of us, it is a well-earned reward at the end of the working week, where we can let off some steam.
Football is an important part of childhood. It spurred me on. Regardless of the weather—whether it was rain, hail or snow—you wanted tae go oot and kick a ball about, spending hours with friends in the park, learning teamwork and competition and keeping healthy. That did a power of good without it feeling like an onerous task. Above all, it was just plain fun.
It is particularly important to note, in the current climate, that football is fantastically cross cultural. People of different backgrounds, religions and languages can enjoy the same game, whether as players or as spectators.
Football in Scotland attracts fans from all over the world. Even when visiting some of the remotest parts of the world, if you mention that you are from Scotland, people will ask, “Are you Celtic or Rangers?”—forgetting, of course, that they are only two of the 42 senior teams in Scotland.
The motion is absolutely right to say that the economic and cultural capital of Scottish football is an invaluable resource. The Scottish Premiership is looking to be the most nail-biting season for years, with a few teams competing at the top. I am sure that that will inspire some constructive debate over the coming months.
My own home team, the Accies, have new owners, and I happily welcome that announcement. I wish the team every success, and I look forward to engaging with the new owners in the near future. Like all local teams, Hamilton Accies are a great doorstep asset for promoting cohesion in our communities.
Last but not least, I personally congratulate the Scotland team on qualifying for the world cup finals in North America. I for one cannot wait for that. I looked out my old strip the other day: it is about 28 years since I last wore it. For some strange reason—it must have shrunk in the wash—it disnae fit me noo. [Laughter.]
On a wee note of dismay, I see that the prices for the tickets for the games are shockingly high, and I am disappointed that they will be out of reach for many genuine fans. I believe that that is a great pity, considering what is a rare and marvellous achievement.
Thank you, Mr Russell. You always have to be careful with the boil wash.
The final speaker in the open debate is Fulton MacGregor. You have up to four minutes, Mr MacGregor.
18:27
Thank you, Presiding Officer, for letting me in to speak. I feel that I must now repay that good deed by confirming, for Christine Grahame’s benefit, that you, at least, are one official who is also good at football. Douglas Ross admitted that perhaps he was not.
You might be prompting a point of order at this point, Mr MacGregor.
I thank George Adam for securing the debate. It gives me a chance to talk about the pride of Coatbridge, Albion Rovers.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Even after that obsequious remark by Fulton MacGregor, I take it that he is still being held to four minutes.
Possibly less, was the indication that I had. Please continue, Mr MacGregor.
This gives me a chance to speak about the pride of Coatbridge, Albion Rovers Football Club, and to right a personal wrong. Just before the summer recess I lodged a motion for a members’ business debate about the financial plight of Albion Rovers at the time. For one reason or another that debate never came to fruition, but I have the opportunity to talk about the subject today. I thank George Adam for that.
In 2023, after more than 140 years of history in the top flights, Albion Rovers were relegated to the lower leagues. It has been a very difficult period since, with huge financial consequences for the team. That difficult period has been overcome, I am told, and the club has now stabilised its financial position, although the team’s position in the league does not suggest that they will be promoted again, at least not in the next couple of years.
The fans are enjoying the new challenges and going to new away grounds. I want to give a shout out to my nephew Flynn and his friends, who see themselves almost as Rovers casuals and go to every game, home and away. I think they were up in Cowdenbeath at the weekend. They are travelling everywhere and absolutely loving it. That is what communities do: they back their club, no matter what division their team is in.
I have been having regular meetings and discussions with the club. Last year I worked with the club to get it meetings with the SFA and the Scottish Football Partnership Trust. A lot of progress has been made since those meetings.
It is now looking to become a community club, like—as George Adam mentioned—St Mirren, so it is doing a lot of work to change its pitches so that it can offer more to the community. In Albion Rovers Community Club, it has an anchor club in place, and it is developing relationships with, for example, Coatbridge Football Club, where my son plays. In addition, it has a good package lined up with regard to the disability game and the girls’ and women’s games. I think that that is the way that clubs such as Albion Rovers need to go. It is good that the people behind the club are getting on board with that. I put on record the fact that I will continue to support them, because the town and the community need and very much depend on Albion Rovers.
George Adam also made a really good point about the selling of alcohol at games and how that can help smaller clubs. We often think about the alcohol debate in the context of the two biggest clubs and the other bigger clubs, but the ability to sell alcohol at games can help the smaller clubs. Albion Rovers has opened a bar at which it can sell alcohol before and after the game, which has helped to stabilise the club, whose situation, as I have said, looked dire at one point. That has been really helpful, and I want to lend my weight to George Adam’s argument in that respect.
A lot of other good work is done in my constituency, for example at Bridgend Football Club in Moodiesburn and Burnbank Football Club and Dunbeth Football Club in Coatbridge. There are many other examples, but I do not have time to talk about them all.
I will end on that point. It has been another good debate, and I support George Adam’s motion.
I call Maree Todd to respond to the debate.
18:31
Tapadh leibh, Oifigeir Riaghlaidh.
I thank everyone who has contributed to what has been a really positive debate. As was very evident during the debate that Keith Brown led in December following the draw for the world cup group stages, football clearly means a lot to a great many people in the Parliament and across the country.
St Mirren clearly means a lot to George Adam, and it is wonderful to see a fan-owned club not only thriving on the park—I congratulate St Mirren on its fantastic victory in the league cup final in December—but playing such a huge role in the local community off the park. However, after the intervention of our former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, I feel obliged to pitch in for Queen’s Park Football Club. Queen’s Park, of course, also play in black and white. Many who know me know that I am Glasgow by marriage, and the Todds have had a very long association and love affair with that club, so I will be in trouble if I do not mention it in this debate.
As your husband’s family have been Queen’s Park fans for so long, he will be aware that the beautiful game—that is, the passing game—came from Queen’s Park Football Club. People talk about football coming home. It is clear that, in Scotland, Queen’s Park created the game—albeit not the professional game—that we currently know.
Always speak through the chair.
Absolutely. I would not be a true Todd if I was not completely aware that, when we talk about football coming home, we mean home to Queen’s Park.
The network of football clubs across Scotland is absolutely incredible. Football is the country’s number 1 sport. There are more than 2,500 clubs spread across the country, and there are currently more than 150,000 registered players, with a further 50,000 coaches and volunteers. If we also include the number of recreational participants, parents, fans and influencers in the local community, the Scottish FA estimates that football clubs impact more than 900,000 people every week in Scotland. That is phenomenal.
The sport holds a central place in Scotland’s cultural landscape. Annually, there are attendances of more than 6.8 million at matches involving Scottish professional football teams and international matches. In addition, the Scottish Premiership attracts the highest average weekly attendance per head of population in Europe.
Scotland has some of the best community football clubs in Europe. They are organisations that are deeply rooted in their community and that help to support players, coaches, volunteers and parents. We have heard about many of them this evening. They play a fundamental role in our society, and they have a far greater ability to connect communities than other statutory and non-statutory organisations. George Adam rightly talked about the role that St Mirren plays in the community.
The breadth and diversity of the communities that these clubs serve are considerable, and many operate in areas of significant deprivation. That became crystal clear during the Covid pandemic, when many of those organisations quickly pivoted from delivering football sessions to kids to delivering food parcels and providing hope for many in their local communities.
The main motivation for our clubs is evident: they want to serve and better their local community and use the power of football to positively impact on the lives of many. The unique reach of football and, from the Scottish Government’s point of view, its ability to deliver across multiple Scottish Government portfolios, offers a platform to improve, influence and develop Scottish society and impact on a wide range of key thematic areas, both on and off the pitch.
Scottish football has a track record of delivering on Scottish Government national and local outcomes through projects and programmes that are often delivered by the SPFL clubs’ community trusts and foundations, supported by the SPFL Trust.
Just before Christmas, I was delighted to be invited by St Johnstone FC to attend its festive friends Christmas lunch at McDiarmid Park. That was a community initiative by the St Johnstone Community Trust, in partnership with the SPFL Trust. Such things will have been happening all over the country. The intention of such events is to combat loneliness for isolated older people during Christmas by delivering hampers, hosting festive lunches and providing companionship, often with surprise visits from players—indeed, at the lunch that I attended in December, the team manager, Simo Valakari, came along to speak to those attending. It was a wonderful experience.
The Scottish Government is also working in partnership with the Scottish FA to deliver before-school, after-school and holiday clubs through our very successful extra time programme. I have met the people in St Mirren who deliver that programme.
Does the minister agree that, when we have such difficulty prising young people away from their electronic devices, it is great that hundreds of young people—girls and boys—are taking part in training sessions and competing at the weekends, as that is doing a great service to their mental wellbeing as well as their physical wellbeing?
Absolutely, and that is what the extra time programme is about. It supports Scotland’s most deprived communities and is targeted at primary school children who are most at risk of living in poverty. It also contributes to our national mission to end child poverty and will help to reduce inequalities in access to activities for families living in poverty.
The programme provides activities that wrap around the school day, which therefore offers parents and carers the opportunity to access and sustain work, training and education, enabling them to improve their household income and helping to reduce poverty. It also provides children with great opportunities to take part in activities around the school day and in the holidays, improving their confidence, their health and their fitness, and—crucially—getting them off their devices and supporting their educational outcomes.
The initiative has been funded by the Scottish Government since October 2023. Initially, it supported 25 clubs and trusts to deliver before-school, after-school and holiday clubs to more than 2,500 primary school children from low-income families. In May 2025, we invested £5.5 million in the programme, with the aim of expanding delivery to all local authority areas in Scotland and supporting up to 5,000 children and their families who are most at risk of living in poverty.
During yesterday’s budget, we announced that we will maintain that £5.5 million investment for next year. That recognises the success of the programme. Furthermore, we are investing an additional £2.5 million to deliver a wider after-school activities offer for primary school children, improving outcomes for children and supporting parents around the school day and helping them to sustain employment.
Those are just two examples of the way in which football clubs are supporting their communities. We want to support the unique reach of football and football clubs in Scottish society in order to positively impact physical and mental health and to improve the wellbeing of our communities. In yesterday’s budget, we announced £2 million for football to support those outcomes as part of a summer of sport package.
I know that time is running on but, before I finish, I want to pick up on a couple of points that were raised in the debate.
George Adam mentioned the issue of alcohol at football matches. We are always open to discussions with football authorities, but there are no plans at this time to remove the existing general restrictions on alcohol at football matches. Members will be aware of the concerns around public order, which were mentioned by John Mason, but there are also public health concerns. I am the minister responsible for drugs and alcohol policy as well as sport. Each year, we lose 1,200 people—far too many—to deaths that are directly related to alcohol. The public health advice would be to narrow access, not to increase access. I am always keen to listen to discussions about the constructive evidence-based approach that our football authorities are taking, but the issue is challenging.
I take the minister’s point but, at the end of the day, in my speech, I was not talking about excessive drinking; I was talking about friends having a couple of drinks before the game and having a chat. The issue is not about excessive drinking in any shape or form.
I absolutely understand that, but the member will understand the challenges around that in terms of sending a mixed message. However, as I said, we are always content to hear from the football authorities about the evidence-based approach that they are currently piloting within the law, which is a helpful thing to do.
Ross Greer mentioned pricing. It is worth noting that Hibs had an absolute sell-out at the weekend after selling £5 tickets for their premier league game.
I will get back to Michael Marra in writing on the issue of stadiums, because there is quite a lot to update him on.
On his point about walking football, I can say that I love it—I have tried it and I think it is excellent. I note that Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland has a great collaborative project with Walking Football Scotland, and I will certainly consider Mr Marra’s suggestion of including the activity in the summer of sport.
On the question of behaviour, we have a consultation out at the moment on football banning orders, so I ask anyone who is listening to let us know their views by 23 February.
I thank Douglas Ross for highlighting the issue around officials. Many people loathe them rather than love them, but without officials, the game would not happen.
I thank Christine Grahame for highlighting the women’s game.
To Davy Russell, I say, if I can be so bold, that I could happily give a new home to that wee shrunk jersey that he has.
It is vintage.
I think he is offering me a vintage shirt, Deputy Presiding Officer.
I thank George Adam for bringing this debate to the chamber today. It is only right that we recognise the many and varied positive impacts of football on communities right across Scotland. Many people are involved in the sport every week, and I am committed to continuing to work with the Scottish Football Association on supporting and growing that level of participation.
I think that it is entirely appropriate that we finish the debate with the swapping of shirts. On that note, I close the debate and this meeting of Parliament.
Meeting closed at 18:42.Previous
Decision Time