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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 1 July 2025
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Displaying 760 contributions

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Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Welfare and Sustainability in Scottish Youth Football

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Brian Whittle

But have you written to FIFA about that?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Welfare and Sustainability in Scottish Youth Football

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Brian Whittle

Yes, but the evidence that gets to me is that one of the reasons why we are so poor is that about 2,500 coaches are still waiting to get accredited. That is a problem.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Welfare and Sustainability in Scottish Youth Football

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Brian Whittle

I might have a go myself. However, the SFA and the SPFL have said in evidence that they have to adhere to FIFA rules.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Welfare and Sustainability in Scottish Youth Football

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Brian Whittle

Good morning. I should declare that I was part of the Public Petitions Committee in the previous session of Parliament, and I did not get on particularly well with the SFA and the SPFL. I should also declare that I have a couple of grandsons who are in an academy, one of whom has moved from a smaller club to a bigger club.

I have to say, Mr Waksman, that I do not recognise the picture that you are painting. I think that the situation is a lot better than it was previously, and it is certainly not as bad as you say.

One of the issues that I have is that you talked about how, if a player moved from Hibs to Celtic, Celtic could not then take on another in the next year or the same year. That is restriction of trade. Why on earth would you not allow a player to move if they wanted to move?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Welfare and Sustainability in Scottish Youth Football

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Brian Whittle

I listened intently to your point, Mr Madlani. On whether I know what my grandkids have signed, yes, I understand completely what they have signed. I appreciate that I might be in a different situation from most people, given that I was a national youth coach in the past, but I very much know what they have signed.

I find myself quite frustrated, gentlemen—I am going to be honest with you—because the SFA and the SPFL have questions to answer. I am hearing a lot of conflated evidence, and I am actually quite angry about it, because I do not think you have put your case across well at all. You brought the example of Norway into the discussion. I am well aware of what happens in Norway; I mention Norway quite a lot in the context of youth involvement in sport. You say that Norway is very successful at international level, but we need to understand why and where it is successful. We are not Norway—we are Scotland.

The other thing that gets to me is the fact that the situation in Scotland has been compared to the one in England. The two situations cannot be compared, because, from a financial point of view, England is miles ahead of us in its ability to throw cash at the problem. Scotland cannot have the same solution as England has. It is also a FIFA problem. That has not been mentioned once in this discussion.

Despite the talk about incorporating the UNCRC, that has not been done in 14 years, so there are questions for the SFA and the SPFL to answer.

On the idea that our youth football system is not working, I do not see that. What I see is that the system is very competitive at younger ages but that it falls away among the older age groups. That is why I want to talk about how we transition from youth football to adult football. There are 2,700 players in our academies, and 0.7 per cent of them end up in any kind of employment in football. That return is simply not good enough. What are your views on the new co-operation system for youth players in the transition phase? How are we transitioning our youth players from youth level to senior level?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Welfare and Sustainability in Scottish Youth Football

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Brian Whittle

Not in Scottish youth football.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Welfare and Sustainability in Scottish Youth Football

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Brian Whittle

I have a question on the revamped Scottish challenge cup, which is now known as the KDM evolution trophy. Do you endorse that new format? Is that a way forward?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Welfare and Sustainability in Scottish Youth Football

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Brian Whittle

Have you guys been asked to be part of that?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Welfare and Sustainability in Scottish Youth Football

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Brian Whittle

It is employment law.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee [Draft]

Welfare and Sustainability in Scottish Youth Football

Meeting date: 17 June 2025

Brian Whittle

Allegedly.