As has been widely reported in the written and digital press, there will a vote on the creation of a new Conference League at Tier 5 at the Scottish FA AGM on June 6th.

The proposal

Creation of a 10-team Scottish Conference League consisting of four B Teams.
The first Season of the Scottish Conference League will be Season 2024/25.
Top two Highland League teams at the end of Season 2023/24 included.
Top four Lowland League teams at the end of Season 2023/24 included.
B Teams cannot be promoted or relegated from The Scottish Conference League.
The Scottish Conference League to be funded by a B Team participation fee: with six non-B teams receiving an estimated payment of around £40,000 each per annum.
Minimum five-year commitment required from B Teams.
Highest placed non-B Team at the end of the Season will enter a promotion/relegation Play Off with SPFL Club 42 as per current model.
Lowest placed non-B Team at the end of the Season will be relegated to the Highland or Lowland League, replaced by the winner of the Highland/Lowland League Champions Play Off.
Second-lowest placed non-B Team at the end of the Season will enter a promotion/relegation Play Off with the loser of the Highland/Lowland League Champions Play Off.
B Teams must include a minimum of seven Scotland eligible players in their starting XI, and their matchday squad must include no fewer than eleven Scotland eligible players.

We have held two previous supporter consultations on B team entry into the Lowland League in 2021 and 2022, which are both worth reading. On both occasions our supporters overwhelmingly rejected the motion and while our supporter base has grown in number, our belief is that their thoughts haven’t.

As a supporter owned and supporter run club for 142 years we will listen to and carry out the will of our fanbase in motions such as these, even when we are in the minority as per the two previous occasions and when there is a perceived financial benefit should be find ourselves back in Tier 5 in the future. Our circumstances have changed but our principles haven’t, or shouldn’t.

We made these points back in 2021 but they are worth repeating:

It isn’t that long ago that 13 East of Scotland sides and their board decided unanimously not only to allow us and 25 others entry to the East of Scotland League, but to allow us to play at the same level as existing teams and creating the Conferences. If that didn’t happen we wouldn’t have been promoted to the Lowland League at the first attempt as we would have been in (at least) the 2nd tier of EoS football if we were made to join at the bottom and who knows what might have happened then.
Looking back on our first season in the EoS league our supporters remember the hurdles we had to jump through off the field once the team did the business on it in order to join the Lowland League and Tier 5, with the installation of floodlights in three weeks and campaigns on several different fronts before we were eventually admitted. We, alongside Kelty Hearts, Bo’ness United, Caledonian Braves, Tranent Juniors and Linlithgow Rose all had to start at the bottom in order to gain our status at Tier 5 and there are now over 150 clubs trying to do the same. Our members have no problem whatsoever with any B team joining the pyramid, but that they are treated in the same way as every other new joiner and starting at the bottom and allowed to progress up to Tier 6 in line with other current reserve teams in the EoS and SoS leagues.
Simply put, by voting this proposal through we turn Tier 5 into one for hire and that can’t possibly correlate with any semblance of either sporting or pyramid integrity.

We have won two leagues and six play off games to reach the SPFL but were it not for “the miracle at Albyn Park” we could still be plying our trade at Tier 6, which would be Tier 7 under the new proposal. While the season just past has been a fantastic experience for everyone involved with the club and making new friends along the way, we simply can’t forget our old ones we played alongside for the bulk of our 142 year existence.

For these reasons we will be voting no on the Conference League proposal at the SFA AGM on June 6th.

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