As all of our supporters who attended the “Supporter’s Day” on 14th March and who buy our matchday programme will no doubt know, Junior football is set for possibly the biggest summer of change in it’s 134 year history.
A new “West of Scotland Football League” (WoSFL) is currently being formed for this summer under the auspices of the Lowland League, which will sit below the Lowland League (and alongside the South of Scotland League & the East of Scotland League) at Tier 6 of the Scottish Football Pyramid.
We had intended to hold a Club E.G.M. , but this obviously isn’t an option at this present time & so the club’s committee have acted upon the response from the floor at the recent “Supporter’s Day” on the 14th March.
As a result, Troon Football Club have submitted our application to join the new West of Scotland Football League. We will now form part of the Scottish Football Pyramid System and fulfill what we as a Club voted for two years ago. We believe this is a significant step forward, both on and off the pitch, with exciting times ahead for everyone connected with the club.
We are, without doubt, living in unprecedented times during the worldwide spread of the corona-virus, but once circumstances return to a sense of normality (whenever that may be) it is our intention to hold a further supporter’s meeting to inform everyone of our ideas & plans for the future in this new league.
FAQs
Considering how much mis-information we have seen out there regarding the new league & the pyramid system, we thought it pertinent to include some Frequently Asked Questions to keep all supporters & players updated of all developments:
How will the pyramid be made up?
The Scottish Football Pyramid is currently structured in the following tiers:
- Scottish Premiership
- Scottish Championship
- Scottish League One
- Scottish League Two
- Lowland League | Highland League
- South of Scotland League | East of Scotland League
The new West of Scotland League will take it’s place at tier 6, alongside the South of Scotland League & the East of Scotland League.
Who will run the new League?
The new WOSFL is being formed by the Lowland League, with some assistance from the East of Scotland League & the South of Scotland League.
Once the league is officially set-up, and clubs have joined, it will be the responsibility of the member clubs to appoint a new management committee to govern and handle it’s affairs.
Is this a Junior League?
This is a brand new league, and is a new body. It will not be run by the Scottish Junior FA.
How many teams will be in the League?
At this stage – we don’t know for certain. The deadline for entries is Tuesday 7th April, after which we will know for sure how many teams will be participating.
But with 54+ teams from the Junior leagues signing a declaration to move across, it will be full of familiar names to us.
There have also been a number of current East & South-based teams to have shown an interest, as well as some of the top amateur sides, so there will be plenty of fresh impetus into proceedings.
Will teams be “cherry-picked” to join?
No, there is no limit to the number of teams that will be accepted to the new league.
With regards to compliance of ground criteria guidelines, the Leagues will work with Clubs with the expectation that necessary steps will be made over time.
How will the leagues be structured?
Again, this is still to be confirmed. And this can’t really be set in stone until after the deadline has closed for entries & we know the exact number of participating teams.
There have been calls from the West Region SJFA to maintain the current four leagues structure, which would mean the WOSFL would provide:
Tier 6: Premiership
Tier 7: Championship
Tier 8: League One
Tier 9: League Two
But this structure would be complicated by the fellow new entries from teams outwith Junior football; and with this being a new entity, should previous Junior standings really be relevant?
The most likely suggestion coming from the Lowland League, is that clubs will be split into equal conferences, in exactly the same way the East of Scotland set-up accommodated the influx of Junior teams from the ERSJFA a few years ago.
How will these Conferences be set-up?
There are a few options in terms of seeding the clubs or even organising geographically, all of which can be looked at seriously once the number of participants are 100% confirmed. Further dialogue will take place then.
The Conferences will be for one season only, with the target of producing a 16 team Premier League for the following season.
For instance: if we have 4 equal conferences next season, then the top 4 clubs will be promoted to form a 16-team Premier League for season 2021/22.
Given the current suspension of football, this may (accidentally) be a good way of starting up next season, as it doesn’t strictly require this season to have been played to a finish before seeding for the conferences.
How will promotion from tier 6 work?
At the moment, there will be one side promoted every season from tier 6 into the Lowland League at tier 5. Currently, that is decided by way of a play-off between the winners of the South of Scotland League & the East of Scotland League. That will now become a 3-way play-off to include the WOSFL winners.
In year 1, there will be a play-ff between the winners of the conferences first before the promotion play-off can take place, but as said above that is only for one season.
As only licenced clubs are permitted access to the Lowland League, non-licenced clubs will be omitted from any play-off process.
Will clubs be resigning from the SJFA then?
Not necessarily, it is certainly not essential to do so.
Some clubs will resign if they wish, but clubs joining the new WOSFL are permitted to remain as members of the Scottish Junior Football Association as well as members of the new League.
This means the Macron Scottish Junior Cup will continue as planned next season, and will be open to all member clubs. Which may even include teams who had previously left Junior football re-subscribing to partake once more in this historic competition. The Competition Rules of the Scottish Junior Cup will be altered to reflect the need to ensure League Fixtures have priority.
Will clubs in the WOSFL play in the “big” Scottish Cup?
All clubs who hold an SFA Club Licence are eligible to partake in the William Hill Scottish Cup.
At the moment, of the clubs who have noted interest in the WOSFL, there are only a few clubs currently with licences. But, this is expected to rise considerably in the coming few seasons.
What is the remaining timescale for the WOSFL?
- 7th April – Close of application process
- Mid-April – Conference set-up expected to be confirmed
- Start of May – completed league proposal goes to SFA for review
- Start of June – SFA AGM, where WOSFL is expected to get approval
Any other questions?
If there’s anything you want to ask that hasn’t been detailed here, please contact us via email on: info@troonfootballclub.co.uk and we’ll try our best to answer it for you!