Summary 1. Background In 2009 the Scottish Football Association (Scottish FA) commissioned Henry McLeish MSP to carry out a review of football in Scotland. The first part of the review was published in April 2010. Following consideration of the review, the Scottish FA were determined to appoint a Performance Director to oversee all the aspects of football in Scotland that impact on the performance of Scotland s national teams and on the continuous development of international quality players. Prior to commencing the recruitment process, the Board of the Scottish FA felt it was prudent to seek agreement to a performance strategy and plan. This document outlines the recommended performance strategy that the Scottish FA should adopt with its partners. Renaissance & Company was appointed to develop a strategy, structure and function for the leadership and management of performance of Scottish football. The Performance Strategy required to deliver a step change in performance of the national teams and to include the job descriptions and candidate profiles for key staff and an estimate level of resources to deliver consistent success. We worked closely with a Performance Planning Group, chaired by Campbell Ogilvie, Vice President of the Scottish FA with representatives of all major stakeholders in Scotland s international performance. This report summarises the findings of the Group and contains the recommended Performance Strategy for Scottish football towards 2020 and specifically 8 Action Plans that should be executed over the period 2011 to 2015 as well as the associated resource implications. Initial estimates envisage an additional investment of around 10m over the first 5 years of the strategy. 2. Scotland s International Performance The world and Football have undergone perhaps the greatest change in living memory during the last 20 years. National Football Associations are powerless to avoid these forces of change. All they can do is respond more effectively than competing associations. Most nations perform to their population size. Only rarely have countries with a population lower than Scotland s qualified for any of the last 6 World Cups - Croatia, Ireland, Uruguay, Slovenia being a select few. Although historically Scotland has performed internationally several classes above its weight, it is ranked 27th in terms of European populations (41 in World), and national expectations, which seldom follow logic, remain high. The reality is that to reach the top 20 in football rankings in Europe, Scotland would need to have the second-highest out-performance rate relative to its population. Scotland is currently ranked 37th in the FIFA world rankings. In performance terms the UEFA club coefficient is declining. Generally Scottish international teams win half the competitive games they have played in recent years with a positive goal difference. Further analysis revealed that both Men s and Women s senior teams perform in the mid-range with current levels of performance unlikely to deliver regular qualification for European Championships or World Cups. Like many Scottish team sports e.g. Rugby and Hockey, Scottish youth squads do less well than their senior counterparts. In general the fitness and skill levels of Scottish youth players are below these of their European counterparts. From analysis of Scottish football, Scotland s national game follows a similar pattern. Scottish football currently invests around 20m each year into football development and performance management, excluding any grants given to member clubs of the Scottish FA. In addition the Scottish
FA invests around 1.5m each year, ring-fenced in support of the Youth Initiative, a 15 year old project and good basis for future development. Other than the initial investment in people and infrastructure, there has been little real investment committed to delivery or performance management. Scotland has no right to expect better than Top 50 in the World, or to qualify for future World Cups on the basis of: The size of its population Competitiveness of European/International football and the relative ease for players to move between European nations Competitive intensity of the SPL and other Scottish leagues Relatively low number of Scottish players playing for top Clubs in top Leagues Changes in the game in the UK recruitment of non-uk qualified players, which leaves few places for Scottish players in top league football The current lack of a performance system and infrastructure The current pace of change and investment in development. In considering all of the above, Scottish football needs to over-invest relative to other comparable national associations and, more importantly, in a way that is smarter and very different from the strategies and plans deployed in the past. The current level of investment and associated structure, processes and systems will not deliver the success desired by the Scottish FA and its stakeholders. 3. Conclusions from the Review Scottish Football needs to change significantly - tinkering with existing structures, responsibilities and processes will not suffice. There is the need for a new landscape. Any technical or structural change needs to be supported by a new economic model, linked to the development of more, better Scottish international players Against any benchmark the current performance system in Scottish football does well to score 2/10 Coaching is a vital and key element in the pathway the challenge is to remove complacency and move from good to great, with a special emphasis on improving capability, attitude and behaviour of existing coaches in the system, especially those involved with the coaching of young people The current Youth Initiative (age 11-16/17 years) and the SPL/SFL development leagues have improved the performance of average players. There are too many players in the Youth Initiative squads (around 3000) and the Initiative has done little to produce more, better potential elite players To optimise football s resources, there is a critical need for more, fitter young people with higher skill levels playing football, more often, as well as taking part in other physical activity. This is not a quick fix, yet making an impact on those aged 5-12 is an imperative, not just for Scottish football but for the nation Current Long-Term-Player-Development/Pathway proposals and associated investment will not improve the position significantly. The current regional structure provides the basis for development and performance. Football Development work is innovative, creative, entrepreneurial yet generally unsupported and not integrated into an agreed pathway International squads are not integrated or managed as a whole. There is no Scottish style and limited leadership or performance management of Scotland s national teams Scottish FA activity must add value through their effective administration and coaching in partnership with the Clubs, especially the elite clubs Scottish FA and its partners need to foster and build a performance culture - moving away from being governing bodies to enabling partners.
In addition the lessons from a review of Good Practice led to the conclusion that for Scottish football needed to: Plan for the long term Focus on securing best vs. best for top young players, more frequently Assure the 10,000 hours the contact time with the ball over the 10-year development of an elite young player. Current estimate is around 3000 hours Establish a performance function to plan for improved performance. 4. The Power of 2 Maintaining the status quo and tinkering with existing structures and processes will not achieve the change desired or the transformation required. Here are the key change areas and the scope of change required: The Performance Strategy must be for football in Scotland, not just the Scottish FA Scottish FA and the leading clubs do a lot of good work, with limited impact setting big and shared goals are the key The factor of 2 should prevail in the Youth Initiative and Football Development generally o 2 times the investment in half the number of initiatives in Football Development o Half the number of Top (Elite) Club Academies from 17 to fewer than 10 o Significantly reduce the number of players in the Youth Initiative o o Double the age-band range at selected levels? Half of any grant to be outcome related - producing fitter, faster, better players for Scotland s international squads Double the investment in the coaching framework, with even greater focus on how to coach young people and coaching for performance Scottish football should monitor its elite players and coaching workforce to ensure these scarce resources are optimised The Scottish FA s international squads should be aligned in terms of style, performance and shape. The following vision of success represents a strong consensus of where Scottish Football should plan to be in 10 years time. The 5 strategic goals represent together the high ground in the battle against the forces dragging down the performance of Scottish football and their international teams. 5. Scottish Football s Strategic Framework for Performance The strategic framework to guide the implementation of the performance strategy for Scottish Football, is illustrated below: Scottish FA/Renaissance
The Framework contains 8 strategic Action Plans to be implemented over the next 5 years, supported by a total additional investment of around 10m over that period. There are 4 fundamental principles driving the Performance Strategy entitled Scotland United Scotland Winning as proposed: 1. Assure the possibility of 10,000 hours To provide enough contact time with the ball, developing skills and fitness Need to secure time during and around the school curriculum. 2. Optimise opportunities for Best vs. Best To provide a new standard of competition In clubs and regional/national squads/sessions. 3. Take our Coaching from Good to Great To ensure a critical mass of coaches are performing Build best in the world coaching community. 4. The new Scotland Way To build a culture of performance across all organisations associated with the development of football talent in Scotland To ensure all organisations are engaged and aligned behind a new Scottish way of developing elite payers, towards the goal of Scotland winning consistently The integrated nature of the themes is illustrated below: Scottish FA/Renaissance
Together they address the four questions posed right at the start: Athletes and Coaches a critical mass of players will have achieved 10,000 hours of contact time with the ball and will be playing at a high level of competitive intensity at or around international level Performance System the new performance system will be instilling in young players individual skill, fitness and speed. It will be providing a base of knowledge of our best players and their coaches. The Coaching Community will be a great example of good practice to the football world Performance Infrastructure quality facilities, supported by excellent resources will be in place underpinned by a coaching infrastructure of a high quality both at youth and senior level Climate and Culture the new Scotland way will have developed a performance culture in Scottish football on and off the field - where outcomes are in place and progress towards goals measured and rewarded. All organisations are united around this goal Club Scotland international players are proud to play for Scotland, at all levels, and being members of the international squads will; be adding value to the training and development received at their clubs. The Scottish FA will be supporting its international teams in a way that assures the best possible performance. 6. Planning to Win The strategic goals will be achieved by focused execution of a number of action plans. The Framework contains 8 strategic action plans to be implemented over the next 5 years, supported by a total additional investment of around 10m over that period (outlined later). The plans are outlined in more detail in the fuller report. They can be summarised as follows: Action Plan 1: Stronger Leagues The Scottish FA should support the SPL and SFL in particular in resolving any outstanding issues to bring about a new and vibrant league structure and programme. Action Plan 2: Scottish Professional Football Development Leagues We propose to introduce a number of new, positive changes to the Youth Initiative, centred on four key thrusts: Creating the new Scottish Professional Football Development Leagues Reforming the system of developing, evaluating and rewarding the Club Academies Creating space for Best vs. Best training and development Introducing new Colts teams for Elite clubs in a new level of competition for players over 18/19.
Here is a schematic representing the proposed new leagues: Source: Renaissance/Scottish FA The final age bands will be established following consultation with the clubs. Action Plan 3: Schools, Academies and Performance Centres The current pathway being deployed in Scottish Football is incomplete, without a clear mandate for Football Development to complete it. The current pathway does not have sufficient focus or scope to impact on the number and quality of elite players. While recognising the importance of initiatives that will impact on those aged 5-12, the key battleground in the next 5 years will be to increase the number of quality players between 13 and 19. The proposed new Scottish Professional Football Development Leagues will contribute to this. The future pathway for a young, elite Scottish player might look like this: The Early Years The proposal is that the Scottish FA should lead this part of the performance pathway in close cooperation with the SPL and SFL clubs. Scottish FA Football Development will have the lead role in the design and implementation of the new Football Development Strategy (Action Plan 8). The initial part of the pathway outlines the key activity to be addressed with players aged 5-12. This requires to be developed through publication of a Football Development strategy, to broadly reflect the current activity of Football Development with a number of additions as outlined in Action Plan 8. New Features The proposal is to introduce two new features to the performance part of the pathway at age 12: Regional Performance Squads where the best players are brought together regularly to receive coaching and development from leading Scottish FA coaches working together with the coaches of the elite and performance clubs in each region. In addition, regional festivals will be held in each of the 6 regions for players to play in 7-a-side tournaments where improving skill sessions can run in parallel to matches. Scottish Football Performance Schools The Scottish FA should establish, in co-operation with the local authorities, around 12-15 Performance Schools across Scotland. These will go
some way towards assuring their part of the 10,000 hours commitment. They will be a source of players for the Regional Performance Squads. Most training sessions will take place at the facilities of Elite clubs or other appropriate facilities. They will focus on developing young players in the S1-S3 years at secondary school. Regional/National Performance Centres - These will not be facilities initially but regular, organised regional and national sessions for Scotland s elite players. A number of new Regional Performance Centre groups will be formed over the five years of the strategy with a National Performance Centre linked to the National Football Centre (see Action Plan 5) towards the end of the plan. The Regional Performance Centres would be centred at Elite club facilities. In addition, the proposal is to establish up to 2-3 Regional Performance Centre groups in England to cater for the young Scottish players in Premier League and Championship clubs there. Throughout the consultation for the project it is clear that a number of English Premier League clubs e.g. Everton, Manchester United, Sunderland may be willing to co-operate with the Scottish FA to allow access to and use of their facilities. The Regional and National Performance Centres and associated development of young players in the system would be a key responsibility of the Performance Director and staff. The players would be continuously monitored and assessed by the Performance Director. Action Plan 4: Performance Function and Leadership This Performance Strategy now provides the rationale for the appointment of a Performance Director and the basis on which a performance function should be developed. The challenge is to clearly differentiate the role from other executive functions in Scottish Football and to ensure the effective integration with other departments in the Scottish FA and other key stakeholder groups e.g. the SPL, SFL. It will be of special importance to assure close co-operation between the Performance Director, the Director of Football Development and the Senior National Coach. The Scottish FA Chief Executive should lead a small team to assure this cooperation and effective execution of the strategy. There should be clear differentiation between the roles of the Performance Director and the Director of Football Development. Our recommendations are illustrated below:
Source: Renaissance/Scottish FA A specific role is to influence the development of Coaches and Referees at the elite level, working closely with the Heads of Coaching and Referees. Referees are of special importance, if the right environment is to exist for development of elite players. From our review of good practice, especially in Italy and Spain, we recommend that the leading referees meet every two weeks to review their performance over the previous two weeks and also learn from good practice internally and elsewhere. It should be noted that Scottish football does not have full-time referees and that they should be remunerated for this additional investment of time, itself designed to assure greater consistency of decision making in the SPL. Performance System There will be a number of key elements to the performance system, which will require to be developed in partnership, especially with the SPL. These are: Charter/contract for player release Matrix of layers for each position (10 times coverage) Quality and Management system for Academies Information and knowledge management system Standards for Sports Science, Sports Medicine and Performance Lifestyle Design of Player Performance Programmes Performance management system Performance strategies and plans for all International Squads. Women s International Football It is our proposal that Women s international football and the development of their elite players be integrated into the proposals for Performance Schools, Club Academies and the new Scottish Regional/National Performance Centres. Scotland s women have been in the vanguard of elite player development over the last 5 years. Leadership of Performance The Scottish FA should proceed with the appointment of a Performance Director. The Chief Executive, along with the successful candidate, should lead the implementation of the strategy and action plans. In addition to setting up the function and making key appointments we recommend the Scottish FA consider setting up a International Performance Leadership Group to oversee the implementation of the Performance Strategy and assure the engagement and alignment of key stakeholders. Acton Plan 5: Develop World Class Coaching Community Scotland is producing insufficient numbers of high quality players to represent the Scottish national teams and insufficient quantity and quality of coaches. Scottish football needs to reverse these trends to provide a better foundation for Scotland winning. To make a step change in Scotland s performance in international football at all levels, Scottish Football needs to develop and sustain more players and coaches of high quality. The Scottish FA should develop a new integrated coach education and player development strategy across the professional and grassroots games to improve on-field performance. This is fundamental to delivering winning Scottish teams and the long-term health of the game. This will build on the best features of the current coaching programmes, deploying these programmes more aggressively into the total community of coaches in Scotland. At the heart of the Coaching Strategy might be a National Football Centre, the educational hub for all coaching and development work carried out across the country, enabling the regional work to be
carried out more effectively and efficiently. Initially this should remain at Largs but consideration should be given to a more central venue in the second phase of implementation. Through improved tutoring and mentoring, the plans will emphasise the need to improve quality. They will deliver skilled, qualified and licensed coaches, capable of delivering age-appropriate coaching for 5-12, 13-16 and 17-21 year old players. The Scottish FA should provide long term player development support for coaches, aligning physical, psychological, medical and performance analysis. The Performance Director should work with the National Coaches of the Men s and Women s teams to ensure they make high demands of their players in terms of ambition, attitude to hard work and discipline on and off the field of play. In return Scotland will provide players with the best experience of their lives. The Scottish FA should publish an annual report on the state of coaching in Scottish football. This should include reporting on the number of coaches and the levels to which they have progressed, having set annual achievement objectives. Action Plan 6: Influencing Strategy It is impossible to contemplate the Scottish FA implementing the performance strategy on its own. We have been hugely encouraged by the openness of the SPL, SFL and other constituent associations associated with performance, and to the overall approach demonstrated by the Scottish FA, through our engagement and the proposed process. The key is now to capitalise on the goodwill that currently exists by securing across-the-board commitment to the strategy and its implementation and exploiting the opportunity to galvanise new resources behind the initiative. The Scottish FA should prepare an influencing strategy and plan for presentation to Government and hold at least an annual board-to-board meeting each year with the Scottish Government and sportscotland. Action Plan 7: Performance Culture One of the key features of the performance strategy is to encourage much stronger performance related management of Scottish football, especially around the development of more and better Scottish international players. This will require a change in the culture of those involved in Scottish football at this level. In general, football associations are not used to the rigour and discipline of high performance systems found in other sports e.g. Mission 2012 in GB Olympic sports. The Scottish FA and associated organisations need to embrace a performance culture themselves through their enthusiastic commitment to the strategy and associated processes. In our fuller report we outline the six key elements found in high performing organisations across business, sports, the arts and not-for-profit organisations. We suggest areas where the Scottish FA and other organisations might set new standards. Action Plan 8: Football Development Strategy All sports face major challenges to reverse the forces reducing participation in sport. Leisure options, sporting or otherwise, abound in modern society with informal street football a rarity. The Scottish FA must adapt its structures, work harder and be more creative to maintain and increase the levels of participation of both adults and children. Football is heavily reliant on its volunteer workforce. Volunteers are a scarce and generally declining resource in sport and must be actively recruited and retained. The Scottish FA must address these trends and continue to focus on making the game accessible to all.
Fundamental to football maintaining its position as Scotland s favourite game is the deployment of a new Football Development Strategy. The Football Development Strategy should set out the plans to develop grassroots football during the term of the performance strategy. It should address four key areas: Growing and retaining player numbers Raising standards and addressing abusive behaviour Developing better players focusing on the 5 12 age group Leading and running the national game effectively In addition, the Football Development Strategy should set out the required investment in developing a skilled football workforce and improving football facilities. The Scottish FA should lead the development of the Football Development strategy in conjunction with Scottish Schools FA and the Scottish Youth FA. Of special importance will be the Scottish FA s commitment to developing better players. The Scottish FA must be committed to support every player to reach their potential and in particular to develop better skills at a younger age. The 5 12 age group is absolutely crucial in developing skills, enhancing enjoyment of the game, developing healthy lifestyles and creating a new generation of talented players. The main areas of investment outlined in the Performance Strategy are: New performance-based remuneration system for the Scottish Professional Football Development Leagues Investment in a Performance Director and Performance System Doubling the investment in Coaching and Coach/Referee Development Establishing the Regional/National Performance Centres and a number of Performance Schools Scholarships for a number of players each year as potential international players Rewards to Clubs for developing international players at U17, U19 and U21 level A fund for innovation to provide seed-corn for new ideas. Measuring the Return What price success? At a time where the average price of an Olympic Gold medal is around 4m over 4 years 1 the Scottish FA need to believe the view has to be worth the climb. We have selected a number of the performance indicators and made an initial estimate as to what might be possible by 2012/2016. These are contained in the full report. This may assist the Board in their deliberations We would wish at this stage to thank the Scottish Football Association, its stakeholders and constituent associations for the opportunity to work on this challenging project. Alistair Gray - Director, Renaissance & Company, Glasgow November 2010 1 Source: UK Sport