WHEN Kenny McLean lobbed Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel from the halfway line, qualification for the World Cup forced Scotland to consider the kind of issues no one had given much thought to for 28 years.
Who might Steve Clarke’s side land in the draw in December? Which players deserved a seat on the flight to America? How would the Tartan Army make their way across the Atlantic and how much might it cost to get there?
President of the Scottish FA, Mike Mulraney had a question of his own. Recently elected to lead the FIFA Finance Committee the former Alloa chairman has always kept an eye on the bottom line and his mind turned quickly to the trickle down impact of a £9.5million FIFA windfall.
“I allowed myself three seconds of exhilaration when we qualified for the World Cup,” says Mulraney.
”My mind fizzed and popped like everyone else’s. But I can’t help myself, I also thought, ‘How much can we get out of this?’
At last week’s AGM the SFA announced a turnover of £80million and the money for taking part in the World Cup has still to come through.
Not all of the cash is clear profit. In a vast country like America the basics cost and FIFA acknowledged the concerns of the 48 competing nations when they upped the prize money to each by 15% at their recent congress in Vancouver.
The SFA expect a third of the payment to be swallowed up by flights, accommodation and logistics. Another third will go towards the player bonus pot.
“I watched my commercial director run onto the pitch to get the ball after the fourth goal, because he knew I would want it sold,” says Mulraney now.
“We know and understand that we have to harness these moments.
“But my brain fizzed and popped at that moment, just like it did for millions of Scottish people all over the world.
“I have spoken to presidents from Africa, Asia and South America who all told me that they had watched the end of the game.
“They all said it was fantastic and that it would be great to have us back at the World Cup.
“So, I did allow myself three seconds to celebrate and then I think about the money, because that is my job.”
There is no shortage of free advice on how best to spend the World Cup bounty. Issues with VAR have prompted calls for the governing body to help subsidise more cameras in grounds or semi automated technology. Barely a week goes past without a call for funding of full-time referees. Grassroots development is the daily bread and butter and the governing body will fund initiatives by new Chief Football Officer Craig Mulholland to develop players for the national teams of the future.
In the background is a crumbling, ageing Hampden. Supporters grumble over the distant views from behind the goals and yearn for a new 21st century stadium. Mulraney led the negotiations to purchase the National Stadium from Queen’s Park for £5million and so long as his name is above the door, he has an interest in making the old place better. Within reason.
For now he would prefer to spend £100million on building new pitches and changing rooms to increase participation around the country than focus all the SFA’s resources on a venue which needs twice that amount to bring it up to speed.
With the zeal of a pulpit bashing preacher Mulraney adds: “We are so proud of our national stadium and so many countries would love to have one.
"We think it is magnificent. But it’s got to be better.
“But that better can’t come at the expense of a six year old girl from Kirkwall not even being able to kick a ball.
“Or a 10 year old boy from Kirkcaldy not being able to get on a pitch.
“Or a 75 year old man from Annan not being able to take part in sport.”
Pitching In is his personal passion. Launched as an SFA campaign to raise £50m to invest in infrastructure, back-to-back appearances at the Euros mean that the previous target has already been met. The bar has now been doubled to £100million and Hampden is unlikely to see much of the money beyond loose change.
There was a brief prospect of delivering the much vaunted ‘Stuttgart model’ – with the two sides behind the goals rebuilt – when plans took shape for a joint home nations bid for the 2030 World Cup.
Read more:
- Brazil receive 'tremendous injection of confidence' ahead of Scotland World Cup group
- Celtic flop in astonishing Martin O'Neill attack, admits he was gutted by title win
- Scotland star on how far they can go at World Cup and nation they should emulate
Hopes of the UK Government spending the money needed to rebuild the National Stadium floundered when Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland were fobbed off with hosting rights to Euro 2028 instead.
The Euros won’t come close to generating the kind of government subsidies available for a World Cup on British soil. For now, then, Hampden will be patched up and mended. An advocate of improving facilities for all, Mulraney would rather spend the SFA’s money on growing participation in communities, with funding already in place for 193 projects up and down the country.
“Independently audited numbers show that Scottish football is responsible for driving in our economy. Not millions, not tens of millions, not hundreds of millions, but billions of pounds. But we can’t drive it if we don’t have pitches.
“We’ve done what we said we would do by 2030, and plenty of people said it wasn’t possible, and we’ve done it already. And we’re going to do £100m.”
A toxic finale to the season forced the SFA to switch their gaze from building pitches to finding new ways to stop fans from invading them.
An Independent Review into the disorder at the end of the Scottish Cup quarter-final between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox is expected to issue findings this week. Compliance Officer Martin Black will consider the report before deciding what, if any, notices of complaint should be sent to clubs.
The SPFL have also launched five disciplinary hearings into unruly fan behaviour. As well as Ibrox Celtic fans encroached on the playing surface at the end of games against Motherwell and Hearts and while heavy suspended punishments look likely the league have also asked the Scottish Government to consider legislation making pitch invasions and turnstile tailgating illegal. In England and Wales they’ve been outlawed since 1991.
Mulraney would welcome more assistance of the criminal justice system with the enforcement of football banning orders but accepts the view of Police Scotland that authorities and clubs should bear broader shoulders and put their house in order. Things can’t go on like this.
“When I was a little lad I ran on the pitch. It was a moment of celebration at the end of the season and you hoped to get your favourite player’s shirt. But that was a long time ago and we can’t have that any more. And we can’t have referees being told they are in protective care effectively with their kids.
“We are just not going to have these things in our football society any more, we are going to eradicate it. Trust me, those who have experienced me know I have a track record of making things happen when we say they are going to happen, regardless of what people think.
“Scottish football does not duck from that. We’re not blaming anybody else. It’s our job to ask the media to support us and to please ask the fans to support us. To ask the politicians to do so and to ask the philanthropists to do so, to make a fundamental change to Scottish football and our nation.”
