Scottish FA summit: SPFL clubs to be offered incentives to play more home-grown youth players
Plans are designed to create more playing opportunities for young talent across every level of the SPFL; clubs will vote on the options when they gather at the SFA General Meeting in October and the SPFL’s AGM in November; if approved, they will come into force from next season
Friday 4 September 2026 16:49, UK
The Scottish FA is proposing financial incentives for clubs to play more young home-grown footballers.
The governing body has announced £1m would be made available to clubs to incentivise increased game time for under-21 Scotland-eligible players.
All 42 clubs met in St Andrews on Friday to discuss ways of improving the game and finding Scotland's next international players.
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There are also plans for home-grown player quotas for the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup tournaments.
Clubs would be required to start two U21 Scotland-eligible players in all cup competitions, with one on the pitch at all times.
In all four leagues, they would have to play an average of 60 minutes per game, across the season.
Clubs that fail to meet the requirement in league matches would be deducted 10 per cent of their final placing prize money. The funds would then be redistributed among the clubs that have achieved the target.
The three proposals will be voted on an SFA meeting in October and the SPFL's AGM in November. If passed, they will come into force from next season.
The summit followed concern about a dramatic dip in Scottish-born players being fielded by top-flight clubs in Scotland.
Figures also show an increase in young players being tempted south to club academies in England, prompting concerns they could be lost in a vast youth system rather than breaking into first teams north of the border.
Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA Chief Executive said: "We are all in agreement that Scottish football needs to create more opportunities for young players to gain regular first-team experience, and we strongly believe that today's our proposals are the next positive steps towards achieving this goal. Today's meeting was the start of that process,"
"Scotland's return to the World Cup created a huge sense of excitement around the national team, but it has also underlined the need to plan for the next generation.
"Clubs across Europe are showing that giving younger players minutes does not have to come at the expense of success on the pitch, and we believe that these proposals which we have presented today could both strengthen Scottish clubs and have a positive effect on the national team in the future.
"We are grateful to all the clubs who attended today and we will continue to engage with members to find a solution that works for the country."
SFA chief football officer Craig Mulholland added: "We're at a point in Scottish football where we need to take a holistic approach to improvement.
"The time for reviews is over: it's time for action to make sure that our young Scottish people get the best opportunity to go and become top professionals.
"We have already seen progress from the introduction of the Co-operation System and the revamp of the KDM Evolution Trophy but we know that the lack of opportunities in the top flight is concerning.
"We would always love to do more but we believe that introducing requirements for under-21 players in the Scottish Cup and League Cup and targets for minutes in the Premiership would represent a significant step for Scottish football."
