The governance of youth football in Scotland is ‘not fit for purpose’ and the lack of ambition shown by the Scottish FA in developing young players is ‘insulting’, according to former First Minister, Henry McLeish.

In a wide-ranging interview on the ‘Improving Scottish Football’ podcast that has been shared with The Herald for inclusion in this series, McLeish criticised the absence of vision and aspiration on the part of the game’s governing bodies when it comes to nurturing talent in this country and suggested that an independent body taking responsibility for the governance of youth football may be required.

The SFA recently produced an in-depth report into the ‘transition phase’, which suggested potential solutions to the issue of players between the ages of 16 and 21 failing to fulfil their potential as they made the leap from youth football to the professional game.

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That was widely welcomed by many stakeholders in the game, but McLeish – who was famously commissioned by the SFA to produce the ‘Project Brave’ report on the state of Scottish football back in 2010 – believes that there is still too much inertia around the issue of player development, and that malaise drips down from the organisations at the top of the sport.

“If there’s one issue that they’ve got to accept it is that the youth game is not in good shape,” McLeish said.

“I think what we need to do is to put more faith in young people, as the Spanish have done successfully. Have faith in youth.

“One of the things that may have to happen, I fear, is if the football authorities don’t take a bigger, better interest in youth and elite football, it may have to be run by an arm’s length organisation.

“And I’d like to go even further and say that the current youth set up in Scotland is not fit for purpose. You can have terms that you can use in broadcast or on television to kind of move around the subject, but it’s better just to say it’s not fit for purpose.

“In fact, I’d go as far as to say that the set up within the SFA and the SPFL just now is quite insulting to the bigger vision that Scotland should have in terms of the governance of the youth game, in terms of its organisation, in terms of its investment.

“And in that, I have to say to Sport Scotland and the Scottish government, they have to look much more closely at what they’re investing in to make sure that finance that is earmarked for youth goes to youth.”

McLeish also talked passionately about the need for more investment for schools.

“I’m a great believer that there should be more money invested in school sports,” he said.

“Every child should have the choice of being involved in schools’ football or other sports. And the benefit of that is not only are they involved in their own health, they’re contributing to a healthier Scotland”.

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A major problem in ensuring that youth development is prioritised, in McLeish’s view, is the erosion of the influence of the SFA, and the increasing power that the SPFL yields over the association.

While those within both organisations have often lauded the upsides of the two bodies working more closely together on Hampden’s sixth floor, McLeish believes it is that cosier relationship that has allowed the SPFL to ‘take over’ the SFA and shift their priorities as a result.

“My concern was a decade ago, more than that now, that there was a danger that the SPFL and the SFA would get too close to each other,” he said.

“The SFA have a different role in Scotland. They are the custodians of all football in Scotland. The SPFL only have an interest in the 42 clubs that are part of it.

“But what has happened in recent times is there’s been sadly an opportunity for people from the SPFL to get involved with the SFA. So, my concern is that, let me put it strongly, that the SFA have been partly taken over by the SPFL.”

McLeish expressed hope though that the authorities will open the door and work more positively with fan groups in the future.

“Everything’s supposed to be transparent,” he added.

“And they’ve got a mindset at Hampden now, which doesn’t take at all well to any criticism of any form. And the sad thing is they can’t know it all, because that’s not the way things work. And all I’m saying is, let the door open. Let debate flourish. Let ideas flourish. And we’ll all be much, much better off.

“People who think that I’m highly critical, as I am, of the authorities, it is because I think they can do better.

“I’m not saying that people have to disappear, or people have to be changed. All I’m saying is that collectively, there needs to be a bigger ambition.”