Dev

Is this correct? Preston Athletic have retweeted this.

Oh Dear! You couldn't make it up could you? But there again!

"Over the past 3 months the Scottish game has been the laughing stock" .............. Partly correct, in my view, FWIW, as, within the country too many of those who are bothered about Scottish football have regarded it as a laughing stock for much longer than a few months. In the context of semi-professional football even the much respected Panel which investigated the CC affair voluntarily commented as follows. Note the content of the BOLD type: CONCLUSIONS Panel has considered all evidence, all recordings (which were immensely helpful and far better than any ‘minute’), the rules of SJFA and WR, and the aforementioned relevant policies of good governance of SJFA, as well as communicating with various key people involved in the process. In terms of the constitution and rules of the WR the panel found these were not overly helpful to us. In fact the rules generally are archaic in places and our strong recommendation would have been, were the WR to be continuing (which as we are aware it is not due to all 63 clubs leaving for the new league) then a complete re-write of the constitution and rules would be essential. The key word is archaic. This is the root cause as to why the Juniors have been decimated and replaced with those who want to look forward without fear, respecting the past, but not dining out on it for ever! True supporters of any club which has been associated with what happened re CC will be uncomfortable about what happened, and I don't mean the "leak" to the media.

Excellent news.

Excellent news.

Excellent news with more news soon.

How many clubs already have teams in this league? Any ideas which clubs too?

Cannot argue too much about the Conclusions.

Independent Report Investigation into decisions made by the Management Committee of the West Region of the Scottish Junior Football Association during March and April 2020, in particular meetings held between 14-20 April 2020, and the subsequent leaking of certain information to the media. ABBREVIATIONS OF THE MORE COMMONLY USED WORDS, PHRASES, PERSONS INVOLVED: Management Committee = MC West Region = WR Scottish Junior Football Association = SJFA Scottish Football Association = SFA Scottish Cup = SC Colin Chisholm, Interim President of WR (and a representative on the MC of Auchinleck Talbot JFC) (Resigned 18 May 2020) = CC John Fyfe, Interim General Secretary of WR (a neutral non-voting MC member) = JF Rod Petrie, President, SFA = RP Tom Johnston, Secretary, SJFA = TJ INVESTIGATIVE PANEL SCOTT STRUTHERS, CHAIRMAN – Football administrator for 37 years, includes 25 years full time secretary of Hamilton Academical FC, current 18 years member SFA disciplinary committee / judicial panel, 12 years council member SFA, current UEFA match delegate, UEFA stadium inspector, a coach and mentor to new delegates, and a FIFA match commissioner. Freelance adviser to other football clubs, bodies, players. GUS MACKAY, MEMBER – Football administrator for 50 years, past President Scottish Amateur FA, past council member of SFA, current judicial panel member and appeals panels member SFA, 50 years involvement at Symington Tinto AFC, member of many other committees and football bodies over the years. The panel co-opted a third member, a completely neutral third party, purely to give us a general overview of the evidence and general situation, together with any information that could be ascertained on the leak - TARIK SHAMEL, CO-OPTED MEMBER – Solicitor in England, adviser on regulatory matters to other sporting bodies, current UEFA match delegate. BACKGROUND In the current global pandemic all football in Scotland, at all levels, (and indeed in most countries), came to a halt on 13th March 2020. Competitions were suspended. Initially there was a potential return date in April, however as the health crisis evolved it quickly became clear that football would not resume before - at the earliest - 22 July, subject to ongoing government reviews. All leagues were faced with decisions on how to conclude their seasons. This became as public and problematic at professional levels, with commercial and broadcast contracts to be considered, as well as at all non-league, women’s, juniors, amateurs, youth, futsal levels etc. The WR SJFA have 63 member clubs who play across four leagues (Premiership, Championship, League One, League Two). The clubs are predominantly from Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Dunbartonshire, and Lanarkshire areas. The clubs and players could be described as ‘semiprofessional’ and are all essentially ‘community clubs’ providing a long history of local football, with crowds typically 50-500 for league matches, and frequently more for bigger games. It is a popular and well followed level of football in Scotland, essentially operating at the tiers 6-9 levels. NOTE – During March and April 2020, and as part of the SFA pyramid structure, all 63 clubs indicated their resignations from WR in order to join a new West of Scotland Football League, sitting a level below the current Highland League and Lowland League which operate at tier 5. These 63 clubs would move en-masse to the new set up, initially under the control or jurisdiction of Lowland League officials. Accordingly, this was to prove the last season and last competitions, in fact the last decisions, of the WR and the MC of the WR. Consequently, decisions made, champions awarded etc, would not have had impact upon promotions / relegations (for the most part) for the new set up. The MC of the WR found themselves in discussions on how to end the season. There was an initial discussion on 30-31 March meetings, and more in-depth discussions on 14, 16 and 20 April meetings at which the matter was concluded. Champions etc. were subsequently confirmed and announced. CC was Interim President of the WR MC having only been appointed on 6th March, immediately before the current crisis. It should be noted that the WR Premiership winners, and also the top division winners of the North Region and East Region of the SJFA, get a place in the following season’s SC, a clearly prestigious award. It was to be this issue that would become the crux of the matter that the WR MC found themselves discussing and having to achieve a sporting merit conclusion. At this point the panel would wish to pay our respects to Mr Frannie McNeil, a long serving player in the WR and a club official at Pollok FC, who was a member of the WR MC, and who sadly passed away in early April 2020. PANEL SET UP Following copies of minutes and emails from WR MC discussions being leaked to media and social media across 16-17 May, this generated a significant negative reaction against the WR MC decisions on the evening of 17 May, and the resignation of CC as Interim President of the WR on 18 May. The incumbent Vice President, Alex McDowall (a representative of Gartcairn FC) became Acting President. Across 20 and 21 May he contacted Scott Struthers by telephone asking that he set up an independent panel to look at all matters. That decision was subsequently announced on the WR SJFA Twitter feed on the evening of 21 May. The panel were provided with the relevant correspondence, minutes, recordings etc on 27 May. EVIDENCE The panel were provided with: -  The minutes of the meetings held on 30 and 31 March  The actual Zoom recordings (in which we could hear all discussions by the MC WR), of the three meetings of 14, 16 and 20 April, which proved extremely helpful and beneficial  An email trail of 9-13 April between CC and TJ and various MC members, and others from North and East Regions, discussing the ending of the league season, with many references to communications between RP and TJ, and that information / communication going to WR MC  An email of 15 April from CC to WR MC and TJ concerning the minutes of 14 April, in relation to Scottish Cup entry, and referring to the 9-13 April communications between RP and TJ  An email of 17 April from JF to WR MC and TJ containing the phrase ‘please destroy the minutes…’  An email trail of 24-29 April in which Cumnock JFC, one of the WR member clubs, pass on to Gordon Ronney, a WR MC member, information that was emailed to them concerning the MC discussions of 14-20 April  A letter of resignation from CC on 18 May resigning as Interim President of WR following the aforementioned communications and minutes being released to the media  In addition the panel looked at the constitution and rules of the SJFA, taken from their website, and the constitution and rules of the WR, sent by email to us as it does not appear on their website.  In addition the panel considered some of the policies and documents for governance that appear on the SJFA website. THE KEY DOCUMENTS LOOKED AT, AND SOME KEY PHRASES, ARE LISTED: -  SJFA Integrity Policy – to “promote a culture of integrity…”  SJFA Anti-Corruption and Bribery Policy – 5.3 – “…a person acts improperly where they act illegally, unethically, or contrary to an expectation of good faith or impartiality, or where they abuse a position of trust…”; and -5.4 – “…corruption is the abuse of entrusted power or position for private gain…”  SJFA Confidentiality Policy and Procedures – 1.2 – “ all officials appointed to any position within…an SJFA Region will have access to and become aware of information which is confidential…”; and 1.3 – “all officials will undertake to use their best endeavours to prevent the unauthorised publication or disclosure of any such confidential information. this restriction shall continue to apply after the termination of any appointment without limit in point of time.”  SJFA Data Protection Policy – 1.1 – “the SJFA is committed to the highest standards of openness, probity and accountability…” VIEW It is the panel’s view, indeed a generally accepted view, that sporting bodies, particularly private members organisations – which the WR SJFA is, it is a group of clubs who make their own rules and constitution, then elect a MC to oversee it – should not only be open and transparent, but that there should be a clear perception that the body is open and transparent. With regards the aforementioned discussion on SC entry by the WR MC, which became the crux of the matter for the MC, following the leaking of the correspondence to the media, it was then the perception of the (lack of) openness and transparency in the whole decision making process that became a key aspect for the panel. PROCESS Having received all evidence, including the actual recordings of the crucial meetings in question, Scott Struthers and Gus Mackay took their time to read and, in particular, listen, to everything supplied. This took several days. then, listen to the recordings again. Tarik Shamel was able to review it at a later date. In the current climate, the panel did not physically meet, all communications were by telephone call and email between us. The two main panel members quickly identified the key persons from whom we sought more information – these were RP, TJ, CC and JF. Anyone else would be communicated with if needed. Follow ups and questions, again all by email, took place. These were most helpful. We thank all those for replying, and in some cases further confirming, answers and information to us in a timeous manner. In addition, and in view of the perception of a lack of openness and transparency of the WR MC, following the information finding its way to the media on 17 May, and having already formed our opinion on the matters discussed, we additionally sought the opinions of some people who have good interest and involvement in the WR, amongst others. these are provided anonymously in this report. The panel members exchanged and communicated respective thoughts and summaries of the situation, on which we were in complete agreement. our co-opted member, Tarik Shamel, also gave us a general overview of the situation and evidence, from a neutral and non-Scottish perspective. It was our view to have a complete fresh and clean pair of eyes on the situation, someone with no prior knowledge of the teams and personalities involved. SUMMARY AND FINDINGS The crux of the whole matter was the MC ultimate desire to have a team in next season's SC, (notwithstanding the fact that the other two regions, North and East, had chosen not to do so), and to achieve that by some kind of sporting merit. CC was involved with TJ in the 9-13 April emails, and TJ with RP. Despite the WR MC meeting of 14 April having decided null & void, (albeit no formal vote took place, it was accepted / agreed by MC) in terms of concluding the season 2019-20, the WR MC were aware they needed to select a team for the SC. It is then some clarification by CC to make the MC aware that null & void doesn't do that and that some other method (average points per game being the perhaps obvious only alternative) would suffice, based on the TJ / RP communications of 9-13 April. This email trail made it clear that the SFA would seek a representative to the SC based on sporting merit and there was a clear concern that null & void did not achieve that. This lead in turn to the WR MC further deliberations on 16 April (which had been planned) and a further additional meeting on 20 April to confirm champions across all four WR leagues. It must also be made perfectly clear that in all the meetings that took place the relevant MC members sat out the parts of the meeting that discussed their own club and own divisions, i.e. CC sat out for all discussions on the Premiership and SC place, the representative on the MC from Ardrossan Winton Rovers JFC sat out the League 1 discussions etc. This was perfectly fair and normal in such meetings. In response to questioning from Panel, CC was quite open about what he did, he was trying to ensure the WR had a representative in next season's Scottish Cup. His communications with TJ were purely in his capacity as Interim President of WR, and not as a representative of Auchinleck Talbot. The perceptions of RP and TJ also were that CC was acting as WR Interim President and not as a club official. The fact that the communications by email of 9-13 April don't seem to have been fully taken on board by the MC in general at their meeting on 14 April we can't quite fathom, but CC email to JF on 15 April makes it clear. The MC meeting of 14 April was for a null & void across all four WR leagues, and the MC would then consider a nomination to participate in the SC (which was to be discussed at 16 April meeting). Bearing in mind that CC was not part of the relevant discussions on 14 April, but was informed, then read the minutes the following morning, his email of 15 April to JF and the WR MC (and copied to SJFA) expresses his worry that the MC appear to be going against the advice from RP of the SFA, conveyed to them via TJ of the SJFA, regarding null & void not being suitable for a SC place. However if the MC were to decide the leagues by some other method (e.g. average points per game) (which to the Panel seemed the only other and logical conclusion, as used by other leagues including the SPFL) then the MC could justify a nomination to the SFA for a league winner and therefore a SC place. The meeting of 16 April has seen the WR Fixture Secretary – Kennie Young, a neutral non-voting MC member – work out the various statistics to determine a Premiership winner. Indeed the MC discussions lead to all four divisions being concluded in order that divisional winners can be named across all four divisions, which lead to Mr Young intensely working out the various statistics across the teams in the various WR leagues and these discussions and conclusions took place over the meetings of 16 and 20 April. NOTE – As the Panel were provided with the actual Zoom recordings of all the meetings in question (as opposed to just reading minutes, however abbreviated), as a result of the current Pandemic meaning the MC could not meet in person, this was of great benefit to us. We heard in full every discussion. Accordingly, a brief summary of the relevant aspects from these meetings is noted below – In terms of the Zoom meetings on 14th April, at the end of part 1 of the recording CC clearly steps out the meeting and Felix McKenna (a Past President) takes the chair as they discuss concluding Premiership and it is recognised that they can only decide null and void, but they must create a chance for the SC place. In part 2 of the meeting, at 12'05 mins there are clear comments from MC members over being seen to be doing the right thing so that no fingers can be pointed, that they have looked at every method, every statistic. At 15'15 there is a comment that they must look to the nth degree to determine positions properly. At 16'04 a comment that this is our last ever decision so it must be done right. At 19'25 there is a comment on null and void or simply nominate a representative to the Scottish Cup. It is not until 24'28 that CC re-joins the meeting, so he hasn't participated in the above. Then at 25'50 CC said they should try get unilateral decision (referring to the north and east regions) (who we later learn have settled on null and void), but he also confirms discussions (by email) with TJ and mentions that RP had said it has to be proven to be on merit so you can justify the sporting decision. The Zoom meeting of 16th April after initial chit chat, the meeting opens and at 9'00 CC states that he wants it included in the minutes that he removed himself from part of the meeting, (which the Panel can confirm that he did) and he then refers to the emails between RP and TJ over the SC place before he leaves the meeting as the MC then resume the premiership discussion. At 36' there is a comment that all the information has to be there so there can be 'no jiggery pokery'. CC doesn’t rejoin until 7'14 of part 2 of the meeting and he is informed that they will announce winners of each division, the winners can keep cups for life and the only other benefit is the premiership winner will go forward to the SC. Kennie Young is to then do all the various statistics for all leagues and they will reconvene on 20 April From the Panel – We specifically commend Kennie Young for the work he does in this regard. The Zoom meeting of 20th April CC opens the meeting and departs after exactly a minute to allow Felix McKenna to take the chair as the MC discuss the premiership. There is clear praise for the statistics presented and the variety of stats available. They are able to back up every decision on awarding titles etc with the statistics. CC re-joins after 8 minutes as they go on to discuss other leagues. At 36'33 in part 1 of the meeting they actually speak about getting good PR from the fair decision for joint championship winners (in view of the various statistics produced and the unusual closeness of this particular division). At 37'19 it is mentioned that the rules (the WR constitution and rules) allow for a play off in this scenario but it is recognised that in the current pandemic circumstances this is impossible to achieve. In part 2 of the meeting between 17' and 20' there is a discussion on the hard decisions that the MC had to take. Finally, at 20'01 CC remarks that they have made the fairest decisions. From the Panel – Having listened to all meetings in full, we are of the clear view that the MC were scrupulously fair in their deliberations and discussions. Mr Young deserves great praise for working out various statistics – home wins, away wins, goals, which opposition teams the various title contenders had all played against, any discrepancies between only having played bottom end or top end teams etc. It was a remarkable level to go to determine winners in what is to be the WR last season. The Panel confirm that RP and TJ confirmed to us the advice and guidance given to the MC (via CC in his capacity as Interim President) for obtaining a representative for the SC on sporting merit, and that this was reflected in the meetings and conversations we heard. The Panel also note the comments from MC member Gordon Ronney in his initial response to Cumnock JFC on the leaking of the material (see later in this report). In an email of 24 April Mr Ronney confirms – “The committee (WR MC) were torn between null and void and declaring winners. We did ebb and flow. However, the deciding factor was the information from the SFA.” All that said however with all the evidence available to us, in our opinion, in effect CC has been conflicted from the start. Yes he is Interim President and therefore leads / guides the MC, but he is also the representative of the only team (Auchinleck Talbot) who would ultimately benefit (on a sporting and financial perspective) by a decision, any decision, to get a representative on sporting merit (average points etc) into the SC. While CC did correctly stand aside as his own division was discussed etc, the fact that the crux of the matter was a Premiership winner who would qualify on sporting merit for a SC place, and, again in his capacity as Interim President, in the email trail of 9-13 April he was clearly seeking the best advice and guidance available from SJFA and SFA in order to have the WR Premiership winners achieve a place in SC. We are of the opinion, in fact there is no doubt, that CC had a clear conflict of interest, and, for good governance, he should have stood aside right at the start and passed all such deliberations to the Vice President or Past President. (It should be noted that due to some illnesses at this time not all MC members were in attendance at each meeting). It appeared to the Panel, to use a phrase, that CC was on the bus, albeit we do not believe he has exerted any undue influence on any other MC members. Our view is, for openness and transparency, which is at the heart of what we are looking at, as it is a perceived lack of that that has led to this investigation, he should have left the bus in the garage. That said, the decisions he made, the comments he made, were not wrong in themselves, but that does not negate the fact that he was naturally conflicted and should have recused himself in the whole process at the earliest opportunity. The MC clearly went to great lengths to consider matters in a fair and comprehensive manner and it is a shame that this has been tainted, rightly or wrongly, by the perception of undue influence. Overall, having listened to all the discussions, the Panel can support the initial decision for Null & Void; the Panel can support the decision to revisit that decision, as it is clearly prestigious for the WR to have a representative in the SC; and the Panel can support the eventual decisions for divisional winners (including that of the joint winners for the Championship). DESTROY THE MINUTES One aspect that clearly generated negative reactions by fans, players, officials etc in media and social media following the leaking of the information on 17 May, was the email sent by JF on 17 April to SJFA and WR MC members. For openness, and it is in the public domain via the leak, the content of this email is as follows – “Hi All Please destroy the minutes that I sent out for the meeting held on 14 April as there are some changes and it has been agreed as this meeting is being held over 3 nights (14, 16 and 20 April) and updated combined minute will be issued next week. I apologise for any confusion” JF was asked by Panel about this email in which he stated, 'destroy the minutes'. He was asked what was his intention with that email. His response was that as the meeting was being spread over a few days, due to zoom, and due to revisiting the decision and working out the statistics, the minutes of 14 April were not full and complete and should any MC member be looking at these minutes at a future point, the destroy the minutes was meant to reflect that the meeting had not concluded and was still ongoing. and those minutes should not be founded upon as new minutes to reflect 14-16-20 April would follow. In the circumstances, while the choice of words used was wrong, and was clearly open to a variety of interpretations following the leak, the Panel do accept JF explanation as to his intention behind the comment and the email. THE LEAK The evidence available to the Panel was in effect an email trail of 24-29 April whereby someone unknown (we are unable to determine from the email or the attachment, and in the time available to us we were unable to get any further forward with it, who this was) has sent to Cumnock JFC what we assume to be the relevant correspondence from 9-13 April previously referred to, the minutes of 14 April previously referred to, and the 15 April email from CC, and the 17 April email from JF. Cumnock then forward this to MC member Gordon Ronney on 24 April. He provides a response shortly after receiving it asking the sender to identify themselves. The email has come from the generic email address used by Cumnock committee members (and it was to this generic email address that the original leak was sent). Cumnock confirm to Mr Ronney in a response on 28 April that their committee intend to be open and transparent and outline various options open to them. In fact Mr Ronney in his response does outline the various advice and guidance of options available to Cumnock for any recourse / report etc they wish to make in terms of contacting the relevant authorities. We can identify overall though that the WR MC minutes and correspondence was sent by JF to the MC members email. In two cases the MC member has had this emailed to his own club’s generic email address, as opposed to a personal address. Another recipient of the general correspondence was George Morton, who is or was Secretary of Cumnock, and a long serving official in the WR. Further, the leaked information is sent to a generic email address (at Cumnock JFC) which is accessible by their Committee’s ‘top table’. In the circumstances we cannot determine from where the leak has come. We have no hard evidence to identify any senders. Notwithstanding the 24-29 April emails between Cumnock and Gordon Ronney, it was to be 16-17 May before the information finds itself in the public domain. It would therefore be unfair for the Panel to draw any inference from what little we have been able to learn. VIEWS OF STAKEHOLDERS As much of this has centred on openness and transparency, and as outlined much earlier in this report, the perception of openness and transparency, the Panel felt it appropriate to seek the views of a cross section of stakeholders - club officials, players, coaches, managers, fans, interested parties and a neutral person from the east region - to get their overall perception of the situation and, had they been in charge, in relation to the premiership only how would they have concluded the season. It should also be noted that this exercise came towards the end of the Panel’s discussions and after we had formed our view on the divisional decisions etc, but the view of others was important to us. SOME ‘INTERESTED PARTIES’ WERE CONTACTED BY PANEL CHAIRMAN IN CONFIDENCE, ON 14TH JUNE, AND THEY WERE ASKED THE FOLLOWING: - DEAR… AS YOU MAY BE AWARE I AM CHAIRING AN INVESTIGATIVE PANEL INTO DECISIONS MADE BY THE WEST REGION OF THE SJFA INTO HOW THEY CAME TO CONCLUDE THE SEASON AND HOW THE ASSOCIATED CORRESPONDENCE SUBSEQUENTLY GOT LEAKED. I AM CONTACTING YOU AS A MANAGER / COACH / PLAYER / SUPPORTER / CLUB OFFICIAL / INTERESTED PARTY, TO HEAR HOW YOU PERCEIVED THE PROCESS, SPECIFICALLY TO SEEK YOUR VIEW ONI DON’T SEEK YOUR VIEW ON THE ACTUAL DECISIONS MADE OR PERSONALITIES INVOLVED BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK – (1) SPECIFICALLY ON THE PREMIERSHIP WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IN ORDER TO DECLARE A WINNER (IF DIFFERENT TO THE COMMITTEE DECISION); AND (2) WHEN THE VARIOUS COMMUNICATIONS WERE LEAKED ON SOCIAL MEDIA ON 17 MAY, HOW DID YOU PERCEIVE THIS, HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THE WEST REGION. I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR EARLY REPLY – IN CONFIDENCE – BY TEXT OR CALL TO [xxx] OR EMAIL [xxx] OR VIA DIRECT MESSAGE ON TWITTER. THANK YOU AND ALL GOOD WISHES SCOTT STRUTHERS RESPONSES (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER) PLAYER – THIS MAN IS A CURRENT PLAYER IN THE WEST REGION, HE HAS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN SENIOR AND JUNIOR FOOTBALL “1. I believe the decision should have been null & void. The only reason it was not done was to ensure a ‘Junior club’ gained entry into the senior Scottish Cup. I don’t feel it’s right that Auchinleck Talbot get to enter the senior Scottish Cup next season when they hadn’t even completed half of their league fixtures. The financial gain they would receive from this is unfair in my opinion. 2. Secondly, when the news broke, I wasn’t surprised. With regards to (all 63 clubs) moving to the new West of Scotland League I had received a call from the [xxx] Manager to advise them and [xxx] had been speaking to members of the Region in order to ensure that the (current) West Region Premier league went straight over to the new West of Scotland League at tier 6. So, it didn’t surprise me with this (decision). I can understand the big clubs / any club looking after their own interests…but the lies / secret talks that happened leave a sour taste. Hope some of that makes sense and wish you all the best. If you require anything further, then please feel free”. COACH – THIS MAN IS A CURRENT COACH IN THE WEST REGION AND HAS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN THE SENIOR AND JUNIOR GAME ACROSS SCOTLAND AND IN THESE LEAGUES. 1. “For me you can’t announce a winner if mathematically (things) can change, same as relegation. i would prefer a null & void due to a world pandemic. 2. the way the west region did things, i.e. emails etc was very unprofessional and made it impossible for them to be trusted in my opinion. there was too much info of making decisions then changing them when challenged by so called bigger clubs which stinks for me.” MANAGER – THIS MAN IS CURRENTLY A MANGER IN THE WEST REGION. 1. “I would have had no issue with null & void, and I would have had no issue with average points per game. I think most of the Managers think the same. Whatever was decided. 2. Colin Chisholm should not have been making any decisions. Yes, there were politics involved. The issue is the perception that the Auchinleck Talbot member on the committee had some kind of role in feeding back information from the SJFA re the Scottish Cup place, and the perception is it wasn’t done properly. A precedent was set with the North and East Regions. With null & void no one would have been treated any differently. To change it only benefitted one club. The perception is poor. It has been frowned upon. Most folk have no issue with the West Region (Committee) in general, but the issue is the Auchinleck Talbot representative clearly had a role in this and this club will financially benefit as a result of Scottish Cup participation.” CLUB OFFICIAL – THIS MAN IS A LONG SERVING CLUB SECRETARY IN THE WEST REGION. 1) ”As a club our wish was because this was the last season of Juniors that there was no need to appoint winners and that all leagues should have been null and void. There should have been no senior Scottish Cup rep as we felt it was wrong and unfair for one Club to benefit from this financially. We would have accepted one club being selected but all profits less expenses shared by all clubs. 2) We were furious when the emails were leaked we felt it was embarrassing to the region. We are very disappointed in the management committee who allowed emails to be sent to a club generic mail box. We felt that West Region did not deal well with the whole affair and should have taken more time to think things through. It was a sad end to what was a good region and a lot of good people.” NEUTRAL CLUB OFFICIAL – THIS MAN IS A LONG SERVING OFFICIAL AND CLUB SECRETARY OF AN EAST REGION CLUB. HE HAS NEVER HAD A CONNECTION WITH ANY WEST REGION CLUB. “Regarding question one, I do not feel that you can declare a champion when there was such a large volume of fixtures still to be played. We all know that at Junior level the most successful clubs can end up playing 3 times a week at the tail end of the season so to award a team a championship who has nearly 50% of their fixtures still to play was somewhat surprising. However, if a decision on declaring a champion was to be made then a PPG average was the correct way to do it. Question two -When the information broke about what happened I was disappointed about what appeared to have taken place. The integrity of the organisation has been completely shredded with the information that came out. To ask for minutes to be destroyed looks is outrageous and makes it look like things were being hidden. The West region for me ended up looking incompetent and corrupt. They appeared to have made a decision to benefit one club, especially when it looked like an agreement had already been made to void the season. It appeared to the bystander that the West Region President (Auchinleck) had used his position to ensure that his club would benefit from the decision to award the title to a club with the best PPG%. This of course meant Scottish Cup Qualification and the potential for increased revenues. It left me feeling disappointed in the lack of integrity that had been shown. “ FORMER CLUB OFFICIAL / CLUB SECRETARY AND A SUPPORTER IN GENERAL AT THIS LEVEL OF FOOTBALL 1. I'm in two minds over the decision to award Auchinleck Talbot the league title. They were in a strong position because of games in hand and most people would have expected them to catch Kilwinning Rangers. But a chronic fixture backlog has adversely affected teams including Talbot in the run-in before, so I have sympathy with KR's claim to the title as they were the top team when the league was suspended. Voiding the league would have probably been the fairest thing to do in terms of sporting integrity. But I can see why the West Region sought to declare a winner, given a Scottish Cup place was up for grabs. 2. The manner in which a decision was reached was unfortunate but I never for one moment thought the decision or the process was made or conducted in bad faith. It was very poorly handled once the West Region decided to reverse their original decision. It was justifiable to rethink their decision, but they acted amateurishly from then on as if they had something to hide. The instruction to destroy previous minutes made it look ten times worse. Given that many think the West Region management committee were obstructive in the moves to join the Pyramid, it is no surprise that some jumped to the wrong conclusions. I wouldn't be too critical of them for the story getting out there through the local press. I work in media. People tell us things all the time. It happens in every walk of life and certainly from insiders in more professionally run organisations than a regional Junior football committee. “ AFTERMATH Following the leaks of 16-17 May CC sent an email on the morning of 18 May to JF in which he felt himself to be in an untenable situation and resigned as Interim President and MC member. He made other personal comments regarding himself and praise for the MC, which is duly noted. CONCLUSIONS Panel has considered all evidence, all recordings (which were immensely helpful and far better than any ‘minute’), the rules of SJFA and WR, and the aforementioned relevant policies of good governance of SJFA, as well as communicating with various key people involved in the process. In terms of the constitution and rules of the WR the panel found these were not overly helpful to us. In fact the rules generally are archaic in places and our strong recommendation would have been, were the WR to be continuing (which as we are aware it is not due to all 63 clubs leaving for the new league) then a complete re-write of the constitution and rules would be essential. We again praise the MC overall for the manner in which they conducted their discussions and deliberations. Scrupulously fair is the phrase we use, having listened to the recordings of all meetings. We commend the good work done by Kennie Young in working out the various statistics in which the MC brought the WR leagues to a conclusion. Overall, having listened to all the discussions, the panel can support the initial decision for null & void; the panel can support the decision to revisit that decision, as it is clearly prestigious for the WR to have a representative in the SC; and the panel can support the eventual decisions for divisional winners (including that of the joint winners for the Championship). CC was conflicted in the process from the outset and, whilst his discussions and comments were not wrong in themselves, he should have recused himself at the earliest possible opportunity, given the only club who would ultimately benefit from declaring a Premiership winner on sporting merit would be his own. In relation to the above point, it is the perception of his (CC) involvement in the process that has caused concern, and the use of the word ‘corruption’ (used on many occasions in social media comments) in regards to the MC decisions following the leak to media and social media, as opposed to any decisions he (CC) made himself. The destroy the minutes wording used by JF was inappropriate, whilst we accept his intention of the email and the meaning he intended. Nevertheless, to the layman the phrase used does not appear well chosen and sends out a wrong message. Regarding the leak, and consequently any data breaches or breaches of confidential information, by any club or any MC member, we are unable to identify anything further from which we could draw any conclusions at all and we would consider that aspect closed. We take this opportunity to thank all persons for their co-operation and assistance given to us. we extend our good wishes to all WR clubs as they look to a new league. We wish good health to all. SCOTT STRUTHERS, CHAIRMAN GUS MACKAY, MEMBER TARIK SHAMEL, CO-OPTED MEMBER 24th JUNE 2020 See also West Region Management Committee Statement 30 Jun 2020 West Region

https://www.scottishjuniorfa.com/news/posts/2020/june/west-region-independent-report/

Good to hear.

Let's hope that the six Edinburgh clubs can sort something out. Good that Petershill are also looking at the Development League, along with a number of others, according to posts here, in time for 2021/22. It can only be good for the game. Will your club be pushing forward with club licencing now? It's been said that Cumnock were also keen. There may be close to another half dozen EoS clubs heading down the licencing route by the Feb 2021 deadline and there must be lots of WoS clubs looking at this seriously for the following year, if not sooner. It will certainly shake up the SFA Cup with lots more "shock" results heading the way of SPFL 1 and 2 clubs!

By "not holding anyone back" I was thinking about a post on Fitba North which was positive towards the North Juniors moving to the Senior Pyramid and suggested, indeed, that there are a few clubs which are thought to be interested to make the move within their present league, albeit not as a Junior league. It also indicated that the other clubs (the majority) aren't too concerned about going into the pyramid but they wouldn't block such a move. There may the possibility of the league moving to senior status and clubs becoming Senior but retaining Junior status just like some clubs in the new WoS. We shall see in due course.

Sounds logical but I wonder why the North Juniors would hold back from switching to Senior status. Also this seems to have been under peaceful, constructive, discussion since last autumn or so, meaning that there has been plenty of time to sort out everything that's needed for a departure from the Juniors. Would the majority of North Region clubs hold back the few of their clubs which may wish to go Senior?

The thing is though, once the opportunities are created, present Junior, Amateur and Youth clubs can start to plan for the future knowing that there is nothing to stop them from progressing other than their own abilities to raise funds and other resources (e.g. playing) so that, in time, they can reach a Pyramid League which in turn would allow them to aim for club licencing and entry into the SFA cup, etc. Most clubs cannot make the step-up but the door would be open for those which want to try to progress via the Pyramid. It's about opportunity. Provide that and some clubs will grasp it as we have all seen in recent seasons elsewhere.

Clearly it says that the new structure is temporary - but what occurs to me is that, together with joining the Highland League's Pyramid, this could encourage additional clubs from the area to reconsider what they do in the future. This has the possibility to bring about extra interest in time, even, for 2021/22 and, who knows, retention of two divisions. If nothing-else the two divisions should help the better sides play more competitive matches during the season and, likewise, those in Division Two shouldn't receive so many big defeats. Another thing is that this could remove the long-standing season over-lap and shared players situation with the areas Amateur Leagues which play in the Summer. That could also help the NCL.

http://northcaleyfa.co.uk/news_article.php?id=110 NCFA AGM - new members and league structure Posted on Sunday, June 21st, 2020 The league management committee of the North Caledonian Football Association held their Annual General Meeting via online video conference on the evening of Sunday 21 June 2020. With representation from all member clubs, and three new clubs seeking membership, proceedings began when Mr Iain Whitehead was duly re-elected as League President, with Mr Euain Penny also reassuming his role as Vice President. Mr Penny also took up the role of Treasurer, while Mr Sandy Stephen was re-elected as league secretary, and Mr Niall Harkiss was re-elected as competition secretary. The clubs seeking membership for the 2020-21 season were Loch Ness F.C., Nairn County F.C. 'A' and Scourie F.C.. Following proposals from each candidate club, all were accepted into the association without objection. Existing members Alness United also confirmed that they will resume participation from 2020-21. The league management committee unanimously agreed that for the 2020-21 season only, member clubs would be divided into a two-tier league programme with new/returning clubs joining the bottom tier. The divisions were determined as follows: Macleod & MacCallum North Caledonian League Division 1 Golspie Sutherland, Halkirk United, Invergordon, Orkney, St. Duthus, Thurso Macleod & MacCallum North Caledonian League Division 2 Alness United, Bonar Bridge, Bunillidh Thistle, Inverness Athletic, Loch Ness, Nairn County 'A', Scourie After all fixtures are played, the Division 1 winning club shall be named North Caledonian League champions, and a trophy (to be determined) shall be awarded to the Division 2 winning club. It was agreed that the league would return to one division for the 2021-22 season. The management committee agreed to reconvene at a later date to add cup competitions to the schedule if the season calendar allows. League secretary Sandy Stephen said, "The two-tiered league structure and the reduced schedule presents us with a variety of options depending on when the season can get going. If it is sooner than expected and we do finish the league campaign early, we have the option of scheduling one of our cup competitions to add to the calendar." "Moreover, having a schedule to work towards now allows our member clubs to plan financially during this difficult time." A two tier structure could reduce the pre and end of season overlap with the amateur leagues in the area. Maybe more clubs will come forward for 2021/22 as it would be easier to start off in a lower division and if the league joins the Pyramid?

https://twitter.com/UU20s/status/1274013018620387329/photo/1

Good news all round for the six clubs waiting for the licencing news. Congratulations to each of them Hard work rewarded! With Bo'ness United moving up to the Lowland League this leaves the EoS with 20 licenced clubs. As far as I am aware from social media and past P&B posts there are at least 9 more clubs making preparations to join them. Does anyone know if any of the 10 new/returned clubs have plans to become licenced?

If Kinnoull applied for a year ahead and came in straight away may not others do the same, depending upon circumstances?