ELITE PROGRAMME:  Aberdeen, Celtic, Hamilton, Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Rangers.

PROGRESSIVE PROGRAMME:  Ayr United, Dundee United, Forth Valley Football Academy, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Partick Thistle, Ross County, St Mirren, St Johnstone.

PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME:  Dundee, Fife Elite Football Academy, Greenock Morton, Queen’s Park.

ADVANCE YOUTH PROGRAMME:  Alloa Athletic, Airdrieonians, Elgin City, Livingston, Montrose, Queen of the South, Stirling Albion.

[Elite clubs play each other three times and face progressive teams once.   Progressive clubs play each other, elite clubs once and performance sides.   Performance clubs don’t get to play against elite clubs].

Dundee advertised the following posts in order to just try and get the Progressive Performance level award (statement from board after being put in tier three):

Head of Academy (Full Time); Head of Professional Programme (Full Time/U18 coach); Head of Youth Programme (U13 – U16) (Full Time); Head of Football Science and Medicine (Full Time); Head of Children’s Programme (U11 – U12) (Part Time); Head of Player Recruitment (Part Time)

When they were told they’d missed the boat, they stated the only full-time position would be Head of Academy.  

Elite level according to DUFC costs more than the UEFA solidarity payment from CL/Celtic £370,000 and Partick put it at £600,000. This is all in addition to Measurable Performance Outcomes (MPOs) that also look at first team appearances of players from the youth squads and then those players getting Scotland caps.  Also, clubs at elite need to have a full-size indoor pitch/arena.

Part of Project Brave is the JD Performance Schools which are, according to Malky MacKay, a huge investment.  They get 90 mins expert coaching everyday by a resident SFA coach at their high school between S1-S4.  I have made a map of these.

 

Edited August 17, 20187 yr by Glover
HoA clarification

Good work Yngwie, I fear they are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but let's see. So many false dawns previously I've lost count of them.

Correction Glover apologies.

No probs.  There's been loads of ideas/suggestions over many years -  I just can't see how this was developed with any overarching logic model.

SFA and logic should not appear in the same article.

More funding for clubs with already ‘in-place’ facilities, more spending for those without.  

A funding hurdle based on number of youth players gone on to represent Scotland, advantage  to populated areas.  

In-built advantage (populous - chance of better player) and access to the key investment/resource (JD performance schools) by virtue of being a club in a more densely population area.

The logic from Scotland manager of trying to be playing the best possible opposition (Mexico, Belgium, Portugal) contradicted by a systematic prevention in Project Brave on the basis of no. of FT coaching staff, not player ability or results.  Structurally designed to avoid smaller club success over better-funded/larger clubs from being seen.

More onus on the club (than the SFA).  More financial risk and burden for clubs and coaches relegated from Premiership and for Championship teams.

Except for JD Performance schools, which are almost all located in Central Belt, the SFA has outsourced the coaching through funding - but no transparency as to its level, timeframe, conditions.  Clubs like Livingston and Falkirk leaving Project Brave.  

Brainchild of Malky MacKay but criticised by Henry McLeish for being skewed towards biggest teams and for SPFL targets and not for the national interest. 

 

 

Edited September 13, 20187 yr by Glover

£467,000 per year for Project Brave according to Falkirk

https://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/2018/09/19/chairmans-question-answer/

On 9/22/2018 at 9:05 AM, Glover said:

£467,000 per year for Project Brave according to Falkirk

https://www.falkirkfc.co.uk/2018/09/19/chairmans-question-answer/

very interesting reading. impressed by their chair's explanation on the questions asked.

1 hour ago, caleyboy said:

very interesting reading. impressed by their chair's explanation on the questions asked.

I think it reflect the fact the Chair is a lawyer mediator in family courts - there's no hubris, fluff or spin.

4 hours ago, Glover said:

I think it reflect the fact the Chair is a lawyer mediator in family courts - there's no hubris, fluff or spin.

lucky falkirk fc

Whatever we have been doing at development level we have been doing it wrong for a very long time.

For those of us privileged to see naturally talented and highly entertaining Scotland teams of the 60s 70s and 80s watching us deservedly lose tamely to Israel is just heart breaking.

We agree Kingsmills, two shots on target in 90mins one a pen, we can discuss all night about formations but the lack of a decent touch, wrong choices and complete lack of pressing is just so dispiriting, as long as the basics are missing you can play any system you choose it will not make any difference. The paucity of our game was exposed by a team ranked 90 something in world football, fortunate to get away with 2-1. No point in blaming the manager he can only work with what is available but those whose livelihood depends on our sub par level of football will continue to talk up our game and find any excuse for our lack of basic skills.

Population density = funding/resources.  Project Brave is for high population areas only.   ICT and Ross County lose out hugely by not having a JD Performance School nearby.  These young players (boys and girls) are getting 200 hours of expert coaching year on year in high school.  I would like to see ICT and Ross County push the SFA for a school in Inverness/Dingwall to become a JD Performance school.  If it is SFA funded (not SPFL) then it has to be national and this is anything but.  But nowadays its hard to know what is SFA and what is SPFL.

18 hours ago, Kingsmills said:

Whatever we have been doing at development level we have been doing it wrong for a very long time.

For those of us privileged to see naturally talented and highly entertaining Scotland teams of the 60s 70s and 80s watching us deservedly lose tamely to Israel is just heart breaking.

Its been a long time discussed about the requirement for overhaul of youth development and it not improved over the years as we still have players of limited technical ability, however we also have guys who lack the fight and desire we used to see. Money from club football is a bigger motivator than the pride of playing for your nation.

Club football makes all the money, influences player decisions and in Scotland seems to drive the SFA/SPFL - what we need to see is a greater distribution of the club funds back into the SFA for investment in grass roots as clubs cannot be trusted to do this themselves. Without the funding being sustainable and substantial each year there will be no improvement in facilities, coaches and ultimately players. Look at the Dutch where the top clubs are handing over European prize monies to erradicate plastic pitches and improve facilities - can anyone see the top Scottish clubs doing this or even every club offering a set % of income to be used in a centrally controlled fund?