It is perhaps appropriate that a pizza company sponsors the SPFL.
After all, pizzas get sliced – and that is what has happened to Scottish football since 1980, the year when Celtic and Rangers were allowed to keep all their home gate receipts.
Each of the Old Firms slices is about 45% of the total pizza – and the Premiership Also Rans and lower league clubs are left with about 10% between them.
Huge gate receipts; massive earnings from European competitions; £millions of merchandising revenue; the lions share of any other income available to the sport – Celtic and Rangers enjoy every advantage.
Within 5 years of the gate receipt “coup” in 1980, competition was dead in the Scottish Premiership.
Since then, we have seen 36 years of misery for the Also Rans.
And no end is in sight, because the economic dominance of the two clubs simply goes on growing.
Scottish Football Matters has written to the First Minister asking that the Scottish government intervene to end the uncompetitive – and possibly illegal – duopoly.
We await a response.
However, sponsors also have a part to play. They should not be pumping money into sustain the duopoly.
We shall be engaging with Papa John’s and all sponsors associated with the SPFL and SFA to ask them to withhold further financial support until the radical changes Scottish Football Matters is calling for are implemented.
The pizza that is Scottish football needs to be sliced differently.
NOW, in 2021.
Time for Change.
Scottish Football Matters 