SFSA BLUE PLAQUES LAUNCH FIND OUT MORE
Date: 2nd January 2026
Collection buckets, clubs in tatters and why the time is right to up our game on financial and corporate governance of football
3rd January 2026
Today’s depressing news from Hamilton Accies FC has once again ushered in the truly grim spectacle of dedicated supporters scrambling around with collection buckets and Go Fund Me initiatives to stave off the threat of administration at best, and dissolution at worst.
In the last 20 years, Livingston (twice), Gretna, Dundee (twice), Rangers, Dunfermline, Hearts, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Dumbarton have experienced an insolvency event. And according to a recent report by accountants Begbies Traynor, a further seven clubs in Scotland are currently experiencing financial challenges.
I’ll break with a bit about me. I am a qualified accountant. I worked in Banking for several years, and looked after the accounts of several Scottish football clubs. I spent around 15 years working in the insolvency world. So, I have some experience of the often haphazard world of Scottish football and its finances. And a few highly bizarre stories I could tell were I not bound by confidentiality.
Some football journalists in Scotland have a habit of recusing themselves from commenting on football finances. I’d like to suggest that this is a cop out because it really isn’t that difficult. I’m going to summarise Hamilton Accies published accounts for the last 5 years in the table below. The challenge for anyone reading this is to tell me if you need to be an accountant to come to the conclusion that something might not quite be right.
| June 24 | June 23 | June 22 | June 21 | June 20 | |
| Turnover | 3,734,278 | 1,987,720 | |||
| Operating profit/(loss) | (1,712,755) | (843,777) | |||
| Net assets/(liabilities) | (2,124,677) | (998,726) | (267,251) | 601,951 | 732,959 |
| Movement in net assets | (1,125,951) | (731,475) | (869,202) | (131,008) | (46,612) |
I’d like to stress that numbers, in themselves, do not paint the whole picture, and I should add that the club did not publish profit and loss accounts (they were not required to) until 2023. It is also worth noting that the club is not audited. However, looking at the movement in net assets, there has been a downward trajectory since 2020, to the point where, in 2024, the club has a “value” of minus £2.12m.
So, what can we glean from this? Five years ago, the club was in a reasonable condition. In 2022, it was marginally balance sheet insolvent (liabilities more than assets) – the deterioration since then has been alarming. In August 2023, a first notice for the compulsory strike off of the limited company was filed – typically, such notices are automatic and relate to a breach of corporate administrative responsibilities, usually the late filing of accounts. A further strike off notice appears in August 2024.
Why am I boring you with this detail? To someone working in insolvency, there are certain red flags of current or potential distress. One is notices to strike off the company, another court actions to wind up the company and another is growing losses and net liabilities on the balance sheet.
Now, I really don’t want to get myself involved in the off field and boardroom kerfuffles that have been covered in some detail by the press. I am simply pointing out that the accounts of the company, which are published online and can be viewed for free on Companies House, paint a vivid picture of gradual decline. Insolvency can happen suddenly. Often a major client goes bust leaving unpaid bills, or, as happened in 2008, there was a global financial crash. But, more often than not, the slide towards insolvency is, to use the old cliché, a “slow motion train wreck.” And insolvency people will tell you that, if you seek help and support early enough, a negative outcome is not inevitable.
Which brings me to the question of governance. According to the Scottish Football Association’s club licencing rules, football companies are obliged to submit certain financial information, including accounts, annually. As I am not on the SFA Board, or any of their sub-boards, I can only imagine that Hamilton FC were believed to be sufficiently financially robust to fulfil their fixtures for the current season. Now, it may well be that the Club’s Directors were able to persuade the SFA that they had access to sufficient finance to mitigate the apparent insolvent position of the limited company. But Hamilton were granted a licence to play in League 1 in the Summer of 2025, and here we are with the year closing, and the Club’s latest owner is threatening liquidation next Monday.
Which leads me to my conclusion. There is definitely consequences if you breach SFA rules. Hamilton were relegated in season 2024/25 after receiving a 15-point penalty for amongst other things “issues over the ownership of their stadium and player registration”. A further 9-point deduction for the current season was given for a “failure to comply with the SPFL’s requirement for all clubs to successfully acquire a bronze level Scottish FA club licence”. But my question is this. Quite apart from the headlines concerning stadium ownership, the fitness of directors to hold office and issues at the (hugely well respected) Academy, did anyone in authority look at the accounts and think “hang on, this club is about to hit the wall”?
There are a number of clubs in Scotland, right now, who are walking a financial tightrope. Whether it is accumulated losses, opaque financial arrangements or flaky controlling owners/shareholders, the importance of leadership and governance in examining the finances of a football club cannot be overstated. Hamilton might become the 11th club to suffer an insolvency event since 2005. Unless governance is improved, number 12 won’t be too far away.
John Maclean
Posted in: Latest News, Review of the Game
Tags: Fan Led Review, Football, governance, Scottish fans, Scottish football, scottish government