Fit and proper? Surprise, surprise… by Donald C Stewart

Date: 20th November 2025

Fit and proper? Surprise, surprise…

It’s a funny old game.

Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves on a Saturday afternoon would use their catchphrase to describe many things thus which happened within football.

Over the last few years, the one thing that has been much more funny peculiar than funny ha, ha, is the way that some directors have tried to place their clubs in various other places apart from their hometown. This has included Inverness Caledonian Thistle who entered administration and were docked points but now sit atop League One.

More worryingly for people down in Lanarkshire it’s Hamilton Academical who find themselves out on their proverbial ear. In the last couple of weeks, a statement has emerged from the Scottish Football Association which continues to pile the pressure on the future of the Accies. For supporters of Scottish football, it is a salient lesson in the way in which things are governed.

It is time for authorities, fans and directors within clubs to stand up and be counted.

To give the Scottish Football Association credit, that is in essence exactly what they have done.

As well as suggesting that Hamilton Accies are not run properly, they have decided that two men at the helm are not fit and proper to be directors.

That is hardly a surprise.

Let’s be honest, the way that Hamilton Accies have been run over the last two or three years has been increasingly difficult to countenance.

From failed payments to administrative errors, to moving away from Hamilton itself by falling out with whoever run the New Douglas Park ground that was built for Hamilton Academical, it is hard to work out just exactly how you would see the people behind all of that as fit and proper to run a menage (Google it kids…), never mind actually to be in charge of one of the oldest football clubs in Scotland. What would you give to have Accies superfan, Fergie back in the terraces…

Of course, age should not be the benchmark for continued existence.

There are many examples, including the likes of Third Lanark, who have come and gone, serving to remind us that sentiment is pointless in the sport if not backed up with success.

The thing that worried me more than anything else was in the Scottish Football Association statement where the conclusion “as a result of Mr Strain’s direct involvement in the following matters relating to the club, and I am quoting, the club’s removal from the Club Academy Scotland (CAS) programme following its failure to secure a CAS award for 2025 as a result of not meeting several CAS criteria, principally around child well-being, which resulted in a material adverse impact on others involved in the claim, including young players and other CAS clubs.

But also point c, which followed from point b, stated that the conclusion, reached by an independent third party who conducted a case review into a child wellbeing matter involving the club on behalf of the Scottish FA, that Mr Strain failed to meet the minimum standards contained and responding to concerns as per Scottish FA Child Well-being and Protection Policy.

Minimum standards for child wellbeing.

To be honest, as a Child Wellbeing and Protection Officer, much of the administrative detail that is included in some of the policies that have been brought in can be quite mind-boggling. They can at times include attendance at things which you are struggling to get your head round because three and a half hours of your life is not going to be gotten back anytime soon, but as somebody who works in child welfare, I understand just how important it is that these things have to be done and undertaken.

I may go kicking and screaming, but I go nonetheless.

Mr Strain not being fit and proper to be behind a football club is one thing, but a material adverse impact on others and failing to meet minimum standards in terms of child wellbeing is a major concern.

I’m not suggesting anything overly untoward.

It is something nevertheless that is difficult to comprehend within the modern game.

The days of screaming and bawling and shouting at people are gone or throwing football boots across a dressing room to capture somebody’s attention are thankfully much in the past.

But the minimum standards are exactly that, they’re the minimum.

We should be trying for the maximum standards.

And to find somebody who is, in the embodiment of Mr. Strain involved in Scottish football and has some connection to an academy that in the past has brought to the attention of Scottish football of all, and indeed the world, many decent homegrown players is a very big worry.

The sale of the club is still to go through.

The club itself is doing reasonably well in League One, not quite matching the feat of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, but Hamilton Accies deserves a huge amount of credit in terms of their fans, their players and their management. That they have a decent opportunity to get back into the Championship next year is encouraging.

What they should also have is a decent opportunity to get back to their home ground for next season. Whether that will happen will depend on several factors.

Of course, the Scottish Football Supporters Association, which is the largest fan-based organisation in Scotland, has an opportunity to campaign on their behalf.

Ownership and management of your club, as well as the way in which the authorities deal with that in terms of their administration and the rules and regulations is hugely important.

The way in which fitba clubs operate is steeped in politics.

Politics is something people don’t want to get involved in often but is a fact of life that if you want change, politics is necessary.

And so, once again, we have our Fans Manifesto will consider everybody’s point of view.

So, if you get an opportunity, write to us.

The link beneath here, once more, is an opportunity to get involved.

Please click the link, answer and tell us what it is you would like us, on your behalf, to campaign for.

And if you’re an Accies supporter, please be aware that you are not very far from our thoughts.

Scotland’s national independent fans organisation, the Scottish Football Supporters’ Association (SFSA), is reaching out to all football stakeholders to contribute to form a National Football Manifesto

The details gathered from the survey will form the basis of the research that will be developed into a Fans Manifesto ahead of the Holyrood 2026 elections.

Co-founder of the SFSA, Simon Barrow, said: “With the Scottish Parliament elections coming up soon, it is vital once to get the views of the football community across to politicians of all parties – as happened in 2017, when nearly 17,000 fans submitted views that led to the first ever Fan-Led Review of the Game, summarised in our 2023 report, Rebuilding Scottish Football.”

The organisation says that it is “excited to look for fresh and innovative thinking that can help move the dial on how the game in Scotland is developed from the grassroots right to the top of the pyramid. Football fans need a voice, and their votes are very much up for grabs.”

Fit and proper? Surprise, surprise… by Donald C Stewart

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