OFFSET YOUR WORLD CUP TRAVEL WITH GREENERTRAVEL
Date: 1st May 2026
FOOTBALL AT THE POLLS: IT’S DECISION TIME!
This is the third and final instalment of our briefing on what the different political parties are saying about (and committing or not committing to) at the Scottish Parliamentary elections next week, on Thursday 7th May 2026. The first is here, and the second is here.
In summary, on fan ownership the Scottish Greens are fully in board and would introduce a Statutory Right to Buy. The SNP has historically supported greater fan stakeholding and has set up the Fans’ Bank, but their current manifesto does not go into further details. Scottish Labour is proposing a mandatory requirement for at least two fan-elected directors on the boards of all professional clubs and want to create a Football Governance Unit within the Scottish Government to oversee club finances and prevent reckless ownership. The Scottish Conservatives have expressed support for Golden Shares for fans. The Scottish Lib Dems focus instead on fan access and integration. Reform UK are strongly opposed to a fans’ right to buy.
On affordability, the Scottish Greens again lead the way, calling for a £25 price cap for a way across the professional leagues. The SNP want to control ‘dynamic pricing’ used at the elite and international level. The Conservatives and Reform UK explicitly oppose all this. The Lib Dems instead want a ‘right to watch’ free at home.
On fan experience, community engagement and broadcasting issues the Greens, the SNP, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives all have a variety of different policies which lean in our direction. But the biggest divide is over ownership and regulation – which are our central issues as a fans’ union.
As SFSA, we set out our stall here. At present the football authorities sadly oppose the idea of a regulator or the kind of independent scrutiny of finance, governance and conduct which we have been proposing, backed by a good deal of research. Something which, frankly, would be in their interest for building trust across the game, but which would likely expose some sensitive issues where serious change is needed.
When the dust has settled after the elections, and we know the composition of the new Scottish Government, we will be pressing for the reestablishment of the Round Table on improving the game between the government, the football authorities and stakeholders – an initiative which we played the major role in making happen through the parliamentary debate we secured around our 2023 report Rebuilding Scottish Football. We will also press hard for independent scrutiny to be examined thoughtfully and seriously, rather than dismissed summarily by the SPFL in particular, but also the SFA effectively.
So after we have a new Scottish Government the action to reform and change the game, with fans at the heart of it, will continue in earnest – and we will report, engage and involve you as much as we can at every step on the journey.
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SFSA Co-Founder and consultant Simon Barrow is following these issues closely. He is our lead on policy issues and cross-party political engagement to reform and change Scottish football for the better, with fans at its heart.
Posted in: Latest News, Review of the Game
Tags: Fan Led Review, Holyrood2026, Scottish football, scottish government, SFA, SPFL