Make the SPL more competitive, not less.
We, the undersigned, believe that the league restructuring proposals being suggested by the SPL executives are a step backwards. It is time for them to 'think bigger'. The smaller 10-team set-up may be the most financially viable for the larger clubs, but it is short-termist. We believe that a larger league would: 1) make the SPL a more entertaining product; with a less repetitive schedule that fans will enjoy more, encouraging domestic and global interest. 2) make the SPL a more competitive product; both encouraging a wider fan-base to view it (domestically and globally) and allowing gate receipts and television money to be more evenly distributed. 3) revitalise Scottish football; smaller teams, newly in the top flight, can attract better players – a larger top flight allows more clubs to sign players on the promise of i) a move to a bigger club (e.g. the Old Firm or the English Premier League) or ii) European football - while simultaneously allowing more young Scots to play football at a consistently higher level against such players. 4) allow for easy facilitation of a winter-break, as suggested by the McLeish Report, and relegation play-off fixtures; by actively reducing the number of match-weeks necessary to complete a standard season (e.g. 16 teams playing each other home and away means thirty matches, plus play-offs). Each of these positive outcomes will influence the other, so that in the long-term, the league will be better followed (domestically and globally), more entertaining and ultimately a more saleable product. Thank you.
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