Recognising the Work of Realgrassroots

That the Parliament recognises what it sees as the hard work, over a period of more than 15 years, by Realgrassroots and the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland in seeking to ensure the safety and protection of young footballers while contracted to senior football clubs; commends the previous Public Petitions Committee on its report, PE1319: Improving youth football in Scotland, which was published in June 2020 and was based on more than a decade of hearing evidence from a wide range of stakeholders throughout Scottish football; notes the support for the committee's recommendations, in particular on registration and compensation; further notes the committee's reported criticisms of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) regarding what it sees as their apparent unwillingness to address some issues within Scottish football in a timely and effective manner; is disappointed that the committee's recommendations have, it believes, still not been fully accepted or implemented by the SFA and SPFL; notes with concern reports that the rules of the SFA and SPFL may breach competition law and that complaints have been filed with the Competition and Markets Authority; further notes the calls for both the SFA and SPFL to comply fully with the committee's recommendations, and with the calls made by Realgrassroots and the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland to ensure the protection of Scotland's young players, including those in the Glasgow Cathcart constituency, from any unfair or unlawful practices, and notes the calls on the Scottish Government to urge the SFA to ensure that the committee’s recommendations are implemented, and that any anti-competitive practices are ended, as quickly as possible.