Aberdeen deal massive blow to proposed SPFL Conference League

Aberdeen have rejected the opportunity to field a B team in the new look SPFL Conference which is due to start in season 24/25.

Parachuted in between SPFL League Two and the Lowland and Highland Leagues the Conference is a typical SFA compromise as they attempt to satisfy various interests but succeed in dragging the Scottish game even further back.

The two main Glasgow clubs were expected to take part alongside Hearts and Aberdeen plus four Lowland League teams and two from the Highland League with the senior sides barred from promotion.

It is doubtful how beneficial playing against Brechin City, Tranent and East Kilbride would be for young players. Clearly Ben Summers and Rocco Vata need to be playing at a far higher level if they are to break into the Celtic first team.

There seems to be little love out there for another level in the Scottish pyramid, if a club statement today Alan Burrows, CEO of Aberdeen announced:

We spent considerable time assessing the impact on our player development strategy, including the player pathway, and reviewed the cost/benefit of entering a B team in the Conference League.

We also took account of feedback from other stakeholders, supporters and considered the decades long relationships we’ve had with Junior and Highland League clubs, including clubs who are now established in the SPFL.

The player pathway challenge we would face with a team in the fifth tier is that “one size does not fit all”.

We have young players who need experience at higher levels in the pyramid. To accommodate that, and have a full-time B team, we would need to have around 55 full-time players. We estimated additional annual costs of around £400,000.

While we have said no to the SPFL and Scottish FA about entering the proposed Conference League in 2024/25, we are keen to explore other options such as a strategic partnership with another SPFL club, where expanding some of the loan regulations would be key to ensuring Aberdeen FC continues to be one of the best developers of young talent in the country.

We will therefore continue to push our best young talent to our first team as quickly as possible, along with using the loan market to provide player pathway experience, which has been impactful for the Club over many years.

Celtic have yet to make any comment on playing in the Conference, a B team is expected to play in next season’s Lowland League. Over the last two seasons Celtic have played their home matches on the plastic pitch at Airdrie