The Scottish Football Association has held its second Council Debate at Hampden (Wed 17 Aug) which aims to bring together a wide range of opinions from across society on issues affecting the game in Scotland. Bob Doris, SNP MSP for Glasgow, has welcomed a renewed interest in promoting football to drive forward improvements in the nation's health. The motion for debate was "To what extent can football help drive a social and health revolution around the recommendation of 10,000 hours of football training for play development?"

The Scottish FA strategic plan - Scotland United: A 2020 Vision - was the centre-point for discussion, focussing on how to improve working arrangements between local and national government and football organisations. Plans were discussed to use the schools estates to widen access for youngsters and to strive towards the 10,000-hour benchmark for elite performance. The availability and cost of hiring sports venues and equipment emerged as major hurdles for youngsters seeking to get involved.

Bob Doris MSP is also the Deputy-Convenor of the Scottish Parliament's Health & Sport committee. He said: "There is a great deal of scope for more joined up approach between the various bodies that represent the interests of Scottish football and it's important that there is a coherent and coordinated approach to making representations to, and working with, the Scottish Government and local authorities."

Speaking after the council event, Scottish FA Chief Executive Stewart Regan, who chaired the discussion, said: "At the Scottish FA we recognise the role that football plays across all fields ranging from justice and health right through to the economy and education and this debate was about people from all sectors feeding into this discussion and finding out how we can further our cause. Having spoken with every panel member afterwards there was broad consensus over not only over what we can achieve through the implementation of our performance strategy but also over the right way to move forward and that's very positive for all of us that have been involved in the work to date."

"We have recently launched our strategic plan, Scotland United: A 2020 Vision, with the ultimate aim of qualification for major championship finals across all national teams, while increasing participation in our national game at grassroots level but in order to achieve these ambitious objectives, it is vital that we engage more strategically with Government, both at local and national level. The creation of close links with Members of the Scottish Parliament and Councillors will help us deal with issues ranging from football finances to facilities in a more co-ordinated and productive manner."