WILL CLARK: Why I think moving Scottish football season to summer is good idea
I think summer football is a good idea. There I said it.
And in my world of fantasy, I would move the season at all levels to start at the end of February and finish at the end of November.
Traditionalists of the game might be sharpening their knifes ready to attack me for daring to shake up the historic football calendar.
But I am willing to take all the criticism inevitably coming my way for daring to suggest putting the football calendar year completely inside the calendar year.
It may be years of travelling up and down the A9 in horrendous conditions, including howling winds accompanied by blizzards which can turn the route between Inverness and Perth into an Arctic tundra.
But for me, watching a game in sunshine conditions in June and July would be preferable to freezing my knackers off at Cappielow and Somerset Park in December and January.
In Scandinavia they play during the summer, but that is through necessity rather than choice, due to their winters being far more severe than ours.
However, my strong defence would be to look at the League of Ireland switching from winter to the summer. In 2002, they made the radical decision to switch the game to the summer and it did lead to increased crowds, perhaps not dramatically, but increases nonetheless.
The experiment was deemed as a success in Ireland, and their entire season has been played in the calendar year ever since, marking its 20th anniversary last season.
One complaint I hear from clubs, especially at Highland League level, is when they have to play midweek games during the winter.
They say it results in extra energy costs and usually decreased attendances at matches due to the timing and impact on away crowds too.
Summer football, would in theory anyway, almost eliminate the possibility of postponements during the winter.
However, we have all seen a monsoon wreak havoc in Scotland during July and leaving pitches flooded.
But I think shifting the entire game to the summer would be a more enjoyable experience for the fan.
The prospect of watching a game on a mild summer evening would be more appealing than in sub-zero conditions during the winter.
The women’s game in Scotland used to be played during the summer, before Covid-19 made an impact and the women’s game was switched to winter to ensure it could be completed.
I think that was a big mistake for women’s football in Scotland, despite the excellent increased coverage it has received in recent years, it had the opportunity to showcase the game when other sports took a break.
My dream of summer football is unlikely to ever materialise.
With the Scottish pyramid system stretching down six levels in the north, and even further down in the south, everything has to work in conjunction with each other.
I can also accept why there would be so much adversity to switching the seasons that the game is played.
But I can see the positive behind a move like the Irish did 20 years ago.
I can dream, but in the meantime I will be saving my money for a new parka in time for when the clocks go back in the Autumn.