Alloa Athletic chairman Mike Mulraney elected as president of Scottish FA

Mike Mulraney has been elected as the new president of the Scottish Football Association at the governing body’s annual general meeting.

The Alloa chairman succeeds Rod Petrie to become the 54th president of the association, having been vice-president for four years and having served for a short time as interim president when Petrie suffered ill health three years ago.

The businessman, who has owned Alloa for almost 20 years, said that he wanted to lead the organisation in attracting new funding and improving the national game at all levels.

“It is my great honour to be elected as president and I thank the Scottish FA members, my colleagues across the game, for showing their faith and trust in me,” he said.

“Those that know me know that I when I take on a role, I do it with 100% commitment and focus. The Scottish FA is committed to inspiring the nation and transforming lives.

“We made an impassioned plea at Holyrood only last week urging government and politicians to see us as allies in improving the health and wellbeing of the country and that is something I am determined to facilitate in a practical sense.

“The national association is primarily responsible for the development of the game, the grassroots, and it is imperative we work with governments both national and local, philanthropists, commercial and charitable partners, to improve the fundamental infrastructure of our game – facilities.

“We have already agreed a £20m fund with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and need more investment. We need to retain and upgrade the pitches we currently have, attain new funding for new facilities, especially to meet the growth of girls’ and women’s football, and ensure we contribute to sustainable clubs and communities, both from a financial and an environmental perspective.

“This will be a key priority for me as president and I look forward to working with partners to improve our infrastructure.”

Hamilton Academical vice-chairman Les Gray has been elected as the Scottish FA’s vice president.

The announcement comes on the same day that the Scottish FA unveiled a new five-year deal with Scottish Gas to sponsor the men’s and women’s Scottish Cup competitions as well as put funding into the game at other levels.

The deal will see 120 new week-long holiday camps that will provide 6,000 opporuntities for children to play football and receive free lunches.

Scottish Gas will also work on a programme to make both Hampden Park and member clubs more sustainable and reduce their carbon footprints.

And the deal will also help Scottish Para-football in improving infrastructure and playing conditions.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: “I am absolutely delighted to welcome Scottish Gas on board as a committed multi-level partner and supporter of the Power of Football.

“As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations, they will help us activate the oldest and youngest cup trophies in world football, bringing new and existing fans on that famous road to Hampden.

“Through this agreement, Scottish Gas will also help reinforce the impact our national game has at grassroots level, especially among those whose need is greatest. We look forward to bringing the partnership to life and highlighting the ways in which, together, we can inspire the nation and transform lives.”

Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Centrica, the owner of Scottish Gas said: “Our partnership with the Scottish FA is the perfect match of energy and passion for Scottish Gas as we team up to support the nation.

“We’re delighted to be investing in our customers’ communities, and I’m particularly excited about the work we will be doing to support holiday camps, Para-Football and the women’s game across Scotland.”