Ian Maxwell has revealed the SFA wanted a 3pm Scottish Cup Final kick-off but feared viewership would fall if they faced off against two other major matches at the same time.
There were complaints from both Celtic and Inverness Caley Thistle after it was decided the June 3 showpiece finale would begin at 5.30pm as they said fans would find it more difficult to take in the game. The traditional 3pm slot was preferred by both sides who also claimed there were no “meaningful” discussions with the SFA over the call.
Now Maxwell has addressed both issues and revealed the governing body would also have preferred the 3pm kick-off but wanted to give the tournament its best possible showing. And he said there was dialogue between clubs.
“The Scottish FA’s preference was for three o’clock on a Saturday,” Maxwell said.
“There are obviously external factors that play a part in any decision about kick-off times and kick-off times have changed. No longer is every game kick-off at three o’clock, there are games played at various times.
“It’s the end of our Week of Football, it’s very much a flagship competition for us. It signals the end of the Scottish season. We want to give it as much airtime in its own space as possible.
“The English FA Cup Final is on at three o’clock, the Women’s Champions League Final is at three o’clock. So you have a decision to make: do you go up against them and diminish the competition and reduce the viewership that you could get across the UK or do you move it and try and give it its own breathing space? That’s what we decided to do.
“We would have preferred it at three o’clock but in terms of the gravitas and the scale we can showcase the game, we felt moving it gave us the best opportunity to do that.
“We engaged with Inverness before the decision was made, they were happier with a later kick-off than an earlier kick-off.
“I am delighted they have recently announced their agreement with Scotrail that will see them put on additional transport to make sure everyone can get back home – and that’s been a positive.”
On club conversations Maxwell added: “There was dialogue, there is always dialogue. There are multiple stakeholders involved in these decisions and ultimately someone has to make the call and that’s down to us as the competition organiser.
“I don’t think there’s fan consultation in any other change of kick-off time that happens across the sporting environment.”