British League Cup plan proposed at SPL meeting

Birmingham are the current League Cup holders in England (Reuters)

The possibility of a British League Cup was raised yesterday when Scottish Premier League clubs met at Hampden. As part of plans to reform the game north of the border – which could see the Premier League reduced to 10 teams from the current 12 – a competition involving teams from around Britain has been tentatively proposed.

This is not the first time such a plan has been put forward. In 2001 the Aberdeen chairman, Stewart Milne, suggested a similar idea that was eventually rejected by the English Football League.

The proposal was among a raft of measures discussed by Scottish Premier League clubs yesterday. They failed to reach a final agreement over reform plans, but Milne believes a vote should take place next month.

Representatives from the 12 clubs discussed plans for a 10-team top flight in a three-hour meeting, which was originally earmarked as a chance to vote on SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster's draft plan.

The Hamilton chairman, Ronnie MacDonald, and his Dundee United counterpart, Stephen Thompson, declined to comment in detail after emerging from the meeting, with the SPL board due to release a statement later. But Thompson felt some progress had been made and Milne is optimistic that can be built upon in the coming weeks.

The Aberdeen chairman said: "I think it is still moving in the right direction. There is a bit of work to do. I think there will be a vote some time in the middle of May."

When asked if the clubs were still on track for a reduced top division, Milne said: "I think we're on course to go somewhere. It's still very much the plan that is on the table."