Do Scotland’s real problems lie away from national team? – BBC Sport

What if it’s not Steve Clarke’s fault?

What if Ryan Porteous being sent off, Kieran Tierney’s hamstring going and a raft of pre-tournament injuries were not the reason for Scotland going home early at Euro 2024?

For years – 23 to be exact – the men’s national team did not go to tournaments. Now they are there, the struggle to make an impact on that stage is real.

BBC Scotland looks at what the problems may be that are hampering Scotland flourishing.

So Scotland was the first team to pack bags and head off for the airport. Not a great feeling, is it?

But, it’s a small country with the smallest pool of players, right? No big deal. Sadly, no.

Of the teams in Germany for this summer’s championships, Slovenia, Albania, Georgia, Croatia all have a smaller population, with Slovakia’s pretty much the same at 5.4m people.

At the time of writing, Slovakia are doing the best out of that group with three points.

Worryingly, even though some of those teams also sit on one point, Scotland are bottom of the pack with the worst goal difference.

Granted, none of the teams listed here look like tournament contenders, but should Scotland be doing better?

Too many kids are on their PlayStations. Pitches are locked up at weekends. Nobody tucks their tops into their shorts anymore.

There’s a train of thought that one of the reasons Scotland failed for so long to get to big tournaments, and now there actually flourish at them, was down to grassroots.

However, the stats say otherwise.

Earlier this year, the Scottish FA released figures saying a record 161,412 children were registered to play, the second year in a row a record high had been set.

In Scotland, this generally covers from playing fun fours from the start of primary school all the way up through, sevens, nines and then into 11-a-side football at secondary school. Other initiatives have also been run.

But is football still too expensive for some?

Figures released in March by the Scottish government show 26% of children in Scotland are living in relative poverty in the year previous.

While some free initiatives – such as North Lanarkshire Council’s Club 365 programme in conjunction with Motherwell FC Community Trust – offer kids a chance to kick a ball, the opportunity to play and get quality training may well be beyond many.

So how do you get kids from kicking a ball at a weekend to being on an elite pathway?

Since 2012, the SFA has had performance schools throughout the country where the nation’s best young talent can go and develop.

These are seven normal schools, where the chance to practice every day and receive extra coaching is geared to bring them on.

Of the Scotland team in Germany this summer, Billy Gilmour was the only performance school graduate, having attended Grange Academy in Kilmarnock.

In fact, since it started, Gilmour, Nathan Patterson and Calvin Ramsay are the only three to make it to a full senior cap. Max Johnston has also had a call-up.