Latest news with #NickHobbs
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
'Angry' MSP calls for compromise with SFA and SPFL over 'skulduggery'
However, Whittle, who was a member of the Public Petitions Committee at the Scottish parliament when the governing bodies were urged to scrap regulations which had been branded 'exploitative' back in 2020, expressed his frustration at youth football campaigners turning to legal representatives in an attempt to achieve their objectives during heated exchanges. He called for compromise from both sides so that a long-running dispute which has now raged for 15 years can be settled and change achieved which enables promising players to flourish at elite professional clubs and kids who fail to make it in the paid ranks to remain involved in the sport. The Scottish Conservatives politician was speaking following a meeting of the Health, Social Care and Sport committee at Holyrood which heard evidence from Nick Hobbs of the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, Scott Robertson of RealGrassroots and Mahesh Madlani and Alex Waksman of Gunnercooke. RealGrassroots and the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland made complaints to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) back in December about four SFA and SPFL statutes which they alleged violated UK competition law and potentially constituted the economic exploitation of children. Read more: The CMA wrote to the SFA and SPFL in March reminding them of their obligations to comply with competition law and recommending they assess their practices. Whittle, while expressing his concern about the disputed 'no poach', 'no approach', 'unilateral extension' and 'development contribution' rules, admitted that he would now like to see the two factions reach agreement which benefitted the Scottish game. Hobbs, the head of investigations with the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, alleged the Wellbeing Panel which was set up to determine if players in the CAS set-up could be released from a controversial two year registration which they sign when they turn 15 acted in the interest of the clubs not children. 'The Wellbeing Panel is a really good example of the kind of attitude that underpins all of this,' he told the committee. 'On the surface, it looks and sounds like a very positive mechanism for facilitating that movement between the clubs where necessary. 'But when we met with the SFA we asked, 'In what circumstances would you envisage a wellbeing panel would refuse permission for a child to move from one club to another'. They weren't able to tell us. That strongly suggests to me that the wellbeing panel exists not as a mechanism to facilitate that movement, but as an obstacle to prevent it from happening. 'Children will tend not to raise complaints when there are significant administrative processes that they have to go through and barriers that they have to jump over. I think The Wellbeing Panel is designed to restrict movement between clubs rather than facilitate it. 'The underlying issue here, and it always has been, is that the clubs principally view these children as economic assets and have rules and processes in place which allow them to be monetised. That SFA has made rules which are in the interests of clubs and not of the children.' (Image: SNS Group) Whittle, who won European Championship and Commonwealth Games medals and competed in the Olympics during his running career, expressed hope that Ian Maxwell, SFA chief executive, and Neil Doncaster, his SPFL counterpart, would address the accusations in person when they are called in front of the committee following the Scottish parliament's summer recess. However, he revealed that he has two grandchildren who are members of the CAS system and stressed that their experiences did not tally with the evidence which had been given. He said, 'The changes which have been made to the unilateral extension rule are an adequate compromise if they're actually applied properly. The devil's in the detail here. The reality is that some do it properly, some don't. So I would like to see the application of the rule tightened up rather than the rule changed. The rule is not a problem. The application of the rule is where we need to start looking. 'There are some significant issues which need to be tackled. I have spoken to Mr Maxwell about this in a meeting we had at the SFA offices about six weeks ago. I was equally upset in that meeting as I was today. The 'no approach' rule, for example, doesn't make sense to me whatsoever. What nonsense is that? That's restrictive to everybody. 'But that's not getting to the nub of what the problem is. That's why I was getting so frustrated, because this is not getting us to where we need to be. We need to start with a blank bit of paper and say, 'What do we want?' We want a system here where we bring kids in at one level and they have the ability to route map all the way through to international level. 'But along the way there are other stations where their talent can be utilised, even if that's just playing five-a-side football with their pals. That's not happening at the moment. There's lots of things we could be doing and should be doing that would make it much better.' Read more: He added, 'I'm not optimistic the change that is needed can be achieved. If you get two sides so entrenched, it's very difficult to find compromise. My problem is this is a real grassroots issue, but all we heard from were lawyers. You're never going to get a compromise out of that. 'The SFA and SPFL will always be on the defensive if lawyers are involved. If it's a legal problem, deal with it in the courts. They kept saying, 'They're breaching this, they're breaching that'. But they've proved nothing. 'Some of the things they were saying in there did not reflect my experiences. I've got a couple of grandkids who are in the Club Academy Scotland system. One moved from a smaller club to a bigger club as well. I never saw any problems. Don't get me wrong, there are problems. If you've got 2,700 kids and you've got all these clubs, you know there is some skulduggery going on. 'But as it's not just in Scottish football where there are problems. In my sport, in track and field, if you move to a club without it being okayed you get a nine month ban. You need to have extenuating circumstances. The clubs have to agree or Scottish Athletics have to say, 'You're allowed'.' Whittle continued, 'I am quite frustrated. I think the SFA and the SPFL have got questions to answer here. But I heard a lot of conflated evidence here today which I was actually quite angry about. 'We need to get the two sides in the room with the same objective. We all have the same objective. We want to get all the kids to play football. We want all levels of football to be at their best. We want Scotland to win the World Cup. That's not going to happen obviously, but that's what we want. At the moment, the system is not allowing that to happen.' The SFA and SPFL were both approached for comment. Back in March, an SFA spokesperson said, 'We have been in dialogue with the CMA and will continue to monitor our policies and procedures in line with FIFA regulations.'
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
'Angry' MSP calls for compromise with SFA and SPFL over 'skulduggery'
However, Whittle, who was a member of the Public Petitions Committee at the Scottish parliament when the governing bodies were urged to scrap regulations which had been branded 'exploitative' back in 2020, expressed his frustration at youth football campaigners turning to legal representatives in an attempt to achieve their objectives during heated exchanges. He called for compromise from both sides so that a long-running dispute which has now raged for 15 years can be settled and change achieved which enables promising players to flourish at elite professional clubs and kids who fail to make it in the paid ranks to remain involved in the sport. The Scottish Conservatives politician was speaking following a meeting of the Health, Social Care and Sport committee at Holyrood which heard evidence from Nick Hobbs of the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, Scott Robertson of RealGrassroots and Mahesh Madlani and Alex Waksman of Gunnercooke. RealGrassroots and the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland made complaints to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) back in December about four SFA and SPFL statutes which they alleged violated UK competition law and potentially constituted the economic exploitation of children. Read more: The CMA wrote to the SFA and SPFL in March reminding them of their obligations to comply with competition law and recommending they assess their practices. Whittle, while expressing his concern about the disputed 'no poach', 'no approach', 'unilateral extension' and 'development contribution' rules, admitted that he would now like to see the two factions reach agreement which benefitted the Scottish game. Hobbs, the head of investigations with the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, alleged the Wellbeing Panel which was set up to determine if players in the CAS set-up could be released from a controversial two year registration which they sign when they turn 15 acted in the interest of the clubs not children. 'The Wellbeing Panel is a really good example of the kind of attitude that underpins all of this,' he told the committee. 'On the surface, it looks and sounds like a very positive mechanism for facilitating that movement between the clubs where necessary. 'But when we met with the SFA we asked, 'In what circumstances would you envisage a wellbeing panel would refuse permission for a child to move from one club to another'. They weren't able to tell us. That strongly suggests to me that the wellbeing panel exists not as a mechanism to facilitate that movement, but as an obstacle to prevent it from happening. 'Children will tend not to raise complaints when there are significant administrative processes that they have to go through and barriers that they have to jump over. I think The Wellbeing Panel is designed to restrict movement between clubs rather than facilitate it. 'The underlying issue here, and it always has been, is that the clubs principally view these children as economic assets and have rules and processes in place which allow them to be monetised. That SFA has made rules which are in the interests of clubs and not of the children.' (Image: SNS Group) Whittle, who won European Championship and Commonwealth Games medals and competed in the Olympics during his running career, expressed hope that Ian Maxwell, SFA chief executive, and Neil Doncaster, his SPFL counterpart, would address the accusations in person when they are called in front of the committee following the Scottish parliament's summer recess. However, he revealed that he has two grandchildren who are members of the CAS system and stressed that their experiences did not tally with the evidence which had been given. He said, 'The changes which have been made to the unilateral extension rule are an adequate compromise if they're actually applied properly. The devil's in the detail here. The reality is that some do it properly, some don't. So I would like to see the application of the rule tightened up rather than the rule changed. The rule is not a problem. The application of the rule is where we need to start looking. 'There are some significant issues which need to be tackled. I have spoken to Mr Maxwell about this in a meeting we had at the SFA offices about six weeks ago. I was equally upset in that meeting as I was today. The 'no approach' rule, for example, doesn't make sense to me whatsoever. What nonsense is that? That's restrictive to everybody. 'But that's not getting to the nub of what the problem is. That's why I was getting so frustrated, because this is not getting us to where we need to be. We need to start with a blank bit of paper and say, 'What do we want?' We want a system here where we bring kids in at one level and they have the ability to route map all the way through to international level. 'But along the way there are other stations where their talent can be utilised, even if that's just playing five-a-side football with their pals. That's not happening at the moment. There's lots of things we could be doing and should be doing that would make it much better.' Read more: He added, 'I'm not optimistic the change that is needed can be achieved. If you get two sides so entrenched, it's very difficult to find compromise. My problem is this is a real grassroots issue, but all we heard from were lawyers. You're never going to get a compromise out of that. 'The SFA and SPFL will always be on the defensive if lawyers are involved. If it's a legal problem, deal with it in the courts. They kept saying, 'They're breaching this, they're breaching that'. But they've proved nothing. 'Some of the things they were saying in there did not reflect my experiences. I've got a couple of grandkids who are in the Club Academy Scotland system. One moved from a smaller club to a bigger club as well. I never saw any problems. Don't get me wrong, there are problems. If you've got 2,700 kids and you've got all these clubs, you know there is some skulduggery going on. 'But as it's not just in Scottish football where there are problems. In my sport, in track and field, if you move to a club without it being okayed you get a nine month ban. You need to have extenuating circumstances. The clubs have to agree or Scottish Athletics have to say, 'You're allowed'.' Whittle continued, 'I am quite frustrated. I think the SFA and the SPFL have got questions to answer here. But I heard a lot of conflated evidence here today which I was actually quite angry about. 'We need to get the two sides in the room with the same objective. We all have the same objective. We want to get all the kids to play football. We want all levels of football to be at their best. We want Scotland to win the World Cup. That's not going to happen obviously, but that's what we want. At the moment, the system is not allowing that to happen.' The SFA and SPFL were both approached for comment. Back in March, an SFA spokesperson said, 'We have been in dialogue with the CMA and will continue to monitor our policies and procedures in line with FIFA regulations.'
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
'Angry' MSP calls for compromise with SFA and SPFL over 'skulduggery'
He called for compromise from both sides so that a long-running dispute which has now raged for 15 years can be settled and change achieved which enables promising players to flourish at elite professional clubs and kids who fail to make it in the paid ranks to remain involved in the sport. The Scottish Conservatives politician was speaking following a meeting of the Health, Social Care and Sport committee at Holyrood which heard evidence from Nick Hobbs of the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, Scott Robertson of RealGrassroots and Mahesh Madlani and Alex Waksman of Gunnercooke. RealGrassroots and the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland made complaints to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) back in December about four SFA and SPFL statutes which they alleged violated UK competition law and potentially constituted the economic exploitation of children. Read more: The CMA wrote to the SFA and SPFL in March reminding them of their obligations to comply with competition law and recommending they assess their practices. Whittle, while expressing his concern about the disputed 'no poach', 'no approach', 'unilateral extension' and 'development contribution' rules, admitted that he would now like to see the two factions reach agreement which benefitted the Scottish game. Hobbs, the head of investigations with the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, alleged the Wellbeing Panel which was set up to determine if players in the CAS set-up could be released from a controversial two year registration which they sign when they turn 15 acted in the interest of the clubs not children. 'The Wellbeing Panel is a really good example of the kind of attitude that underpins all of this,' he told the committee. 'On the surface, it looks and sounds like a very positive mechanism for facilitating that movement between the clubs where necessary. 'But when we met with the SFA we asked, 'In what circumstances would you envisage a wellbeing panel would refuse permission for a child to move from one club to another'. They weren't able to tell us. That strongly suggests to me that the wellbeing panel exists not as a mechanism to facilitate that movement, but as an obstacle to prevent it from happening. 'Children will tend not to raise complaints when there are significant administrative processes that they have to go through and barriers that they have to jump over. I think The Wellbeing Panel is designed to restrict movement between clubs rather than facilitate it. 'The underlying issue here, and it always has been, is that the clubs principally view these children as economic assets and have rules and processes in place which allow them to be monetised. That SFA has made rules which are in the interests of clubs and not of the children.' (Image: SNS Group) Whittle, who won European Championship and Commonwealth Games medals and competed in the Olympics during his running career, expressed hope that Ian Maxwell, SFA chief executive, and Neil Doncaster, his SPFL counterpart, would address the accusations in person when they are called in front of the committee following the Scottish parliament's summer recess. However, he revealed that he has two grandchildren who are members of the CAS system and stressed that their experiences did not tally with the evidence which had been given. He said, 'The changes which have been made to the unilateral extension rule are an adequate compromise if they're actually applied properly. The devil's in the detail here. The reality is that some do it properly, some don't. So I would like to see the application of the rule tightened up rather than the rule changed. The rule is not a problem. The application of the rule is where we need to start looking. 'There are some significant issues which need to be tackled. I have spoken to Mr Maxwell about this in a meeting we had at the SFA offices about six weeks ago. I was equally upset in that meeting as I was today. The 'no approach' rule, for example, doesn't make sense to me whatsoever. What nonsense is that? That's restrictive to everybody. 'But that's not getting to the nub of what the problem is. That's why I was getting so frustrated, because this is not getting us to where we need to be. We need to start with a blank bit of paper and say, 'What do we want?' We want a system here where we bring kids in at one level and they have the ability to route map all the way through to international level. 'But along the way there are other stations where their talent can be utilised, even if that's just playing five-a-side football with their pals. That's not happening at the moment. There's lots of things we could be doing and should be doing that would make it much better.' Read more: He added, 'I'm not optimistic the change that is needed can be achieved. If you get two sides so entrenched, it's very difficult to find compromise. My problem is this is a real grassroots issue, but all we heard from were lawyers. You're never going to get a compromise out of that. 'The SFA and SPFL will always be on the defensive if lawyers are involved. If it's a legal problem, deal with it in the courts. They kept saying, 'They're breaching this, they're breaching that'. But they've proved nothing. 'Some of the things they were saying in there did not reflect my experiences. I've got a couple of grandkids who are in the Club Academy Scotland system. One moved from a smaller club to a bigger club as well. I never saw any problems. Don't get me wrong, there are problems. If you've got 2,700 kids and you've got all these clubs, you know there is some skulduggery going on. 'But as it's not just in Scottish football where there are problems. In my sport, in track and field, if you move to a club without it being okayed you get a nine month ban. You need to have extenuating circumstances. The clubs have to agree or Scottish Athletics have to say, 'You're allowed'.' Whittle continued, 'I am quite frustrated. I think the SFA and the SPFL have got questions to answer here. But I heard a lot of conflated evidence here today which I was actually quite angry about. 'We need to get the two sides in the room with the same objective. We all have the same objective. We want to get all the kids to play football. We want all levels of football to be at their best. We want Scotland to win the World Cup. That's not going to happen obviously, but that's what we want. At the moment, the system is not allowing that to happen.' The SFA and SPFL were both approached for comment. Back in March, an SFA spokesperson said, 'We have been in dialogue with the CMA and will continue to monitor our policies and procedures in line with FIFA regulations.'
Business Wire
30-04-2025
- Automotive
- Business Wire
J.B. Hunt Recognizes 54 Drivers for Million Mile Safety Accomplishments
LOWELL, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT), one of the largest supply chain solutions providers in North America, recognized 54 company drivers this week for achieving two, three and four million miles driven without a preventable accident during its annual Million Mile Celebration at company headquarters in Lowell. Each year, J.B. Hunt hosts the new class of Million Mile drivers and their families at corporate headquarters for a multi-day celebration featuring an awards ceremony with live entertainment, engaging discussions with company leadership, and the Million Mile Walk of Fame, a 24-year annual tradition. 'When we talk about the best of the best, we're talking about the people here this week,' said Nick Hobbs, chief operating officer for J.B. Hunt, during the company's Million Mile Walk of Fame. 'Last year we surpassed our own company safety record set in 2023 for reducing DOT preventable accidents. These drivers are essential for that progress by the example they set and the knowledge and training they share. This is their Million Mile moment, and I'm proud, humbled and honored that they choose to drive with J.B. Hunt.' This year's Million Mile drivers and their families, led by an emphatic entrance from the Bentonville West High School marching band, made their way along a 300-foot red carpet that spanned two buildings. They were first greeted by the company's executive leadership team, who thanked each for their long-term commitment to safety excellence and expressed how grateful they are to have them as part of the J.B. Hunt family. The remainder of the Walk of Fame featured cheers and high-fives from thousands of company employees, customers, investors and guests who lined the red carpet to celebrate. With this year's class, J.B. Hunt surpassed 5,000 company drivers to achieve at least one million safe miles. This year's group also included five drivers who achieved four million safe miles, an accomplishment that only elite drivers have achieved. All Million Mile drivers' names are etched into the Million Mile Wall at corporate headquarters. On average, it takes a driver approximately 7-10 years to achieve one million safe miles. J.B. Hunt's Million Mile event is an important part of the company's culture, reflecting its values of excellence, safety, and integrity. The company prioritizes safety as essential for delivering value and operational excellence for its customers. It continually looks for ways to improve safety measures, including adopting new safety technologies like inward facing cameras and the latest advancements in collision mitigation systems. Company drivers receive safety training that starts during the onboarding process and continues throughout their careers. Million Mile drivers represent the company's long-standing safety culture embraced and enabled by its people. About J.B. Hunt J.B. Hunt's vision is to create the most efficient transportation network in North America. The company's industry-leading solutions and mode-neutral approach generate value for customers by eliminating waste, reducing costs and enhancing supply chain visibility. Powered by one of the largest company-owned fleets in the country and third-party capacity through its J.B. Hunt 360°® digital freight marketplace, J.B. Hunt can meet the unique shipping needs of any business, from first mile to final delivery, and every shipment in-between. Through disciplined investments in its people, technology and capacity, J.B. Hunt is delivering exceptional value and service that enable long-term growth for the company and its stakeholders. J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. is a Fortune 500 company, an S&P 500 company and a component of the Dow Jones Transportation Average. Its stock trades on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol JBHT. J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of JBHT. The company's services include intermodal, dedicated, refrigerated, truckload, less-than-truckload, flatbed, single source, last mile, transload and more. For more information, visit
BBC News
23-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Watchdog to write to clubs about youth football deals
The UK's competition watchdog will write to Scotland's professional clubs to remind them of their legal obligations when registering child Children's Commissioner and grassroots campaigners had called for a investigation into the system for how players are registered with elite clubs, claiming it exploits young players and breaks competition the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has told them it does not currently have the resources to do this. The Scottish Football Association (SFA) previously said its registration system is in line with world governing body Fifa, but campaigners have urged the CMA to reconsider its position. Children can register for a professional club in Scotland from the age of 10 and a compensation system is in place when young players move between elite in these teams in the 15 to 17-year-old age group sign for a two-year period that can only be terminated if both parties is these rules, along with a cap on moves between clubs, which critics claim are restricting young players' freedom of was the basis of the complaint against both the SFA and SPFL in December last year. The CMA, which is in the process of laying off around 100 people due to a "budgeting error", said its decision not to investigate was a "administrative priority decision and does not constitute a substantive view on the merits of the matters raised".A spokesman for the RealGrassroots campaign, one of the complainants, said: "The CMA made clear that this is purely a matter of prioritisation at a time when resources are spread thin. "It does not preclude an investigation in the future, nor does it call into question the merits of our complaint in any way. "It is certainly not a clean bill of health for the SFA's and SPFL's anti-competitive practices."He added: "What this turn of events confirms is the need for effective regulation of Scottish football's governing bodies, who have shown themselves unwilling to give youth footballers the freedom they deserve." 'Extremely surprised' The CMA told complainants it would be writing to the SFA and SPFL to remind them of their obligations to comply with UK competition laws. Nick Hobbs, head of advice and investigation at the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, said he was "extremely surprised and disappointed" by the CMA's preliminary view to not investigate the added: "These complaints were made only after a decade of attempts by our office, the petitioners, and MSPs to ensure children's rights are protected in Scottish football. "The CMA is the only body with the authority and the legal powers to make the SFA and SPFL change the rules."We note the consistently high cross-party support in the Scottish Parliament for the necessary rule changes, and strongly urge the CMA to reconsider their position." In 2020, Holyrood's petitions committee raised "genuine concerns" about whether the current registration system adequately protected the rights of children, external and called for CMA is the UK government body responsible for taking action against businesses and individuals that take part in anti-competitive uses "prioritisation principles" to work out which cases to take on but does not tend to speak publicly about its work until its SFA previously said it had made significant progress in protecting young players involved in the game, including changes to the registration has been approached for comment.
