Craig Mulholland ended his 20-year association with Rangers in June 2023 to join Premier League side Nottingham Forest
Former Rangers academy director Craig Mulholland has been appointed as he Scottish FA’s new Chief Football Officer - replacing Andy Gould, who has departed to join FIFA as a high-performance specialist.
Mulholland is currently serving his notice period as head of football development at English Premier League side Nottingham Forest and will return north of the border to begin his new role in the summer.
The SFA recently advertised the position as they searched for a high-profile candidate to drive their vision for football development and performance across the country. And following two rounds of interviews, Mulholland has been selected to front their youth development strategy.
He will be tasked with deciding whether to proceed with recommendations made by his predecessor Gould, who helped put together a report along with head of men’s elite strategy Chris Docherty highlighting the need for improvement in the player transition phase between the ages of 16 and 21.
The report also revealed that Scotland was trailing behind nations of a similar size in providing young players with opportunities to progress from academy football to the first-team.
It recommended the gradual closure of the SFA’s seven Regional Performance Schools, located in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, Kilmarnock, and Motherwell, with more focus placed on youngsters aged 0-12 instead, rather than those in the 12-16 age group.
Mulholland spent two decades at Ibrox prior to heading down south. He initially joined the Light Blues as football in the community manager before taking on various behind-the-scenes roles and eventually leading the academy system for eight years from 2015.
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Since ending his long association with the Govan giants back in June 2023, he was recruited for his current role at Nottingham Forest by former Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson.
It’s understood Mulholland was in among a three-man final shortlist along with Ayr United managing director Graeme Mathie and ex-Hibs and Dundee United manager Jack Ross, who will remain in post as head of football strategy at Newcastle United.
What players did Craig Mulholland develop at Rangers?
Mulholland was credited with playing an integral role in transforming Rangers youth set up into an elite programme.
During his time in Govan, he helped develop talents such as Scotland internationals Nathan Patterson and Billy Gilmour as well as Robby McCrorie, Leon King, Alex Lowry and Adam Devine.
The SFA are still on the lookout to appoint a new head of men‘s elite strategy, with Docherty also set to move on.
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