The 48-year-old replaces Andy Gould in the Hampden post - 20 years on from his previous stint with the governing body
A former Rangers academy director has explained his decision to quit English Premier League side Nottingham Forest in favour of returning to Scotland after being appointed as chief football officer at the Scottish FA.
Craig Mulholland spent 20 years at Ibrox where he initially joined the club as a football in the community manager before holding various roles prior to heading up the Light Blues’ youth system for eight years from 2015.
Head hunted for a job at the City Ground by ex-Gers sporting director Ross Wilson, Mulholland will serve a notice period before assuming his new position with Scottish football’s governing body, whom he previously worked as a football development officer back in 2006, before progressing to senior youth development officer.
The 48-year-old was selected for the key role at Hampden where he will be tasked with “shaping and delivering the vision for football development and performance across Scotland.” He will be part of the Senior Executive Team and lead “strategies that elevate elite performance, strengthen grassroots participation and ensure Scotland’s football ecosystem thrives at every level.
A statement released by the governing body read: “The Scottish FA has confirmed the appointment of Craig Mulholland as Chief Football Officer.
“Craig follows in the footsteps of Andy Gould, who recently took up a new position with FIFA after more than 30 years with the association. He moves back north after serving as Head of Football Development & Talent Management at Nottingham Forest.
“Craig’s role involved leading on strategy on both the men’s and women’s side, driving performance and organisational alignment, and he was responsible for all talent pathways, at a time when the club achieved their highest ever English Premier League finish and reached the semi-final of a European competition for the first time in over 40 years on the men’s side, while securing promotion to the WSL2 for the first time with the women’s team.
“This is Craig’s second spell with the Scottish FA, having started out as a Football Development Officer, progressing to Senior Youth Development Officer, more than 20 years ago.
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“From there, he moved to Rangers, spending the last nine years of his career there as Academy Director, heading up a system that produced current Scotland internationals like Billy Gilmour, Liam Kelly and Nathan Patterson.”
Mulholland: ‘It was something I was excited about’
On his appointment, Mulholland said: “I am delighted to be joining the Scottish FA at a critical time for the game in our country, which I care passionately about. We have the World Cup to look forward to, and that excitement brings the ideal opportunity to implement positive change throughout all areas of our game, building on the many strengths we have as a nation.
“I have loved my time working in the Premier League, where every day you are exposed to the world’s best players and coaches, but when I heard the desire and willingness from Mike, as President, and Ian, as CEO, to really implement an exciting period of growth and change here in Scotland, it was something I was excited about, delighted to accept, and privileged to be asked to lead.
“I wish Steve and Melissa good luck for the upcoming internationals and I look forward to working with them, and all of the team at the Scottish FA, to build an exciting future with an innovative and creative approach to how we move forward at all levels of the game.”
SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell commented: “We’re delighted to have Craig on board. He was the outstanding candidate from a thorough process. This is a critical role within the Scottish FA – and Scottish football in general – so we wanted to make sure that we took our time to find the right individual who can help drive improvements across the board.
“Craig comes highly recommended to us from his position as Head of Football Development & Talent Management at Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League, but we’re equally enthused by his varied experiences in Scottish football.”
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