Mulraney defends – On the eve of Scotland’s first World Cup in 28 years, SFA president Mike Mulraney insists appointing Steve Clarke in 2019 was the right decision even on the days results go wrong—while pointing to record SFA finances and a £100m plan to rebuild Scottish footba
When the Scotland squad flew out from Glasgow to begin its World Cup adventure in North and Central America. the mood across the country carried a familiar mix of joy and nerves. This time. though. there was another layer to the moment: Mike Mulraney was ready to stand by the decision he made seven years earlier—no matter what happens next.
Mulraney may have overstepped the mark back in 2019. but he said he never expected to offer any apologetic words after pushing for Steve Clarke to take charge of Scotland. In his telling, there was no etiquette to be observed. He liked what he said and said what he liked. and when it came to identifying the next Scotland manager. he made his choice non-negotiable—at a time when Mulraney was the SFA vice-president and the governing body’s main board could have been the place where the appointment was settled.
Mulraney, the Alloa chairman at the time, said the call on Clarke was straightforward. And now, ahead of Scotland’s first World Cup in 28 years, he’s backing that decision with plain talk. “I genuinely don’t need vindication. I know I was right,” Mulraney said.
He went further, insisting he doesn’t need anyone else’s approval to feel confident in how it’s gone. “I knew I was right the day I appointed him. I knew he was right the day he qualified us for a major tournament. ‘I know I am right on the days it goes wrong and I believe I am still right as I sit here today.”.
Mulraney admitted it might sound arrogant, but the point was clear: “It might sound arrogant, but I don’t need vindication. I never need applause or anyone to tell me I am doing it right. ‘The only person I have to convince that I am doing it right is me.’”
Clarke has, in Mulraney’s view, backed the gamble up. Had Clarke cashed in after leading Scotland to Euro 2020. Mulraney said he would have had one more tournament qualification than his six predecessors who tried and failed to emulate Craig Brown. Instead, Clarke repeated the trick—taking Scotland to Germany in 2024.
There was, too, the painful reminder of how narrow the margin can be. A painful loss to Ukraine in the play-off for the 2022 World Cup left a box unticked. That’s since been attended to.
And yet. as Scotland heads into a campaign where the stakes are already huge. Mulraney also acknowledged the risk of momentum running out in the group stage in North and Central America. He pointed to a record of mixed performances across the six matches that earned successive Euros—two draws and four defeats—and said he expects “verbal brickbats” if the same story unfolds against Haiti. Morocco and Brazil.
So he’s not claiming football results are guaranteed. He just insists his approach to the project has been consistent. “I don’t feel surprised by it, because if you believe in your project and believe what you are doing is right, then show the commitment,” he added.
Mulraney framed it as a mindset that refuses to be shaken by the calendar. “We all know that football is a different world and that anything can happen in the meantime. But I believed it two years ago. I believed it four years ago and I believed it six years ago. So, I believe it now. What often happens in football is that you do not appreciate how good you have it until you don’t have it anymore.”.
There was euphoria when Denmark were so memorably put to the sword in November. but Mulraney brought the conversation back to what qualification actually changes off the pitch. Euro 2024 participation helped the SFA post a record turnover of £78.72million, with a £21.6m increase largely driven by reaching Germany. He said. regardless of how Scotland fare in the coming weeks. being involved in the World Cup should comfortably surpass that.
Mulraney contrasted the SFA’s finances with countries that, he said, claim they won’t make any surplus whatsoever. “The expenditure on the World Cup is huge — but not as big as everybody else,” he explained. “When I compare our expenditure model to some other countries who tell me they won’t make any surplus whatsoever. I say ‘don’t tell our guys that’ because we are!. We understand in Scotland the cost and value of a shilling. While we’ll make sure our team has everything spent on them that they need to excel. this is the new Scottish FA. Not a penny will be wasted.”.
That insistence on stewardship is the thread running through how Mulraney talks about the last three years, too. Upon becoming president in 2023, he made it his business to address Scotland’s inadequate football facilities. The upshot was Pitching In—a campaign aimed at future-proofing the national game by upgrading and building pitches and dressing rooms across the country.
Mulraney said the SFA put their hands in their own pockets and persuaded local and central governments to follow suit. Targets, he said, have been reset. When he first got involved. Mulraney announced that the SFA would try to find £50m before 2030 to rebuild infrastructure in Scottish football. describing the early reaction as doubts from others who told him it was impossible.
Now he says the numbers have moved fast enough to rewrite the plan. “Well, we were pleased to be able to tell the members last week that not only is it not impossible to achieve that by 2030, we’ve already done it and that I’ve reset that target for Scottish football to £100m.”
He added that confidence is now tied to a pipeline of projects already under way. “From the north of Scotland to the south, from the east to the west, we’ve already seen 193 projects that are either complete or in progress.”
Mulraney’s goal is not just to finish, but to keep going. “And once we’ve done 193, I want to do another 200 and after we’ve done another 200, we want to do 200 more. And we will do it, we will achieve it.”
That’s why. for all the noise fans often make about Hampden. Mulraney says the stadium redevelopment isn’t sitting at the top of his in-tray. “We think it is magnificent, but it’s got to be better,” he acknowledged. Yet he stressed it can’t come by pushing other needs aside. “But that can’t come at the expense of a six-year-old girl from Kirkwall not even being able to kick a ball. Or a 10-year-old boy from Kirkcaldy not being able to get on a pitch. Or a 75-year-old man from Annan not being able to take part in sport.”.
His answer wasn’t about what would be preferable—it was about what would be right. “My responsibility is to now figure out a way of doing this too and not instead of. It can never be instead of.”
For Mulraney. the wider point is stark: Scotland’s recent success in qualifying for three major finals has come despite its infrastructure rather than because of it. With the cash generated, he believes the entire picture can change. Without sticking his neck out for Clarke. Mulraney said there’s probably no Kenny McLean moment against Denmark and no scope to invest in facilities that can benefit future generations.
He returned to that Denmark win as a personal turning point. remembering the feeling as football delivered something bigger than paperwork and planning. “My brain fizzed and popped at that moment. just like it did for millions of Scottish people all over the world. ” Mulraney reflected. “But I can’t help myself. I also thought, ‘How much can we get out of this?’”.
Mulraney said every week he thinks about the connection between funding and social change. “I spend every second of every hour and every day of every week thinking about the fact that if you don’t have money, you can’t make the fundamental social changes that you want.”
Football, in his view, becomes the mechanism. “Football is a mechanism in which we change people’s lives in a positive fashion.”
The World Cup is finally here for Scotland, and on paper the stakes are measurable—projects, turnovers, contracts, targets. But Mulraney’s argument circles back to something more human: he insists he made the right call when he had the chance to. and he’s asking everyone to judge him on what follows. not on what might go wrong.
Scotland World Cup 2026 Steve Clarke Mike Mulraney SFA Pitching In Hampden Euro 2024 Denmark Ukraine play-off