We can today confirm that the club has entered into a Cooperation Agreement with Premiership side, Motherwell FC.
The agreement follows the introduction of the new Scottish FA initiative, which was created to boost opportunities for young Scottish players during an important stage of their development.
The Cooperation System provides greater flexibility for parent clubs by enabling players in the key ‘transition phase’ of 16-21 years of age who are eligible to represent the Scotland national teams, to join a lower-league club, playing competitive football, but also be able to move between the parent and cooperation club at any point throughout the season.
Each club can have multiple agreements across the pyramid, but only one within each tier. Motherwell, will be the club’s partner from the Premiership.
As part of this new collaboration, defender Aaron Thomson and midfielder Zander McAllister will head to the Vanloq Community Stadium.
Speaking on the agreement, Spartans Sporting Director Mixu Paatelainen said, “We are absolutely delighted to have confirmed the cooperation agreement with Motherwell FC. Their academy is one of the best in the country and is known to develop players of high-quality year in year out.
“We are excited to work together with Motherwell FC to give their talented youngsters an opportunity to join us and play competitive SPFL matches to further their development. At the same time these talented youngsters will bring additional quality into our squad and increase the competition for places in our team.
“In our discussions both clubs realised and highlighted the importance of young players playing in the similar roles positionally regardless of which club they perform for at the time. This is something we are very proud to offer and look forward to cooperating with Motherwell FC to enhance the development of the young Scottish players.”
Motherwell Academy director David Clarkson added, “I’m pleased we have this agreement with Spartans.
“This new system has been a success so far for Motherwell, with young players gaining valuable experience during their time away from Fir Park.
“Zander and Aaron are the next two players to move under this agreement, and we look forward to seeing their progress this season. With increased minutes, the experience of being in that first-team environment will be crucial for them.”
