A Rangers B team will be allowed to play in the Scottish Lowland League next season, but there will be a cap on the amount of foreign imports allowed to play.
The Gers youngsters enjoyed an impressive and fruitful first season in the division last season – effectively the fifth tier of Scottish football – after the club persevered with the concept.
Joined by Celtic last season, the Parkhead club will submit another side this campaign with Edinburgh club Hearts also including a team in the division.
The decision to include Rangers, Celtic and Hearts in the set-up comes after their participation was thrown into doubt earlier in the summer.
An initial vote had opted against having three professional youth sides in the division but after discussions with the SFA a second vote granted the move.
This will mean the Scottish Lowland League has 19 teams next season instead of the usual 16. The SFA will also lead a review on the pyramid structure, with this agreement once again only set to stand for one season. Read more HERE.
Rangers B to be admitted to Scottish Lowland League
As part of the move, Rangers, Celtic and Hearts will have to stump up a reported £40k each which will be spread out across the league with the intention of improving the division.
All three B teams will not be allowed to earn SPFL promotion through the playoffs even if they win the division whilst they must field at least seven players who are eligible for the Scottish national team.
This is to help with the development of young Scottish players and will likely impact Rangers’ transfer plans for the B side.
The Gers have invested in the likes of Charlie McCann (Northern Ireland) and Tony Weston (England) from down south whilst Kevin Ciubotaru (Romania) and Juan Alegria (Colombia) joined from foreign shores as part of the club’s B team strategy.
This may need to be re-evaluated amid news of the cap with Rangers now having to focus on young Scottish talent as per the agreement.
But whatever the case Rangers will be glad to have a team participating in the competition again this season, having finished 2nd last season, 14 points behind eventual winners Bonnyrigg Rose.
Meanwhile, there is some confusion surrounding claims that Allan McGregor is set to sign a new contract at Ibrox.