No merger between the SFA & SPFL on the cards, says new Chief Exec Ian Maxwell
The possibility of the two organisations being rolled together has been mooted by several figures, including Ross County chairman Roy MacGregor and former St Mirren chief Stewart Gilmour.
Last updated 22nd May 2018
When Scottish Professional Football League boss Neil Doncaster joined the SFA board earlier this year, he admitted to "tensions'' between the two bodies.
But while Maxwell admits the SFA needs to work more closely with the league, he rejected the suggestion the two could combine as one entity.
"No I think we're two different things,'' said the former Partick Thistle general manager as he met the media on his second day in his new job. I think we're set up for different reasons.
"The SPFL run the league and commercialise the league.
"The Scottish FA govern the game and have a much wider remit for football in the country in general, from a participatory level and a governance level.
"So no, they are entirely different organisations but I think the closer they can work the better.
"It's been hugely exciting in all the divisions right the way through the pyramid and it's important we refocus on that and keep maximising the interest we have in the game.
"I absolutely do (have a sense I can bring them closer together). That's important. Everybody wants the best for Scottish football.
"The SPFL and the SFA are made up of members and a lot of those members are the same.
"It's only right both organisations would work as hard as they can together to do the best for their membership as a whole.''
There have been claims of political manoeuvrings from top-flight sides to get Maxwell into the SFA's top job as they look to protect their interests.
But Maxwell insists he will work for the benefit of Scottish football as a whole.
He said: "If the SPFL clubs, who are a lot of the membership of the SFA, have an idea of the skill-set they believe the chief executive of this association should have and I tick a lot of those boxes, then I can only see that as a positive.
"They obviously know from a club perspective what they would like to see from the association and if I can help that and their needs, while not forgetting the wider parts of the association, then that's a good thing.'