Copyright scotsman
Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay is poised to take up a new role at the Scottish Football Association. McKinlay is to be appointed as the new vice-president at Hampden Park, replacing Les Gray, and will work closely with president Mike Mulraney going forward. McKinlay will remain in his role as CEO of Hearts and will take on the SFA position in addition to his day-to-day responsibilities at Tynecastle Park. He joined the SFA board in 2023 and is now in line for promotion after clubs were informed that he is the preferred candidate to replace Gray, who is vacating the role for family reasons. McKinlay spent 16 years as a lawyer before moving into sport in 2012, when he joined the SFA as chief operating officer. He later became the organisation’s interim chief executive before taking on the chief executive role at Scottish Golf in 2018. The then-Hearts owner Ann Budge appointed him chief executive at Tynecastle in August 2020, and he joined the club’s board at the AGM in December that year. Mulraney was elected president of the SFA in June 2023 and said at the time: “It is my great honour to be elected as President and I thank the Scottish FA members, my colleagues across the game, for showing their faith and trust in me. “Those that know me know that I when I take on a role, I do it with 100 per cent commitment and focus. The Scottish FA is committed to inspiring the nation and transforming lives. “We made an impassioned plea at Holyrood only last week urging government and politicians to see us as allies in improving the health and wellbeing of the country and that is something I am determined to facilitate in a practical sense. “The national association is primarily responsible for the development of the game, the grassroots, and it is imperative we work with governments both national and local, philanthropists, commercial and charitable partners, to improve the fundamental infrastructure of our game – facilities. “We have already agreed a £20m fund with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and need more investment. We need to retain and upgrade the pitches we currently have, attain new funding for new facilities, especially to meet the growth of girls’ and women’s football, and ensure we contribute to sustainable clubs and communities, both from a financial and an environmental perspective. “This will be a key priority for me as President and I look forward to working with partners to improve our infrastructure.” After appointing McKinlay and Aileen Campbell of Scottish Women’s Football as representatives of the professional and non-professional game boards in 2023, Mulraney said: “I am pleased to welcome Andrew and Aileen to the board. Both will bring a fresh perspective and extensive experience across business, sport and public service. Above all, they share a passion for the game that will drive the organisation forward and help achieve our vision of inspiring the nation and transforming lives through the power of football.”
