Our other national sport is in a state of crisis, rather like football, our official national sport. For the first time in nearly a decade, not a single Scot made it to the semi-final of the World Professional Snooker Championship. Some crisis. I am sure the powers that be in the Scottish Football Association would be falling over themselves to be landed with the equivalent crisis in football. It would be along the lines of no Scottish Football team making the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in ten years, which right now is a laughable prospect. Indeed if Scotland could achieve the same kind of domination that it enjoys over Snooker in say Football, Rugby, Hockey and Gymnastics, Scotland would be a much fitter and healthier nation than we currently are, with all the benefits to Government that brings. There are lessons to be learned, and a number of factors were at play. Snooker’s success has not come about by chance.

The first factor was access: televised snooker created a demand for the sport amongst youngsters. The Scottish Billiards & Snooker Association sought to exploit this by encouraging Snooker clubs to let under eighteens access their premises, often when licensing laws meant that clubs couldn’t serve alcohol e.g. Sunday mornings, but nevertheless access was guaranteed. In the home, nearly everyone also had a half-size table meaning that practice was fairly straightforward. Compared with schools selling playing fields, and traditional sporting areas being built over, that is almost a revolutionary approach. If children have nowhere to play the sport themselves (e.g. football), they will not be able to improve, nor will the experience the enjoyment of playing. Ultimately children must be encouraged to play sport and to engage in physical activity.

That must be recognised by Government as well as by football clubs, particularly as we appear to be in the process of storing up a health-related time bomb for the Scottish taxpayer. In addition, construction of indoor and all-weather pitches is something that needs to happen as Scotland’s climate mitigates against such activity, something anyone who has ever tried to play 5-a-side football at the Pitz in Sighthill on a freezing cold, wet and windy Tuesday night will testify.

The second factor in Snooker’s success was coaching: a network of coaches was rapidly established in major snooker clubs, with professional players like Jim Donnelly giving up time on Saturday and Sunday mornings to coach aspiring players, helping to sustain an interest in the game. This seems to be something that football and rugby are only just beginning to latch on to via coaching schemes. Perhaps government could give clubs tax breaks to run such schemes. After all, as stated earlier, both benefit.

Also critical was competition: a Scottish circuit of tournaments was arranged for junior players, each consisting of a knockout competition held over two Saturdays. Ranking points were awarded for placing in the quarter final stages and beyond, with an official ranking drawn up based on that. Coaching and practice were given to the most talented players based on their performances in such tournaments, with the Association assisting them in playing across the country and in events in England and abroad. I am no expert on youth football development in Scotland, but it’s worth looking to see if football can learn here.