Heart of Midlothian colts join Celtic & Rangers in Lowland League

Celtic and Rangers' colt teams will be joined by Heart of Midlothian's youth side in next season's Lowland League.

The Glasgow clubs had representatives in the division last term and now Hearts have increased the league to 19 teams.

The Scottish FA says this is "for one season only" and will take the form of a 36-match campaign.

The SFA will also "lead on a review of the pyramid structure" in time for season 2023-24.

Currently, the winners of the Lowland League meet their Highland League counterparts in the end of season play-offs, with the victor taking on the bottom team in Scottish League 2 for a place in the following campaign's fourth tier.

Under the new arrangement, which was voted on, Celtic, Hearts and Rangers colts "are required to field seven players eligible for Scotland national teams in the starting line-up" and "will provide funding to help develop the league and its clubs".

Celtic and Rangers were invited to take part in the 2021-22 Lowland League, with Rangers finishing as runners-up to Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic and Celtic third. Bonnyrigg subsequently won through two play-offs to reach League 2.

The colt teams of Premiership clubs have also taken part in the Scottish Challenge Cup in recent years.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: "The Scottish FA will oversee a discussion in parallel to propose and implement a long-term plan with the objectives of optimising the pyramid, which has been a resounding success in Scottish football, harnessing the player pathway and accelerating the development of the country's most talented young players through the national youth teams to the full international stage."