Lowland League says yes to Rangers, Celtic and Hearts - how much each team will pay and size of league revealed, review promised

The Lowland League has voted in favour of admitting Rangers, Celtic and Hearts’ B teams into the competition for the 2022/23 campaign.

The 16 member clubs held a vote on Monday evening to decide whether all three would be allowed in, having previously shown their intention to reject the guest clubs, with a preference for two rather than all three.

However, when faced a with an “all or nothing” scenario, they reconvened and the second ballot delivered a majority in favour of admission.

It means Rangers and Celtic’s B teams – who played in the league last year and finished second and third respectively behind Bonnyrigg Rose – will once again be involved, with Hearts entering their own team for the very first time.

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson was very keen to get his club admitted, saying a few months ago:

“I support a platform for the young players to go and play. We have not had a reserve league for a number of years and it’s really hindered the development of these players.

“We have had to find loan deals to put them out but we have no control over what happens there - how they play, how they train, the environment they are in.

“If we can get that [the Lowland League] I would be delighted. I’d be all for it.”

It means that next season’s Lowland League will have 19 teams competing, with the three B teams unable to participate in the promotion play-offs.

It has been reported that Rangers, Celtic and Hearts will each pay a £40,000 entry fee, an increase of £15,000 from last season.

Furthermore, the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Professional Football League have committed to a review of the pyramid structure to try and ensure that there will not be a repeat of the contentious issues this season. The SFA