The Scottish FA have confirmed that Mark Wotte has left his position as Performance Director after three years in the job.
Wotte joined the SFA in June 2011 on the back of Henry McLeish’s Review of Scottish Football and has since gone on to implement the SFA Performance Strategy, introducing performance schools across Scotland as well as establishing the SPFL Under-20 league and overseeing the national youth teams.
Now that the strategy has been implemented, Wotte believes the time is right for him to move on and speaking to the SFA website, the Dutchman said: “I am proud to have been the Scottish FA’s first Performance Director leading this nationwide project and I leave safe in the knowledge that this great football nation is on the rise again.
“With the performance schools now into their third year, the successes in qualification for finals by our national youth teams, and of course the great work by Gordon Strachan and Anna Signeul in the men’s and women’s A squads, I am confident that Scottish football is on the path to success again.
“I have absolutely loved my time in Scotland and have been grateful for the excellent support of my coaching team, performance department staff and, of course, the member clubs. However, my job was to implement the strategy to move Scottish football forward: clearly the structure is now fully in place and Scottish football will continue to see the benefits in coming years.
“I feel I have completed the tasks I was set and I am delighted with the swift progress but I am really looking forward to a new challenge.”
During his tenure, seven Regional Performance Schools have been set up throughout the country, involving more than 300 of the country’s most talented boys and girls on a daily basis. He has also overseen National Youth Team success, with the men’s under-17 squad reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA European Championships, the under-16s winning the Sky Sports Victory Shield and the women’s under-17 and under-19 teams reaching the European Championship finals.
Stewart Regan, Scottish FA Chief Executive added: “On behalf of the Board and staff at the Scottish FA I would like to thank Mark for taking the Performance Strategy from an ambitious goal in the early days of our strategic plan, Scotland United: A 2020 Vision, to an exciting reality.
“In just over three years, we have already seen signs of great progress and I would reiterate my thanks to Mark for providing such a solid foundation on which to build future success for Scottish football.”