East Fife Football Club are delighted to confirm that we have entered into a Cooperation Agreement with Premiership side Livingston FC.
This partnership comes as part of the Scottish FA’s newly introduced Cooperation System, which was implemented this season following recommendations in the SFA’s Transition Report released last year. The system is designed to provide greater flexibility than the current domestic loan rules, particularly for players in the crucial transition phase of ages 16–21 who are eligible to represent Scotland at national level.
Under the Cooperation System, a parent club can list up to three players on a ‘Cooperation List’. These players can move freely between the parent club and the cooperating club throughout the season, allowing them to gain valuable playing time while still being available to their parent club when required. Unlike loan arrangements, the parent club retains the player’s registration and pays their wages. Only players under the age of 21 who are eligible to play for the Scotland National Team are able to participate in a ‘Cooperation List’.
“We are so happy to be invited by Livingston FC to be their League 1 cooperation club and enter into this partnership with them. We already have Lewis Latona with us on a season-long loan, and he has settled brilliantly into our squad since his arrival. We look forward to bringing others into the fold over the course of this campaign, which will bolster our selection options.”
“Livingston, particularly under the stewardship of David Martindale, have a first-class reputation for identifying and developing young talent. We are delighted to be able to help these players on their development journey while also improving our own pool of players.”
As part of the co-operation agreement, we’re delighted to welcome Sam Culbert to Bayview. Sam will join up with the squad tonight and will be available for selection subject to SFA clearance.
We look forward to working closely with Livingston over the course of this season and to seeing the positive impact this cooperation will bring.
