St Mirren granted UEFA license as chairman John Needham explains why Buddies were refused last year

dailyrecord.co.uk:

St Mirren have been given the green light to compete in European football next season - if they manage to qualify.Some Buddies supporters were left concerned yesterday as the previous SFA club licensing awards for the 2022/23 season were circulated online, which stated the Buddies had been refused the award necessary to take part in European competition.But the Saints had completed the application this time around in preparation for next season, which was just as well having finished in the top-six for the first time since 1985.The SFA released an updated list of awards yesterday, with St Mirren comfortably granted the award after scoring gold in all four categories judged: ground, first team, youth and legal/admin/financial.St Mirren chairman John Needham explained to Renfrewshire Live Sport: "We got our license approved yesterday, which allows us to compete in European football should the need arise next season."It's a very complicated, time-consuming and costly application process.

We decided not to compete the process last season because we finished in the bottom six."We are now fully licensed and hopefully now we can push on and finish the season strongly after the split."St Mirren know a fifth-place finish in the Premiership this season could bring them their first taste of European football since 1987.If Celtic or Rangers win the Scottish Cup, Scotland's fifth European spot - which sees teams enter at the second round of the Europa Conference League - goes to the team finishing fifth.The Saints are currently joint-fifth with Hibs in the table on 44 points, with Hearts just four points further ahead in fourth.The Buddies travel to Easter Road to take on Lee Johnson's side in their first post-split fixture next