The Scottish FA today announces that Mark Wotte has decided to move on from his position as Performance Director.

Mark joined the Scottish FA in June 2011 to implement the Performance Strategy framework conceived as part of the Henry McLeish Review of Scottish Football.

Mark has now implemented the strategy and put in place an enhanced structure to maintain the undoubted progress in the performance area.

He 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.

Mark was also integral to the creation of the SPFL Under-20 league, to promote youth development into first-team football, and the restructuring of Club Academy Scotland.

Stewart Regan, Scottish FA Chief Executive: “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.”