Hamilton Academical F.C. Reserves and Academy  In addition to their first team competing in the Scottish Premiership, Hamilton Academical F.C. also maintain a reserve team competing in the SPFL Reserve League, as well as further teams for younger age groups playing in competitions such as the Scottish Challenge Cup and the Scottish Youth Cup within the club's academy. A reserve team was fielded for many years until the abandonment of the most recent league for those teams in 2009. An under-20 side took part in the SPFL Development League until it was disbanded in 2018. In May 2003, Glasgow businessman Ronnie MacDonald bought a controlling interest in Hamilton Academical for a nominal fee, having previously been at the helm of Maryhill Juniors, then Clyde – a club of comparable stature to Hamilton but competing in the division above. "Accies" had recently escaped from Scotland's bottom tier after a financial crisis and, having shared grounds with other clubs since 1994, had moved to their new stadium in 2001. With a small fanbase and few other sources of revenue, MacDonald and his associates recognised that his new club's best chances of success would be through engaging with the local community and unearthing players at little cost, primarily through their youth system, with the players then sold on for a profit if their talents outgrew the surroundings. Though practiced to some extent by most clubs, this business model became Hamilton's primary focus from then on; MacDonald soon appointed Allan Maitland, whom he had worked with at Clyde and other clubs at various levels, as head coach and recruited several coaches and other staff directly from his former club, including Les Gray who would play an important role at the club in the coming years. After quickly gaining promotion to the First Division and consolidating their place under Maitland, in 2005 Hamilton brought in Billy Reid from Clyde to be the next manager, with MacDonald and other staff also previously having worked with him in that club's youth system. Working within a small budget, Reid successfully built a squad mixed with experienced professionals and promising teenagers, and steered them to the top division by winning the 2007–08 Scottish First Division title. The two most prominent young players, James McCarthy and James McArthur subsequently both signed for Wigan Athletic in England, where they won the 2013 FA Cup Final before moving on again for bigger fees, earning Hamilton a further windfall due to sell-on fees in the original transfers, with the money received being re-invested into the youth academy programme. Relegation followed in 2011 and Reid departed two years later; his successor Alex Neil, the club captain who spent a period as youth coach then player-manager, put together another team featuring several more academy products which won promotion again in 2014, via the play-offs.