The 670-page report, Scotland's Future - Your Guide to an Independent Scotland, commissioned by the Scottish Government claims that the country is already well placed to join the International Olympic Committee (IOC) if a referendum, due to be held on September 18 next year, votes for it to leave the rest of the United Kingdom.

The claim has come from the Working Group on Scottish Sport (WGSS), chaired by former First Minister Henry McLeish and which also includes former badminton player Susan Egelstaff, who represented Britain at London 2012, who note that 11 Scottish sports are already affiliated directly to the world governing body.

"The early work of the Group has focused on ensuring Scotland can be successful in future Olympic and Paralympic Games," Scotland's Future - Your Guide to an Independent Scotland reported. 

"From its work so far, the group has concluded that '....there is no reason that securing National Olympic and Paralympic Committee status should not be a relatively straightforward process for an independent Scotland, recognising that the final decision-making powers and the timescales involved are a matter for the relevant international bodies'."

Rule 30 of the Olympic Charter states that a country can only form a National Olympic Committee if it is "an independent state recognised by the international community".

The WGSS claimed that there are precedents for other countries being admitted to the IOC shortly after gaining independence. 

"Based on the Group's work and the recent experience of newly independent states, the Government does not envisage any significant barriers to Scotland achieving Olympic and Paralympic accreditation and being able to participate at Rio 2016," it said.

"For example, Montenegro and the Balkan States received recognition within one year of independence, while Croatia and Slovenia were accredited before securing UN (United Nations) membership."

Andy Murray was one of seven Scots to win Olympic gold medals at London 2012 ©Popperfoto/Getty Images

Scottish athletes won 13 of Team GB's 65 medals at London 2012, and seven of them were golds. 

That would have left Scotland 12th overall in the medals table.

But if you only count medals won in individual events and do not include those earned in team sports, then Scotland won three medals.

They were two golds, thanks to Andy Murray in the men's tennis singles and cyclist Sir Chris Hoy in the Keirin, and a silver from swimmer Michael Jamieson in the 200 metres breaststroke.

That would have left them 36th in the medals table, one place above Canada. 

But the WGSS claim that if Scotland competed as an independent country in the Olympics then there would be more opportunities for more athletes to compete and excel than there is currently.

"Independence will mean that more Scottish sportswomen and sportsmen will have the opportunity to compete at the highest level of international competition," it said in Scotland's Future - Your Guide to an Independent Scotland.

"It will also mean that the key decisions on athlete development will be taken in Scotland with the needs of the athlete at the centre.

"This will help many more of our sports-people reach their full potential."

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