Good Friday for Scotland

THERE’S no doubt that Friday was the most auspicious day in the sometimes fractured history of Scottish women’s football.

It started with the announcement that the sport had secured its first major sponsor in the shape of a sixfigure, four-year backing from Perthbased energy supplier SSE.

Then at lunchtime the Under-19 side added an 8-0 Euro qualifying round win over Cyprus to the 11-0 thumping they had dished out to group hosts Albania two days earlier.

So, the portents were in place for one of the three Euro 2017 qualifying games being played in other groups to fall in Scotland’s favour. It duly did when Portugal came from two goals down to beat Finland 3-2.

There were emotional scenes at the Scotland squad’s Edinburgh hotel as coach Anna Signeul, pictured, and her players celebrated a first major championship qualification.

Nothing on Friday could top that, but in the excitement of qualifying for next summer’s Euros in the Netherlands – with all the spin-offs it will bring – the significance of the sponsorship announcement was slightly lost. The arrival of a backer for the Scottish Cup is a huge step forward, as is SSE’s support for the national team and grassroots football.

While nobody is expecting that the winner of this season’s cup final in November is going to have the funds to go and purchase Marta, the introduction of prize money is a huge step forward. Next season it is anticipated that all the semi-finalists will be rewarded for their efforts.

However, perhaps the real gain is that other companies will now perceive that Scottish women’s football has a commercial value. Will one come in soon and sponsor the top leagues?

Colin Banks, the SSE’s head of sponsorship, said: “This was a natural extension for us. We’ve got involved with the development of sport over the last number of years, including the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. We looked at women’s sport overall and moved in to support women’s football in England just over a year ago. A natural progression was to do that in Scotland as well.”

It is worth repeating the dismal statistic that just five per cent of mainstream media coverage in the UK is devoted to women’s sport – and that the commercial spend is a shocking one per cent.

“The great thing is that women’s sport in general is on the up,” said Banks. “Although the balance is out of sync at the moment, there will come a time when it is redressed and I look forward to that.”

Friday should mark a real change in how women’s football is perceived in Scotland.