Yousaf backs free-to-air Scotland matches

THE Scottish Government is to launch a consultation on qualifying matches for Scotland’s national football teams being broadcast free to air, the first minister has said.

Humza Yousaf said an evaluation will take place as part of making the case to the UK Government that the events should be on the list of those protected for free-to-air broadcast on terrestrial TV.

Scotland matches in major men’s and women’s tournaments are on the protected list but qualifiers are not.

European football’s governing body Uefa holds the rights to these matches and they are often sold to the highest bidder, meaning they can end up behind a paywall.

The successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign by the Scotland’s men’s football team was broadcast by Nordic streaming service Viaplay.

Mr Yousaf said: “The Scottish Government is taking a further step towards making major Scotland international football matches available free to air, which would allow the whole country to get behind our national teams in important qualifying fixtures.

“Scots celebrated as our men’s national team charged their way on scintillating form into this year’s Euro Championships and we’ll all be behind the women’s national team when their qualifiers get under way next month, but most Scots are blocked from watching the national team with the bulk of games shown on a payper-view basis.

“Our vision is for all fans to be able to watch their national teams.”

He said if Scotland was independent, the Scottish Government could determine which events should be broadcast free to air but broadcasting policy is currently reserved to Westminster.

He added: “With the UK Government refusing to act to resolve the situation for Scotland fans, the Scottish Government will launch a consultation on the issue to help progress the campaign to ensure Scotland international qualifying matches are on terrestrial TV.”