Nandy pressed for view on putting more Scotland football matches on free to air

The UK Government is being pressed on the prospect of making it compulsory to show Scotland’s qualifying matches for the World Cup and European Championship on free-to-air TV.

A Holyrood committee has written to Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy on the issue of expanding the list of so-called group A events – sporting events of national interest which have to be shown on channels that can be watched by all.

These include events such as the Olympics, the Wimbledon finals and both the FA Cup final and the Scottish Cup final.

While the finals of football’s World Cup and European Championship are also included in the list, the qualifying matches for these tournaments are not.

Clare Adamson, convener of Holyrood’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, has now written to the UK Government on the issue.

Noting that the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has the power to draw up this “list of sporting events of ‘national interest'”, Ms Nandy is asked to set out the UK Government’s position on potentially expanding the Scottish events to include Scotland’s World Cup and European Championship qualifiers.

BBC Scotland has already promised there will be “free-to-air access to all Scotland’s international matches” in the run-up to the World Cup in 2026.

In a separate letter, Ms Adamson has asked Holyrood Culture Secretary Angus Robertson for the Scottish Government’s view on requiring the international teams’ qualifying matches to also be shown on free-to-air channels.

Scottish Football Association (SFA) chief executive Ian Maxwell has also been contacted for his view on making such a change.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government has long called for national sporting events like Scotland’s men’s and women’s football qualifiers to be protected for free-to-air broadcast and we’ll continue to make that case on behalf of fans across the country.

“It is welcome news that all of Scotland men’s international football matches will be broadcast live on the BBC in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup.”

The spokesperson added: “We will consider the committee’s recommendations and respond in due course.”

A Scottish FA spokesperson said: “Since 2014, television rights for men’s international qualifying matches (European Qualifiers and Nations League) have been centralised by Uefa.

“This has enabled the Scottish FA to support growth in all aspects of the game: from grassroots level, girls’ and women’s participation, investment in facilities, and improved provision across all men’s and women’s national teams.

“We are in favour of ensuring as many supporters as possible can watch all national teams and, in that regard, we welcome BBC Scotland’s recent acquisition of rights from Uefa.

“Any discussion on extending Listed Events would need to consider Uefa’s jurisdiction as well as the implications for other Home Nations under the centralisation umbrella.

“The commercial implications to Scottish football would be significant, with potential revenue loss amounting to millions of pounds that would in turn significantly reduce investment in the aforementioned areas of the association’s responsibility.”

The UK Government has been contacted for comment.