FREE Football from the cost of living

We are in a cost-of-living crisis. We’re not quite in a situation where most people have to decide whether they can afford to go to a match, but a considerable number do have to make that decision.  Going to the supermarket seems to more expensive every time I need groceries. And club football is increasingly expensive, especially for away fans.

For some years, Scottish fans, with the demand being led by ATAC and the Tartan Army Groups, have demanded free-to-air football for the national side.  At present, live fixtures will be aired on the BBC until 2028, with the broadcaster extending the rights deal with UEFA.

The new agreement will see the BBC broadcast around 60 live matches across the next two years, including this autumn's UEFA Nations League fixtures and every European Qualifier to EURO 2028 involving the three nations.

The extension builds on a hugely successful partnership that has made the BBC the home of international football for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since March 2025. Since then, audiences have followed some of the most memorable moments in recent football history, including Scotland's dramatic qualification for this summer's FIFA World Cup and the agonising play off defeats suffered by Wales and Northern Ireland.

Every match over the next few years will be available live on BBC television, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, bringing fans together across the UK and ensuring the biggest moments in international football remain accessible to everyone. As it should be…

The appetite for live international football on the BBC has been reflected in record audiences. Millions of viewers turned to the BBC to witness one of Scottish football's defining moments, with Scotland's World Cup-clinching victory over Denmark, attracting 1.1 million viewers in Scotland and an average audience of 2.7 million across the UK as the nation celebrated qualification for its first FIFA World Cup since 1998.

1.71 million viewers across the UK watched Wales play Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup qualifier play-off semi-finals, with 280,000 watching in Wales. Northern Ireland’s qualifier against Germany in the Group Stage was watched by an average audience of 1.11m UK-wide and 121,000 people watching in Northern Ireland alone.

This summer's FIFA World Cup coverage has continued that momentum. Scotland's opening group-stage match against Haiti drew a peak audience of 2.8 million viewers on BBC One and iPlayer, despite a 2am BST kick-off. An average audience of 2.4 million watched the match, with 78% of all television viewers across the UK tuned to BBC One, rising to an extraordinary 92% audience share in Scotland. And this week we saw Scotland women's team win the play off against Czech Republic.

Why is this important? Simple. By making the national game more accessible to all, it will encourage the next generation(s) of girls and boys not to just watch the game, but to play it and emulate their heroes, and, who knows, maybe one day to wear the dark blue jersey themselves.  In case you hadn’t noticed, and as the recent European results have demonstrated, Scottish football is not the power it once was.  Getting live games on TV wont’ solve that overnight, but it has a key part to play.

Michael McEwan, Ops Team, The SFU