Scottish Greens call for all Scotland football matches to be free-to-air
As Scotland’s international football squad gears up for their Euro 24 opener against Germany tomorrow, the Scottish Greens have unveiled a new manifesto call for all future games to be screened free to air for the Tartan Army.
They say Steve Clarke’s side can encourage a new generation of players to take up the beautiful game and other sports, ensuring that they can be inspired for years to come by watching their football heroes in action.
Instead they want to show the red card to money-spinning channel deals that leave die hard fans either out of pocket or missing out.
Gillian Mackay, the party’s spokesperson for health and sport, said all nationally important sporting and cultural events, like international football matches, should be available via free-to-view public broadcasters, calling it ‘an open goal.’
Ms Mackay said: “Friday will be a huge day for the Tartan Army and for Scottish football. Steve Clarke and his players have done us all proud and brought so many people together from across our country.
“It is great that millions of us will have the chance to watch this historic game and get behind the team. I’m looking forward to watching it at home and I'm sure many others are counting down the hours.
“Young people should be able to watch, look up to and feel inspired by our players, but, unfortunately, far too many were priced out of watching the qualifying stages by costly TV subscriptions and paywalls.
“With our team going from strength to strength, it’s more important than ever that people have the opportunity to watch our progress and build our beautiful game. It’s an open goal and will be a key manifesto call for us.
“Our national team is for all of us. At its best, sport is a cause of unity and pride, and brings people together like nothing else. I look forward to a day when we can all see our men’s and women’s teams in action without having to fork out for a subscription.”
Ms Mackay has campaigned for broadcasters and the Scottish Football Association to work together to ensure that as many people as possible are able to see international matches, after the historic Euro qualifiers were only available to subscription services. She has also held talks with broadcaster STV to put pressure on them to step in.
The party will unveil their manifesto next week.