On Tuesday some members of the squad, including captain Rachel Corsie, tweeted a message saying: "Following record attendances at recent women's football matches, the SFA have only opened a fraction of a 50,000+ capacity Hampden Park.

"How are we expected to grow the game when limited tickets are available for our supporters? Come on @ScotlandNT we can do better."

The SFA responded on Wednesday with a statement that sought to clarify the ticketing arrangements for the fixture and said it was surprised and disappointed about the tweets.

Scotland Women play Spain at Hampden next week.

The statement said: "The ticketing sales process used at Hampden Park is identical to most across Scottish football, with tickets sold in blocks, in line with ongoing demand.

"This procedure is long-established for all events within our stadium – including the recent men's UNICEF friendly against Poland – to optimise the atmosphere for each event.

"The Scottish FA was therefore surprised by the flurry of identical social media posts last night from members of the Scotland women's national team under the misapprehension that insufficient tickets are being sold for next Tuesday's vital FIFA Women's World Cup qualifier against Spain at the national stadium.

"Every seat in Hampden Park will be made available should the demand require it – and we urge football fans across the country to do their bit to support (Scotland head coach) Pedro Martinez Losa and his team."

The SFA said it had "already gifted 2,000 to local clubs to help cheer on the team" and that it had "allocated the biggest marketing spend for a Scotland women's national team game".

The statement added: "The staff who will work tirelessly until kick-off to promote the match have been hugely disappointed by the post, especially when the question could have been answered easily, and without negative headlines and ill-informed sharing.

"The timing was especially disappointing given the posts were published midway through the Scotland women's under-19 team's UEFA Euro round two victory against Kazakhstan in Edinburgh. That this match was streamed live, with dedicated production and commentary, should reinforce the Scottish FA's commitment to women's football at all levels.

"We hope the SWNT can refocus and inspire the nation against Spain on Tuesday."

SFA responds to Scotland Women players' tweets and explains ticketing arrangements