The SFA deserves praise for their Scotland ticket prices - let's hope it continues

While much has been made of the terrific performance from the Scotland National Football Team in recent months, with fine performances both at Hampden and away from home. However, less has been said about what used to be a very contentious issue, and that is the price of match day tickets.

Before we go any further it is important to note that attending a football match is a luxury and for many, they remain excluded due to the cost of attending a game.

However, for those that remain critical of the SFA and the current policy around international football, let us cast our minds back to 2015.

Scotland's Andrew Robertson during the FIFA World Cup Qualifying match at Hampden Park, Glasgow. Picture date: Monday November 15, 2021.

There was not that long ago that supporters of the men’s national team were being charged as much as £45 to watch Scotland v Gibraltar in a European Championship qualifier - however, recent years have seen a change in tactic from the SFA, and has led to an increase in the number of fans attending matches and near sellouts at Hampden.

Fast forward 6 years from the £45 ticket fiasco for the Scotland v Gibraltar match and you have a much more competitive ticket price for both the occasional and die-hard supporter.

The organisation have worked hard to ensure that both members of the Scotland Supporters Club and fans get a good value for money deal. The price of a membership has stayed roughly the same, but tickets are much more accessible. Indeed one of the more recent games at Hampden had tickets starting at £15.

There is a general feel-good factor around Scottish international football at the moment with the men’s and women’s national teams, and it is heartening to see that the SFA have recognised the important part that a full national stadium can bring.

For that they deserve immense credit. It can be seen that a full Hampden can make an immense difference, and could be the difference between a World Cup spot or watching another tournament from afar. We just need to hope that for the next crucial Scotland match, the SFA do not opt to cash in.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.