Eilidh Barbour eager for Sky Sports to ‘show Scottish football in best light’

Matchday host sees real scope to attract wider TV audience this term

Eilidh Barbour will be chairing Sky Sports’ matchday coverage in Scotland. Picture: Robert Perry.

With silent menace, Covid-19 serves as the burliest of bouncers, determinedly stopping fans from entering grounds. It means more armchair punters than ever will be perched in front of the television, as Sky Sports beams the live action from Pittodrie tomorrow, when Aberdeen play host to Rangers in the new season’s lunchtime curtain raiser.

The first of 48 live Premiership games on the channel as part of their expanded coverage, the new exclusive deal with the SPFL nudged rivals BT Sport aside. The response to that cannot have gone unnoticed, with many fans feeling that their interest in the game north of the Border, if not their financial investment in covering it, eclipsed that of the more established sports subscription service.

In fact it doesn’t take much searching to uncover a thread of some of Sky’s Scottish football bloopers. Some could be excused as simple mistakes, others are contemptuous. But if there is a perception that pundits and presenters at Sky HQ are often less than enamoured by the game north of the Border, no such slight could be levelled at the person charged with chairing the matchday coverage.

Eilidh Barbour resumes her duties as host and she will again be joined by Kris Boyd. Kris Commons is out, though, replaced by Ally McCoist, John Hartson and Darren Fletcher.

“At Sky there’s a real commitment to Scottish football,” said the 37-year-old St Johnstone fan. “We’ve got the contract exclusively. We’ll be showing every single club in the first month of our coverage.”

There is also scope to showcase the game to a wider, perhaps hitherto sceptical or unappreciative, audience.

“It’s huge for Scottish football that there’s nothing up against it in terms of the Premier League or EFL. It’s a huge window for Scottish football,” said Barbour. “You can see with the team that’s been brought together that there is a really passionate group of people who want to show Scottish football in the best light possible. We all love being at games. Scottish football isn’t the most glamorous at times so you have to be passionate about it. You have to love it.”

An intriguing season with Celtic going for ten-in-a-row and games being played in empty stadia, Barbour accepts the added pressure. “At a time like this, when supporters aren’t allowed into grounds, there’s a greater emphasis on putting on a good show,” she said.

But do they have something to prove to people who may be pining for their rivals?

“I think as with everything, you want to constantly improve. Even from me doing it last season, you want to build on what you started. You need to develop. That’s normal.”

When it comes to Barbour’s abilities, as an accomplished sports anchor, she has moved up the broadcasting pecking order fairly steadily in recent years. An unflustered presence, covering golf majors as well as major football tournaments, she is enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The fact she is also female means she feels an added sense of responsibility.

“I think most women will say the same. When you work in this industry, you put a lot of pressure on yourself to be well clued-up on things,” she said. “I definitely do more research than I need to for games because I know that I just can’t make a mistake. If I make a mistake, I know that will be picked on perhaps more than if a male made the same mistake. That’s always there. But all you can do is prepare and do your best. Ultimately, mistakes happen. It’s live 
television.

“I’m in Scottish football because I love it. I don’t do it because I want to be on TV, I do it because I love the game and have done since I was ten or 11 years old. I was always a stats geek when I was a kid as well – top goalscorers and stuff like that. The fact that it’s now my job, means it’s just a case of fine-tuning things.”

l Sky Sports is the home of the Scottish Premiership. Watch up to 48 games exclusively live on Sky Sports Football and NOW TV.

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