Henry McLeish believes £50m TV deal for SFA will not only boost finances, but prestige of our game

HENRY McLEISH, whose wide-ranging review of the national game concluded that it was "underachieving, underperforming and underfunded", has welcomed the mandate for a new, £50 million four-year television deal between the Scottish Football Association and Uefa.

The former First Minister says that the arrangement will provide the SFA with a much-needed financial boost, as well as an opportunity to reignite interest in the national team.

It was confirmed yesterday that the SFA had come to an agreement with Europe's governing body, which will control, and sell centrally, broadcast rights for matches involving its 53 members. After the expiry in 2014 of the SFA's current deal with IMG, Scotland's qualifying games for the 2016 European Championship will earn the country a guaranteed share of the television revenue generated by that competition.

McLeish says it will make life easier for the SFA, which has had its work cut out in recent years. "They have often been criticised in the past, but let's be fair, they have done quite well - and in some respects exceptionally well - in getting funding for a whole range of broadcast games. It's a tough situation in Scotland, where the population is small and the product on the pitch could be a lot better. This will be a boost not only to the finances, but to the prestige of the national game, which is so badly needed."

McLeish said that international football, apparently fighting a losing battle with the club game's growing power, could be about to bounce back. Celtic and Rangers have long complained that their earning potential is restricted when they do not qualify for the Champions League. The SFA will now have access to that kind of money before their team even takes to the pitch.

And Scotland's association with a product marketed in the same way as the Champions League also has the potential to bring a hint of glamour to the national side. Europe's most prestigious club competition has captured the imagination, with its pre-match anthem, its flag billowing in the centre circle, and the countless commercial spin-offs that have introduced it to the gaming generation. Can its international equivalent take off in the same way?

"Platini wants to see the international side of the game boosted," says McLeish. "He is one of these people, like me, caught up in the idea that the national side is about pride, passion and commitment. He had a distinguished career at international level, and he doesn't want us to get carried away with the importance of the Premier League. It is important, but we have to balance things up."

The SFA's current deal with IMG, a 55m four-year contract, covers home matches and Scottish Cup ties. It provides about 60 per cent of the governing body's income at a time when it is under pressure to invest in a new infrastructure.Earlier this year, it announced plans to spend 10m over five years on a performance strategy aimed at producing better young players. The new television deal is expected to be worth around 50m, also over four years, but the difference is that the SFA will be free to negotiate a separate deal for friendlies and the Scottish Cup. It will mean more money overall, as well as more financial stability, irrespective of how well the national team are playing and who they are up against.

Stewart Regan, the SFA's chief executive, said that it was great news in the current financial climate. "The mandate was achieved last week after a long period of negotiations between Uefa and their 53 member associations. The next step will be for European football's governing body to take the centralised rights to the commercial market. The new template will be akin to Uefa's commercial deals for the Champions League and Europa League and will incorporate the Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018 campaigns."

Earlier this week, Platini explained to Uefa's congress in Paris that centralising the match rights was "essential".

He said: "It is a project aimed, above all, at protecting and developing national team football. And, what is more, the knock-on effect will be guaranteed revenue for each association. You will therefore all be able to concentrate on the football, without having to worry what the draws might throw up and whether their outcome will be favourable - or not - in terms of TV rights."

The English FA also backed the proposal, which is expected to be worth 100m to them. "We thought it through long and hard and we have got a good deal for ourselves out of it. It is higher than the current valuation of our rights," said Alex Horne, general secretary of the Football Association.

"We have gone into this with our eyes wide open. It is a creative idea and we believe it will work."