Scotland men's internationals to be shown live on BBC

Live coverage of Steve Clarke's Scotland starts with a visit to Greece

The BBC has agreed an exclusive contract to broadcast live all Scotland men's international football matches in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup.

It is part of a wider deal agreed with European governing body Uefa that also includes matches involving Northern Ireland and Wales - the first time the broadcaster has secured live rights for all three of the UK's devolved nations.

The contract includes all 14 live Scotland matches, beginning with the first leg of the Nations League play-off in Greece on 20 March and including June friendlies against Iceland and Leichtenstein as well as World Cup qualifiers.

Director BBC Scotland Hayley Valentine said: "I'm so excited that millions of Scotland fans will now be able to enjoy free-to-air access to all Scotland's international matches.

"Bringing our audience together is at the heart of BBC Scotland's work and I know nothing ignites passion here more than live international football.

"We've been working on this agreement since I started as director last Autumn and it was crystal-clear from day one that people across Scotland wanted to see their national team back live on free-to-air television."

Matches will be shown on BBC One Scotland and BBC iPlayer - with key fixtures also being broadcast across the UK - and adds to existing live international coverage on BBC Radio Scotland and the BBC Sport app.

Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell is "delighted" that the men's national team would be televised on a free-to-air basis on the BBC.

"It complements their existing coverage of the Scotland women's national team and, beyond that, their overall commitment to the domestic game in this country," he said.

"We thank Viaplay for their support to this point. When it became apparent the rights could become available, we championed the potential for free-to-air coverage to reach as many Scotland supporters as possible and we are grateful that BBC and Uefa could reach agreement."

The deal adds to the BBC's extensive football coverage of the Scottish Professional Football League, Scottish Cup and Scottish Championship across television, radio and online.

Across the three nations, the deal includes 41 live matches over the next 15 months.