Where were you on the 12th November 2020? How did you watch the most crucial moment in Scotland’s Men’s Team history in a generation? Yes, you couldn’t be there due to the Covid pandemic, but more importantly, you could watch it on the television. You could watch ‘Oor Lads’ on any ‘telly’, anywhere you like. This event inspired an entire nation.

The Hampden Collection continues its #OorLadsOorTelly campaign to push for all Scotland Matches to be broadcast on Free To Air Television.

Sky Sports fantastic decision to show Scotland’s Euro Championship Play-Off Final on Free To Air Channels had generations of Scots sat down in front of the box to watch their team achieve the unthinkable. 120 minutes of stress, tears, joy and happiness stretched the Tartan Army to their limits until Marshall’s brilliant penalty save. Overnight, social media was ablaze with fans’ videos of the Tartan Army hugging each other in their living rooms, and songs not heard for a generation made their way back into the charts.

Yes, Sir, Scotland can boogie.

The next day Scots woke up to a nation gripped in a Global Pandemic, but with something to cheer about. They discussed the footy on the television from the night before with their pals and talked about their new ‘JFK’ moment. 

On 21st October 2020, we launched our #OorLadsOurTelly Campaign, seeking to convince broadcasters to show the National Men’s Football Team on Free-To-Air TV. Success quickly followed with a national poll showing 92% of fans want this; and we persuaded Sky Sports to show it live. However, for the next Scotland game, reality set in: why is it not on television for all to see? Fans from the age of 5 to 95 were disappointed, and suddenly the mood changed, as people realised they were no longer able to watch their heroes.

Every game for Scotland’s Men and Women should have the whole nation behind them, and at the moment, only through BBC Alba are we able to follow Scotland’s Women’s National Team. If we want to follow the Men’s National Team, we have to fork out big money to watch them. For us, that is fundamentally wrong.

Scotland Men’s team are on their way to the World Cup Playoffs in March, with the game against Ukraine, and potentially Wales or Austria, enormous. We will never stop campaigning until everyone in Scotland watches their National Teams on Free To Air television. As the nation, which created the modern passing game of football, access to watch our heroes is a birthright, and everyone should have Free To Air access to it.

We understand the tender for the Scotland National Team TV Rights from June 2022 through to 2028 is now out. We are campaigning for the terrestrial broadcasters to secure rights for all the Scotland games and show them Live. These TV rights have to be value for money, with millions guaranteed to tune in and watch their heroes play football. We want it to be Free-To-Air. We need it to be Free-To-Air. We ask the Tartan Army to get onboard with our #OorLadsOorTelly campaign to convince the terrestrial broadcasters to make this a reality.

Come on, Scotland, let’s do this!