Official Report 1094KB pdf
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-20390, in the name of Richard Lochhead, on the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill at stage 3. Members who wish to participate in the debate should press their request-to-speak buttons. I call Richard Lochhead to speak to and move the motion.
15:59
It is a pleasure to address the Parliament this afternoon at this key milestone for the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill. I am sure that football is more on our minds than it has been for a long time, and it is great to be debating a major football event again. The bill is a vital step in enabling Scotland to play its part in hosting Euro 2028.
I thank members for their constructive engagement in getting the bill to this point. In particular, I thank the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee for its scrutiny and careful consideration. I also thank our stakeholders including the Union of European Football Associations, the Scottish Football Association, Police Scotland and Glasgow City Council, all of which provided evidence to help to inform discussion on the bill.
Scotland is the perfect stage to host three of the world’s top sporting events over the next three years—the Commonwealth games in 2026, the Tour de France grand départ in 2027 and Euro 2028—bringing economic, social and cultural benefits to people and businesses right across the country.
I am sure that the passion and dedication shown by players and supporters alike will make Euro 2028 really special. Through hosting it, Glasgow and Scotland will be able to showcase our nation as a welcoming, diverse and energetic country to a global audience.
The championship is predicted to generate socioeconomic benefits of around £270 million in our country. It will provide opportunities for a number of sectors, boosting tourism and supporting our country’s culture.
Glasgow will host at least one official UEFA fan zone, extending the experience beyond Hampden park.
The tournament offers a significant opportunity for Scotland to generate social and economic benefits. It will promote our nation as an ideal place to visit, study, work and invest. We look forward to welcoming Europe in 2028, and to showcasing Scotland as the outward-looking and progressive country that we are.
Hosting international events often involves meeting certain requirements of commercial rights holders. The bill meets specific requirements that are set by UEFA, as the rights holder, and puts in place commercial rights protection measures. We have partly addressed that in discussing the stage 3 amendments. The bill does that by prohibiting the unauthorised sale of championship tickets at more than their face value or for profit. That will support fair access to tickets so that as many fans as possible can enjoy the matches. None of us wants match tickets to be sold at inflated prices. The bill will help to deter that and ensure that action can be taken if it happens.
The bill restricts unauthorised street trading and advertising within designated event zones. In doing that, we want to make things as easy as possible for those who are affected by event zones, which is why the bill makes sure that guidance will be in place and that street traders who cannot trade where they normally would will be offered alternative arrangements. Lastly, the bill provides enforcement powers to implement those protections effectively.
Those measures are consistent with the legislation that the Scottish Parliament passed for Scotland to host Euro 2020 matches. They are time limited, proportionate and targeted, and they will be repealed automatically on 31 December 2028.
In addition to those key areas, amendments that were agreed to at stage 2 have responded to points that the lead committee had made. They will ensure that the civic right to protest is specially protected and they will place a duty on the Scottish ministers to review the operation and effectiveness of the legislation. A report on the findings of the review will be laid before Parliament by the end of 2030. That will ensure that appropriate consideration of the bill’s impacts is provided to Parliament.
If the bill is passed today, we will continue to work with delivery partners to implement the provisions to deliver a successful Euro 2028. Glasgow City Council will issue guidance on trading and advertising measures and offer alternative arrangements for street traders who are affected by the restrictions. We will continue to work with partners to ensure that guidance is accessible and that businesses have the right information to help them to plan for the tournament.
Glasgow Life is developing its host city concept, including plans for fan zones and activation sites, for submission to UEFA later this year. We will work closely with partners to develop regulations relating to event zones where trading and advertising restrictions will apply, and we will continue to engage with businesses and communities as part of that. We will continue to look for opportunities to raise awareness of the bill’s provisions and the restrictions that will be in place.
We are working closely with the UK Government and other host nation Governments to ensure that our respective legislative approaches are joined up and effective.
As I said, Euro 2028 is a significant opportunity for Scotland economically, culturally and in terms of our reputation. We hope to see some exciting and iconic moments in Scotland at our famous Hampden park stadium and, hopefully, many of those iconic moments throughout the tournament will involve our national team. Passing the bill means that we can make that a reality. Members from across the chamber recognise the significant benefits of hosting Euro 2028, all the excitement that it will bring and the legacy that it can deliver. Together, we can ensure the successful delivery of the biggest sporting event ever, which will be jointly hosted across the UK and Ireland.
It gives me pleasure to urge members across the chamber to support the bill at decision time.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees that the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill be passed.
16:05
We have reached the stage 3 debate on the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill, and it is right to recognise that a lot of work has been done on this very short bill. There has been serious and detailed scrutiny at stages 1, 2 and 3. As has been acknowledged, it has all been constructive and the minister has engaged in the process in good faith. That is the way to make good law in a Parliament. As members will expect, the Conservatives will certainly not oppose the bill at this stage; we will support its passage.
However, before I turn to the wider significance of Euro 2028, I want to place something clearly on the parliamentary record, with your indulgence, Presiding Officer. At stage 3, amendment 4, in my name, which sought to extend the charity auction exemption to community-controlled bodies, community councils and schools, was not debated. That was the result of my error during the submission process. I take full responsibility for that mistake. The Presiding Officer’s decision not to admit the amendment as a manuscript amendment was taken in accordance with the rules of the Parliament. I respect that decision entirely. Nevertheless, I wish to put it on the official record that I regret very much that the Parliament did not have the opportunity to consider again the substance of the amendment. Its purpose was straightforward and practical.
In our constituencies and regions, community groups, parent councils, school-connected organisations and all kinds of other local good causes have, for many years, used donated tickets to major sporting events as raffle prizes or auction items to raise funds. That is not sharp practice or exploitation; it is a long-standing and widely understood feature of community life in Scotland. My concern remains that, notwithstanding the bill’s intentions, there is a risk that such groups could unwittingly find themselves on the wrong side of the law if they continue what has been common practice for decades. Those are not commercial touts; they are volunteers, parents and local organisers who are raising money for school trips, uniforms, community facilities, football strips and charitable causes.
Having said that, I now turn to Euro 2028’s importance as a global sporting event. There can be no doubt about that, and I agree with the minister on it, but the event is also important for Scotland. It will be watched by hundreds of millions—perhaps I am underestimating that number—and Scotland has the privilege of hosting part of it. As the minister is right to say, although there is still a bit of work to be done to qualify, let us be optimistic that there will be a Scotland team in that tournament, and I hope that the team will play in our national stadium.
Being the host of such an event brings obligations. I have elucidated my concerns about the nature of the way in which UEFA and, indeed, other global organisations do their business, but setting that aside, it is an opportunity to present Scotland in the best possible light. We are undoubtedly a welcoming country, and we take pride in that reputation. We are a capable host and a nation that is confident in itself—and rightly so.
It is also an opportunity to unite the chamber, and any opportunity for us to act in a united way is to be embraced. There is a shared hope that Scotland’s men’s team will qualify, as I said a moment ago, that Scottish players will take the field and that we will have our home team to cheer on. Football matters in Scotland. There was an excellent debate last night, which was brought to the chamber by George Adam, who provided us with his customary entertaining but also passionate exhortation for football and its importance to communities and our country.
Football is such an important part of our history, our culture and our shared identity. We invented the modern game. When I was the MP for Stirling, I used to be proud to mention, whenever I could, that we had the world’s oldest football in the Stirling Smith art gallery and museum. Football is part of our national DNA.
I mentioned that we invented the modern game. There is no doubt that the Scottish interpretation of football is what now shapes the world’s thinking about football. We are the country of Bill Shankly, of Jock Stein, of Walter Smith and of Mark Busby. If members will forgive all those generational references—they are in the context of my generation—we are also the country of great figures such as Billy McNeill and John Greig, towering figures who have shaped generations of players and supporters. We celebrate Jimmy Johnstone and Davie Cooper, players who entertained and embodied imagination and the joy of football. We remember Jim Baxter casually playing keepie-up at Wembley in 1967. If we were not alive then, we will have seen the video.
Stephen Kerr has gone through all those illustrious names, so I will put on the record Bobby Dinnie, who was a legendary community coach in north Glasgow, and at Partick Thistle and other clubs. This is not just about those who performed the beautiful game so beautifully but about the coaches and volunteers who bring the young people through into our beautiful game. Bobby Dinnie sadly passed away a few months ago.
I am grateful for that intervention. My colleague Brian Whittle said a particularly loud “Hear, hear” to the comment about coaches. This particular football season, in our most senior level of the game, has highlighted the importance of coaching and leadership like no other.
Let me conclude my reminiscence about Jim Baxter on that fateful day for the English at Wembley when we dethroned the world champions. It may just have been in our imaginations that we did that when we won that game, but it meant a great deal to Scots, including my father, who needed very little prompting or excuse to discuss it. That is what football means. Its importance is not confined to the past—it continues to do real good, as was highlighted last night. It encourages physical activity at a time when inactivity is a growing concern, and it brings people together across age, background and community. It now does so in so many forms. We heard from the minister last night about walking football. There is veterans football, women’s football, which is a fantastic success, and grass-roots football in all its diversity.
Euro 2028 is an incredible opportunity for us to build on the legacy of the past and create a new legacy around this tournament. It will not be in terms of infrastructure or international profile alone; it will engage more of our people to play, be active and run about a bit. I am sure that Brian Whittle will talk a lot about that in his speech. However, I am under no illusion about the nature of UEFA as an organisation, and I think that I have made that clear in the debate.
Just a few weeks ago, at Hampden, we saw how 90 minutes of football can become something far more than a football match. It can be a series of moments that people will talk about for decades. My hope is that Euro 2028 creates many more such moments for our country, for our communities and for the rising generation of Scottish footballers yet to come.
16:13
I am glad that Mr Kerr mentioned the importance of women’s football at the end of his speech. In addition to all the illustrious names that he and Mr Doris mentioned, I am sure that we would all welcome the contribution to football by Rose Reilly, Julie Fleeting, Erin Cuthbert, Caroline Weir, Rachel Corsie and the many others who have contributed to the women’s game.
I am pleased to open the stage 3 debate on the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill on behalf of Scottish Labour and to speak in support of the bill. I also take the opportunity to thank the minister and his team for their engagement on the bill over the past few months, and to acknowledge the work on the bill of members and clerks on the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. Scottish Labour has consistently supported the UK and Ireland hosting of Euro 2028. That is why we have worked constructively with the minister and his team throughout the passage of the bill, and it is why Scottish Labour will support the bill at stage 3.
I note that Mr Kerr lodged a number of amendments to the bill and acknowledge that, although they were not agreed to, I believe that they secured important commitments and assurances.
As I said during the stage 1 debate, I know that many of us are looking forward to welcoming this major event to Scotland in 2028. For the younger generation, this will be the first opportunity to experience the Euros here in Scotland. We must also remember that, when Hampden park previously hosted the European championships in 2021, Covid restrictions were in place, so many fans were not able to be in the stadium to watch the matches.
As has been mentioned, the event will give football fans across Europe the opportunity to visit Scotland, perhaps for the first time. It will give fans an opportunity to explore our culture, our heritage and our rich history, and will provide a fantastic platform to promote brand Scotland.
At stage 1, I mentioned, as the minister did today, the economic benefits that the event will bring. They will be significant and will provide a much-needed boost to the Scottish economy. The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport estimates that the tournament will contribute £2.4 billion in socioeconomic value to the host nations. I am pleased that Scotland will enjoy a slice of that pie.
It is important that we use our budgets to invest in sport and people. That is why I am pleased that the UK Labour Government recognised the importance of sport by pledging £900 million in funding as part of its plan for change. Although I welcome the increase in the sports budget that the Scottish Government announced earlier this week, it does not go far enough and does not deliver on the Scottish National Party’s promise to double that budget in this session of Parliament. That is regrettable.
Scottish Labour has always supported the Euros being held in the UK and Ireland in 2028, because we want more major international sporting events to come to Scotland. Those events will help our economy, raise our international profile and give people living in Scotland the opportunity to witness world-class sporting events on their doorstep. It is for those reasons that we encouraged the Scottish and UK Governments to work together to bring the Commonwealth games to Glasgow in 2026, an event that is now just a matter of months away, and it is why we also fully support the UK Labour Government working with football associations and the devolved Administrations to bring the women’s FIFA world cup to the UK in 2035. Such events contribute immense value to our society, wellbeing and economy. They also demonstrate the benefits of the Scottish Government working with the UK Government to bring those major events to Scotland.
As 2028 might feel like a long time from now, many football fans will be looking with envy at those who have managed to secure a ticket for the world cup this summer. Since Scotland qualified for the world cup last year, the cost of tickets has been part of a wider debate about the affordability of the event. We must prevent ordinary fans from being priced out of the game. Part of the reason for our hosting these events is to ensure that Scottish fans can access them without the additional cost of flights and accommodation elsewhere. That is why I believe that we should be looking to host more sporting events here.
Scottish Labour will support the bill at stage 3, as it has done at previous stages, because it is not just about meeting our obligations to UEFA; it is about the wider goal that we should have of being ready to host major sporting events right here in Scotland.
16:17
I, too, thank the minister for advance engagement on the bill, and I also thank the clerks and witnesses who supported the work of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. My fellow members of that committee are probably fairly familiar with the slightly glazed expression that comes over my face when the pre-meeting football banter begins just before 8.30 every Thursday morning, so I am sure that they understand precisely the level of enthusiasm that I bring to this afternoon’s debate.
The bill is a largely technical set of measures relating to the regulation of ticket sales, ticket touting and street trading during the event. On most of that technical content, there is a fairly reasonable degree of consensus across the chamber.
I was pleased that the bill, as introduced, incorporated in advance some of the amendments that my colleague Ross Greer moved during the passage of the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Act 2020, which sought to achieve more clarity around the use of enforcement powers, and to address the concerns about trading breaches in event zones. I do not have great concerns at the moment about how those enforcement powers are framed in the bill, but it will be important that MSPs and others are vigilant about how they are used in practice. That is why it is good that the bill also includes a requirement for the Government to report on the operation and effectiveness of the act after the games have taken place.
The bill sets out protections for large corporate sponsors, and it has been acknowledged that that is a requirement in order for UEFA to hold its event here. However, it is hugely important that civil liberties—rather than just corporate interests—are protected, and that any restrictions are targeted at commercial activity, not at legitimate protest by citizens. I recognise that the minister, in answering that challenge, agreed with that principle and I hope that we will pay attention to that as the event unfolds.
I am pleased that council enforcement officers will be able to enter residences only by permission or with a warrant granted by a sheriff.
The most recent European championship was held in very different circumstances. The aspects of the bill that I have mentioned should allow us to effectively monitor the human rights impact of the legislation and the balance of enforcing powers between the police and council officers.
As Neil Bibby alluded to, football should not be seen as belonging to corporate sponsors and big business interests; it should belong to its fans. Beyond the civil rights protections, there is the issue of affordability. There are still concerns about the affordability of tickets and the proportion of tickets being allocated for corporate sponsors, due to their commercial interests, but the bill’s restrictions on ticket touting are legitimate. We have already seen world cup tickets being resold at hundreds or even thousands of times their initial sale prices. Football will not be a game for everyone if we allow a market that is based on price gouging in the extreme. There is action on that in the bill; perhaps we can go further.
In my closing speech, I will address some of the wider issues relating to the affordability of these events, which we can tackle outside the formal context of the bill.
We move to the open debate.
16:22
I feel as though I am talking about football all the time in this chamber, but that is not a bad thing for me—it is an important part of our society and of Scotland. In the debate that we had last night, Stephen Kerr made an important point about what our football clubs bring back to our communities.
Football defines the good days and the bad days in Scotland—it is what we are all about. During the debate last night, I mentioned the fact that the modern passing game was created by Glasgow’s Queen’s Park. In the original Scotland-England games, way back in 1872, there was a draw. For the next nine years, because we had a passing game as opposed to the more rugby-orientated English game, we won nine of those games. If only things could be like that now, at the tournaments that we are in.
Football gives us that moment—that Kenny McLean from the halfway line moment. Incidentally, in that Denmark game, we had Kenny McLean, John McGinn and Lawrence Shankland, who, along with manager Steve Clarke, all came through the ranks at St Mirren in Paisley. As I always say, all roads lead to Paisley.
The bill is about ensuring that we have what we need to enable Scotland to co-host a major championship. It is about Scotland stepping up and doing the job properly, delivering a major international event in a way that only Scotland can, which includes one that works for our communities, our fans and our country.
Euro 2028 is a massive opportunity for Scotland, both on and off the field and, with the current crop of the Scotland national team, who knows what will happen? As the minister said, the hosting will be a major event not just for Glasgow or for Hampden but for the whole nation. As I have said before, this is an opportunity for us to showcase Scotland on an international stage. It is for the tartan army—the media darlings and best ambassadors that our nation has—to do their thing, be friendly, enjoy themselves and make the tournament one to remember.
Members will notice that I have already got us qualified at this stage. We know how to do this, and we have the experience from other major events. We have got this. Scotland has a proud track record of delivering major sporting events from the Commonwealth games to Euro 2020 to world-class cultural events that welcome people from every corner of the globe.
The bill is about making sure that we meet our obligation as a host nation while doing so in a way that is proportionate, time limited and fair.
One of the core purposes of the bill, as we have already heard, is to tackle ticket touting. Let us be honest—touts do not add any value to football. They do not help fans and they do not help our communities; they help themselves. The legislation makes it clear that tickets should go to fans at face value, and should not be sold for profit. It is about protecting ordinary supporters—the people who save up, plan ahead and just want to see their team play.
The bill also deals with unauthorised trading and advertising around event zones. That is not unique to major football tournaments; it is the same for any other major events, including the Olympics, the Commonwealth games, rugby world cups and even Eurovision. Again, it is not about shutting people out; it is about ensuring fairness and safety and protecting the integrity of the tournament.
I welcome that Glasgow City Council will be required to provide guidance and offer alternative arrangements for affected street traders, because where would we be without the shout of “Hats, scarves and flags” as we go to a game? That matters, because it is all part of our game. We want a festival atmosphere, not a heavy-handed one. Importantly, amendments agreed at stage 2 strengthened civil rights protections, including the right to peaceful protest.
Across Scotland, football is part of who we are. It brings people together across generations, whether it is kids kicking a ball in the park or families gathering to watch a big game. Euro 2028 gives us the chance to showcase Scotland as a modern, confident and welcoming nation and as a place that can host world-class events while staying true to our values.
16:26
As Patrick Harvie said, the bill is largely technical, and it is difficult to get too worked up about the technicalities.
Stephen Kerr mentioned the constructive approach that has been taken to the bill. I only wish that our politics and our Parliament could take that approach more often. The great Scottish journalist Brian Taylor would say to me, “It’s politics—what do you expect?” Although I massively respect Brian Taylor, I disagree with him on that, and so do the majority of the Scottish people. When we are out and about in our constituencies, people often say, “Why can’t you just work together in the best interests of the people who you represent?”
Moving forward, I hope that all politicians, in seeing the rise of the right, ask themselves, “Why is that happening?” If it is happening partly because, as people say, the rest of us are all the same and we continually squabble, argue and blame one other while things do not get better, perhaps we should allow the approach that has been taken to the bill to rub off on us in the future.
Stephen Kerr talked about some of the great names of the past in Scottish football. I absolutely believe that we must know and learn from our history, but I also like to look forward and try to ensure that, while learning from our history, we can move forward.
How do we support football in Scotland to move forward? There will be excitement this year because we have qualified for the world cup, but we will then move on to the Euros, and I hope that one of the legacies of the Euros will be that we look at how we embed and support football at community level.
Neil Bibby talked about the increase in funding for sport coming from the UK Government and the Scottish Government. We must consider how we empower communities more. When I grew up, people played football on the streets. There were not loads of cars on the streets like there are now. Society has changed since the days when I grew up. In communities across Scotland, I see strong community football growing. That depends a lot on volunteers, including parents and grandparents who give up their time to run local football clubs. It also depends on having sports coaches who are able to support it.
I do not want us to believe that the Parliament can fix everything or that it is just about money. We need to work with local government and look at coming up with a Scotland-wide strategy that empowers communities and acknowledges that our greatest resource is in those communities.
There are smaller football teams that are struggling that have professional players and coaches who could do more with our schools. I think back to 50-odd years ago when, at primary school, the local teachers would take us up the park and we would get to kick a ball about and play a bit of football. That all stopped in the 1980s and 1990s when we had industrial action and teachers’ workloads continued to rise. However, there is a resource in communities up and down Scotland and, if it could be pulled together through politicians being willing to work together with local government, the legacy could be that we had a football team that was in every major competition and that young people had the opportunity to access football and become the greats of the future.
We move to closing speeches.
16:30
Thank you, Presiding Officer. That was quick.
I will acknowledge some of the comments that we have heard. There was one reference to flags, hats and scarves from George Adam. We heard about that issue in the committee pretty much every week that we debated the bill so it would have been wrong for today’s debate to pass without mention of it.
At one point, George Adam also mentioned Eurovision. I thought for a moment that the debate would come back into my field of reference but, sadly, the moment passed all too quickly.
Mr Adam and a couple of other members also acknowledged some the issues around civil liberties and human rights—in particular, the right to protest. I reinforce that point. Although I accept, as we all do, that some restriction on commercial activity will be a requirement on us from UEFA, in order that we can host the championship, none of us should want to restrict people’s right to protest, including by using, subverting or satirising the logos of the corporate interests that they want to protest against. We will need to ensure that we pay attention to how that is rolled out in practice.
Presiding Officer, I hope that you will give me a little bit of flexibility at this point, because I would like to make some comments about matters that are not formally included in the text of the bill but are still relevant to the event that the bill is about and to the affordability issues that several members talked about.
There is more that we—the Scottish Government, local government, the organisers and others—can do to address affordability. For example, at the previous European championship, which Germany hosted in 2024, with every ticket, fans were offered a free fan pass. That included a 36-hour travel pass for regional public transport in host cities that was valid from 6 am on match day to 6 pm the following day. It covered local buses, trams and regional trains, to encourage sustainable transport use and reduce the costs that supporters faced. It was delivered in partnership with the football associations that allocated tickets.
For Glasgow and the surrounding areas, something like that fan pass would enable fans to get in and out of heavily congested fan zones and Hampden as efficiently as possible. My colleagues in the Glasgow branch of the Scottish Greens are currently campaigning for something like that in relation to large events at Hampden on an on-going basis, but it could certainly be done for the Euros if the political will was there. It is not in the bill and it would not have been appropriate to try to crowbar it into the bill as a legislative requirement, but it is action that we can take ahead of the championship.
Taking such action would also mean that we would need to ensure that we had a public transport system that was capable of serving the greater Glasgow region, particularly when large events such as a championship take place. Having the Government commit money for bus franchising support, which the Greens successfully argued for, also has the potential to ensure that the city and region are ready for large events such as the Euros and for the public transport role that needs to be played to cut down on congestion and emissions. However, we will have to go further and reduce the bureaucratic effort that is involved in putting bus franchising into place. There are arguments for speeding up the process so that those measures can be put in place in time for the Euros if at all possible.
Football—so I am told—has the power to bring communities together. However, to achieve that potential, it must genuinely be available and affordable to everybody. If corporate interests want to run cultural and sports events in order to turn them into mere commodities, we have a responsibility to take back that power and make sure that they are run for everybody.
16:35
I am pleased to close the debate on behalf of Scottish Labour.
I start by concurring with Mr Harvie on the importance of public transport in getting people to and from major sporting events. We need to look at that issue in the context of Euro 2028, and it is even more pressing that we have a proper transport plan in place for the Commonwealth games in 2026, which is a matter of months away. We need to see progress on that planning, so I hope that the minister will take it forward with ministerial colleagues. Those are different events, but lessons could be learned from such a plan going forward.
As I said earlier and as many members across the chamber have said this afternoon, Euro 2028 should bring excitement and positivity to the country. It will be an opportunity to bring people together from across Europe through their shared love of our national sport and to welcome people to Scotland. As we have heard, football is in our DNA and is part of our culture. Every weekend, football fans across Scotland go through the gates to watch their local teams win, lose or draw. Fans keep turning up in droves.
The popularity of football in Scotland speaks for itself. According to UEFA, in 2024-25, Scotland recorded significantly higher top-flight attendance per capita than any other league in Europe. Supporters turned out more than 5.3 million times to watch their teams across all Scottish Professional Football League competitions in that season. That is the highest figure in the SPFL era, and a rise of nearly 185,000 on the previous record.
With such encouraging statistics, Scotland is the obvious choice to host a major football tournament once again. We should be looking to build on our success in hosting major sporting events such as the Commonwealth games in 2014 and the 2020 European championship, with the upcoming Commonwealth games this summer and the European championship in 2028. Hosting major sporting events creates opportunities for the future, and there is no reason why Scotland cannot become a destination of choice for sporting fans around the world.
We should be looking to host more events in the future. Although the bill is necessary, and specific to the tournament in 2028, I hope that serious consideration is given in the future to taking a more strategic approach by introducing a framework bill to ensure that we are ready to host events that comply with the requirements of governing bodies such as UEFA in the future. That will ensure that we are ready and able to host, and we can free up valuable parliamentary time to focus our efforts on the day-to-day business of preparing for such major events. Hosting will not only benefit our economy; it will benefit people right across Scotland.
I have spoken out previously, as many members have this afternoon, about the importance of affordability. Fans being priced out of the game is not right—there should be no barriers to participation by spectating in our sport. However, there might not be a consensus about that. Not everyone has the bank balance of former Tory peer and Reform UK’s new Scotland leader, Lord Offord, who on “Question Time” seemed to suggest that it appeared reasonable for football fans to be charged £4,000 for a world cup match day ticket. He has already boasted that he is off to Miami for the world cup, and I assume that he might be taking his yacht with him. He lives in a different world from most hard-working Scots if he thinks that £4,000 for a ticket to watch a football match is affordable. I suppose that, for someone like him—a mortgage-free millionaire who lives in a mansion—it is just pocket change.
For most ordinary Scottish football fans, such prices are simply not affordable. Scotland manager Steve Clarke has quite rightly said that football fans should not get themselves into debt just to go to the world cup this year. Those of us who will not be going to the world cup should feel fortunate that most of us can hop on a bus or train to watch football here on our doorstep in 2028.
With Scotland set to compete in the world cup this summer for the first time in 28 years, there is a feel-good factor in football right now. There is also an exciting title race at the top of the Scottish premiership for the first time in a long time; I know that some members will be enjoying that title race a little more than others.
On that note, I am happy to confirm Scottish Labour’s support for the bill.
16:39
I rise with a feeling of déjà vu, having once again listened to George Adam talk about football and St Mirren. For the second day running, I am obliged to mention to Mr Adam that I used to coach his beloved St Mirren. I know that that puts him in a bit of a dilemma.
It is a real pleasure to speak in a debate that has such a positive message for Scotland and Scottish sport. We are quite expert at delivering international sporting events and the required legislation and policy, having previously hosted the Euro 2020 championships and the 2014 Commonwealth games, as many members in the chamber have mentioned. We will also be hosting the upcoming 2026 Commonwealth games; the Tour de France is coming; and we have hosted many world and European championships across many sports. It feels to me as though we are going round again.
I have to mention the very welcome tartan army, which travels across Europe and the world and which has a fantastic reputation. I do not know whether the world is ready to come to Scotland and be hosted by the tartan army; they ain’t seen nothing yet.
I add my thanks to the minister and his team for the positive way that he has collaborated and communicated with MSPs and their teams about the bill. If that were always the case in the Parliament, perhaps we would get much more done. In essence, the main discussions have been about dealing with and defining ticket touting; charitable exemptions and selling tickets at auction, which my colleague and friend Stephen Kerr wanted to speak a fair amount about; street trading in the vicinity of the venue; and advertising bans. In general, we are in broad agreement across the chamber on those things, despite some of the amendments not being included in the final bill.
The main issues on which we require more discussion and clarity are the potential laws on the designation and powers of an enforcement officer and concerns about what would be acceptable in defining the use of reasonable force. The additional powers that are being granted to enforcement officers through amendments have been the subject of discussion. The commercial rights of UEFA have been discussed significantly. I know that we have to consider them, but there is a level of unease around that, as has been highlighted by many members in the chamber.
The main thing that I want to talk about is the need to grasp the legacy from major championships, which we have not been good at. I was at the 2014 Commonwealth games every day, and Glasgow was ablaze with sunshine. The world must think that Glasgow is quite close to the Caribbean, because the temperature was in the 20s every day, except for the day that Usain Bolt ran, when there was a deluge. There was an amazing atmosphere. However, we did not do particularly well post the games. I do not think that sport has moved on in the way that it should have done and we have not grasped the huge commercial and other opportunities in the way that we should have.
In 2014, I was doing a little bit of work for one of the companies that was doing the information technology integration, and I helped it to develop its legacy programme. Legacy does not mean buying tickets for kids to watch events. We ran what was called the club together programme, which focused on athletics. A club, a local authority and sportscotland clubbed together to buy 15 hours of professional help for the club, at a cost of £3,000. We were able to measure the outcome of that programme. We know that 3,000 more athletes and 300 more coaches and administrators were brought into the sport because of it.
That is the kind of legacy that we need to focus on. We need to look at how we work with commercial partners to pull money and opportunities together. Sport has become very expensive, and that is especially the case with football. If we think about the cost of hiring football pitches, we are pricing our kids out of the sport.
My ask of the Government is that we should consider what we mean by the legacy of the major championships that we are hosting, both commercially and socially. Let us maximise the opportunity that hosting major events brings to Scotland.
For the record, your list missed out the international island games, which was hosted by Orkney last year.
I call the minister to wind up the debate.
16:44
I am sure that, just recently, I noticed a picture on social media of our Deputy Presiding Officer in a Scotland top. I am disappointed that he is not wearing it for the debate, but perhaps that would not have been appropriate. I know that he is a fan, and it is good to have him chairing the proceedings as we discuss the men’s football team.
I commend the comments that have been made about the women’s football team and the rise that it has experienced in recent years. Looking forward to major events, let us not forget that Scotland is part of a joint bid for the 2035 FIFA women’s world cup.
The debate follows hot on the heels of a couple of related events. Most importantly, last night, we had George Adam’s debate on football. Many members from across the chamber spoke about the value of football to Scotland. Members spoke about how it brings local communities together. Alex Rowley used the opportunity to talk about the value of football to our communities, how it is part of our national culture and important to our economy, and how it supports mental health and many other good causes the length and breadth of Scotland.
In today’s debate, there has been quite a lot of nostalgia among members. I was raised a 45-minute walk away from Hampden park, so I went to a lot of home matches for Scotland throughout the 1980s. I saw some of Scotland’s heroes, such as Kenny Dalglish, Gordon Strachan, Davie Cooper, Charlie Nicholas and too many others to mention. Obviously, I am not as old as Stephen Kerr, so I did not have the opportunity to see Jim Baxter, although I have, of course, seen the video many times of his keepie-ups during Scotland’s famous 1967 victory over the world champions.
This is an opportunity for me to thank others. I thank members for their thoughtful contributions and their constructive approach to the debate. I could not agree more with Alex Rowley about how good it is to have consensus. When something is in the national interest and all the parties come together, it is very powerful, and issues such as this set a good example. Given all the challenges that Scotland and our country face, as well as all the global challenges, perhaps it is more important than ever that we come together when there is opportunity for consensus and to work together in the national interest. We have certainly done that for Euro 2028.
I agree about the need for consensus on such important issues of national interest. There is a need to acknowledge that co-operation between the Scottish Government, other devolved Administrations and the UK Government is equally important to benefit all of us across the UK.
That is an important point. A tournament is taking place across these islands and Ireland. We all want it to be a big success, and we have to work together for that purpose.
I thank the Opposition spokespeople for their constructive engagement, and I thank my colleagues on the committee. I thank the bill team and the policy team in the Scottish Government. I have been in the Government for 17 years and I want to note that they are among the best teams that I have worked with. We should not forget the work that is done behind the scenes by Scottish Government officials—not by ministers, but officials, although ministers play a role, too, of course—to bring major events to Scotland. We are very successful at doing that, and a lot of our success is down to the hard work, dedication and passion of Scottish Government officials, who do not always get recognition for that but who work really hard behind the scenes.
I will quickly touch on a few issues. Neil Bibby and other members mentioned the importance of the tournament being accessible to people, particularly in regard to the pricing of tickets. It is probably worth saying that more than 40 per cent of tickets will be in the most affordable category and that there will be no dynamic pricing. UEFA will provide the official resale platform. We are paying close attention to that issue. I also note that 80 per cent of all tickets will be available to fans of participating teams and the general public.
Patrick Harvie mentioned civil liberties, which has been a feature as we have taken the bill through the Parliament. I know that he and other members welcome the safeguards that are in the bill. We have listened carefully, and extra protection was put into the bill at stage 2 to ensure that those protections cannot be changed by regulation. We have taken that seriously.
Stephen Kerr mentioned the exemption for charities from the ticket touting provisions. There is, indeed, an exception for charities, which must be registered charities. In his opening speech, Stephen Kerr said that the definition should be widened. Of course, we have to know the definition of a charity, which is why it is official registered charities that are subject to the exemption. In relation to schools, as I said to the committee, there are hundreds of schools in Scotland that already have an association with charities. We have between now and the championship for other schools to have more associations with charities if they, too, want to take advantage of that exception. It is important to make that point.
The purpose of the bill is to make sure that Scotland can host Euro 2028 and unlock all the wider benefits. We are committed to extending those benefits right across the country. Many members mentioned the importance of legacy—we want to ensure that that happens and that we leave a positive legacy for local communities, not only in Glasgow but across the whole country. We are working closely with VisitScotland and others on the tourism benefits and to ensure that Euro 2028 supports our environmental ambitions, from sustainable travel—which Patrick Harvie mentioned—to circular economy principles in line with UEFA’s sustainability strategy. A lot of the themes that members mentioned chime with that. The Government and the football associations are committing £45 million for a social impact fund to support benefits to communities across the UK and Ireland; Scotland will have a share of that, too.
Against the backdrop of Scotland’s qualifying for the 2026 world cup, which will take place in the next few months, and the sense of excitement for that, we also look forward to 2028 and to Euro 2028 being held here in Scotland. I cannot guarantee that Scotland will be in that tournament, but I have high expectations. What I can guarantee is that I will not be an MSP or a minister in 2028, so I am keen for Scotland to qualify because I will have a lot more time on my hands to go back to Hampden park—or other stadia, depending on how the team progresses through the tournament, if it qualifies. It will be a really exciting time for all members in the chamber, for fans across Scotland and for the whole country.
I thank members for their contributions to the debate and I commend the bill to the Parliament.
On that optimistic note, I conclude the debate on the UEFA European Championship (Scotland) Bill at stage 3.