UK public service broadcaster BBC has secured an exclusive deal to broadcast all matches from the men’s soccer national teams of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, for the next 15 months.
This is the first time that the BBC has held broadcast rights for all three countries at the same time.
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The deal, struck with European soccer governing body UEFA, will run up to the showpiece 2026 FIFA World Cup, and will include all of every team’s matches, including those in the European zone qualifiers for that World Cup, the UEFA Nations League competition, and any other international friendlies they have organized.
In total, the deal will include 41 live matches across the three teams, with games shown on the primary BBC One channel in each respective territory (the three utilize different feeds) as well as on the BBC iPlayer free OTT streaming platform.
Additionally, the BBC’s regional radio broadcasters will also cover each game, as will the BBC Sport app.
Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales had all been without a permanent long-term broadcast deal after embattled broadcaster Viaplay withdrew from the UK market in 2024, having acquired the rights to those teams’ games for the 2024-28 cycle back in 2022.
An eleventh-hour deal with commercial free-to-air broadcaster ITV for a four games (two from Scotland and two from Northern Ireland) was agreed in September of 2024 for some crucial Nations League games, but now all three countries will have the security of long-term rights.
England’s TV rights meanwhile are exclusively held by rival ITV in a deal running past the World Cup through June 2028.
Both the BBC and ITV split broadcast rights for major tournaments such as the World Cup and the European Championships, with home nations games similarly split between them.
The 2026 World Cup will take place across the US, Mexico, and Canada with an expanded 48 team format, granting an even greater opportunity for the likes of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to qualify.
