THE Scottish Football Association have signed a massive, exclusive £20m deal with Sky Sports for them to show all their home internationals live for the next four years and SFA president Jack McGinn hailed the move as the beginning of a new era for Scottish football.
McGinn said: The financial boost to the Scottish game is significant and will greatly assist the continued development of Scottish football at all levels. It will allow Scottish football fans both within Scotland and beyond to view matches involving the national teams and matches from the Tennents Scottish Cup over the next four years.
The deal means Sky will show Scotland's home qualifiers for the 2000 European Championship as well as their home games for the 2002 World Cup. Channel 5 have already secured a deal to screen all Scotland's away games in the Euro 2000 qualifiers
A number of international matches at Under-21 and B level will also be broadcast on Sky while terrestrial television will only be allowed to show highlights of Scotland's internationals.
Vic Wakeling, head of sport at Sky Television, said: We have had a great relationship with the Scottish Football Association over the past four years and we are delighted to be able to extend this partnership.

DIVISION ONE News Round-Up BIRMINGHAM CITY Birmingham chairman David Gold is hoping that he can bring a swift conclusion to contract talks with manager Trevor Francis. Francis, who has been offered a two-year deal by Gold that will tie him to the club until the year 2000, is currently away on a family holiday. The deal could be sealed next week and Gold said: ''I don't expect negotiations to be protracted.'' BRADFORD CITY Bradford will add a home game against Sunderland to their pre-season programme if the Wearsiders regain their top flight status in six days time. Peter Reid's side play Charlton Athletic at Wembley on Bank Holiday Monday in the First Division Play-Off final. And the Bantams have pencilled in a date to follow the visit of Derby County on July 25th if Sunderland get promoted. MIDDLESBROUGH Boro's two Italian stars are both facing knee operations before they return for pre-season training. Striker Marco Branca needs surgery after being ruled out at the end of the season and defender Gianluca Festa will have an exploratory operation. Six others are having minor operations but Alun Armstrong is the only one who might miss the start of training. NOTTINGHAM FOREST Former Forest players may have to forget their hopes of extracting compensation payments from Anderlecht - for the time being at least. UEFA's European Cup ban on Anderlecht for bribing a Spanish referee in their UEFA Cup semi-final against Forest in 1984 has been overturned. The Court of Sports Arbitration, set up by the International Olympic Committee, said in Lausanne that UEFA's executive committee were not competent to rule on the bribery charge which should have been dealt with by UEFA's judicial committee. It is not clear if UEFA, whose executive are discussing the ruling, will abide by the court decision. ''We have no comment to make on this matter today,'' said a UEFA spokesman. Anderlecht were found guilty of paying the referee, who has since died, around £12,000 and, after beating Forest with two controversial refereeing decisions, lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the final. OXFORD UNITED Oxford manager Malcolm Shotton is to meet managing director Keith Cox prior to announcing his retained list later in the week. Among those whose futures look uncertain are Stewart Massey and skipper Mike Ford who were plagued with injury last season and Martin Aldridge. Others include senior players Brian Wilsterman and Mark Angel, who made rare appearances in the first teams. PORT VALE Vale stalwart Dean Glover is looking for a new club following talks with manager John Rudge. The 34-year-old defender is touting his services after being told there is no contract on offer ''at the present time.'' Glover, who hopes to land a player/coaching role, said: ''I've had nine and a half wonderful years at Vale and it's a sad moment.'' SWINDON TOWN Swindon have organised a pre-season friendly against Premiership side Leicester City. The game against Martin O'Neill's outfit takes place at the County Ground on Saturday August 1 with a 3pm kick-off. Robins boss Steve McMahon said: ''It's a tough one for us, that's for sure. But we fancied a really good work out before the serious business gets underway.'' SUNDERLAND Sunderland aim to end the Wembley jinx that has hit three other North East clubs this season. Middlesbrough and Newcastle have both lost Wembley finals, as have Tow Law Town in the FA Vase. But Sunderland boss Peter Reid said: ''Records like this are there to be broken.'' Sunderland face Charlton in the promotion Play-Off Final on Monday and Reid admitted: ''It will be very difficult.'' WEST BROMWICH ALBION West Brom are being linked with a possible swoop for former Tottenham midfielder David Howells. Howells is available on a free transfer and Albion manager Denis Smith is keen to strengthen his side this summer in a bid to ensure that Albion are among the promotion contenders next season. BAGGIES chairman Tony Hale has revealed that there is still some way to go before the club decide whether to press ahead with building a new £7m stand at the Hawthorns which would take capacity up to 30,000. Planning permission was granted last week, but Hale said: ''That was the first stage. Then we have to buy the Woodman pub and then we have to make sure that the money is in place to pay for the stand.'' The Baggies may wait to see if they are heading for the Premiership next season before starting work on the stand.

THE REST OF THE LEAGUE News Round-Up DIVISION TWO CARLISLE UNITED Carlisle chairman Michael Knighton has denied he is ready to appoint former Oldham boss Neil Warnock as the new manager at Brunton Park. Knighton has spoken with Warnock but there was no suggestion of a managerial appointment. ''I was making inquiries about players he knows and I respect his opinion,'' said Knighton. PRESTON NORTH END Preston manager David Moyes has been awarded a new contract and vowed: I want to see this club back in the First Division. Moyes has agreed a one-year roll-over deal and said: I think I steadied the ship since I took over in January and helped give the players their self-belief back. Now I am determined to try and finish the job by moving this club along another step. Preston North End have played at this level of football for far too long now. I would love to be the man to help push this great club on and into a higher league. Formerly the player-assistant manager, Moyes took charge in January following Gary Peters' resignation and steered Preston clear of the relegation trapdoor with promotion form in their last 13 games. Moyes will continue as a player next season. Deputy chairman Derek Shaw said: It is very positive news for Preston because we firmly believe that David Moyes is a great young manager for the future. David has thought about football management for the past ten years and has proved his determination to break into this side of the game. I think David has done an exceptional job here." Goalkeeper Kelham O'Hanlon will join Moyes' managerial team as first team coach at Deepdale, while North End defender Colin Murdock has been placed on standby for Northern Ireland's friendly international against Spain in Santander on June 3. WALSALL Walsall are to have further talks with winger John Hodge in a bid to try and persuade him to pledge his future to the Second Division club. The former Swansea City wide-man is out of contract this summer, but the Saddlers are keen to keep him and he has been offered a new deal by manager Ray Graydon. Hodge did have negotiations last week and more talks are set to take place this week as Graydon plans for his first season in charge. YORK CITY York goalkeeper Mark Samways is to enter hospital to undergo a knee operation. Samways, who missed the final few games of the Minstermen's Second Division campaign, aggravated the injury during a reserve clash with Rochdale in April. Defender Tony Barras will also face the surgeon's knife on a hip problem which has dogged him over the last several seasons. DIVISION THREE MANSFIELD TOWN A war of words has erupted again over the planning application of Mansfield to redevelop their Field Mill stadium. MP Alan Meale responded to district councillors' claims that the plans were second rate and slipshod by challenging them to ''do better themselves.'' The club has received the green light to build three new all seater stands, and refurbish the fourth, in the £5m plan. NOTTS COUNTY Notts boss Sam Allardyce has appointed former Preston team-mate Gary Brazil as youth coach. Brazil, 35, a veteran of Sheffield United, Newcastle, Port Vale, and Fulham, replaces Alan Young, who left the club in April. Allardyce said: ''Gary knows what it takes to become a player - that makes me optimistic for the future of our youth set-up here.'' Brazil, who scored four times in 40 appearances for Conference side Slough this season, was a stylish left-sided attacker who joined Newcastle from Preston in 1989 but was unable to save them from relegation and was sold to Fulham a year later after starting only seven games. PETERBOROUGH UNITED Peterborough are freezing their admission prices for the fifth year in a row after their disappointing season. Posh have massive debts but are still one of the cheapest teams to watch in the Third Division. Manager Barry Fry said: ''I shouldn't think there's a club in the country who haven't put their prices up in the past five years.''

top