SFA bag £8.3million for Euro 2020 qualification; Celtic more than played their part

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The SFA will bag as much as £8.3million for qualification to Euro 2020 alone, with Celtic having more than played their part.

Scottish football’s governing body has been starved of cash due to the global health pandemic, with any additional income welcome during what’s been a scary time in all aspects of life.

However, Scotland’s heroics in Serbia on Thursday night – with three Celtic players making an impact – has secured some much-needed revenue into the Scottish game.

As well as the money already banked, there is potentially much more to come.

Scotland are now into the group stages of Euro 2020 and will compete against Czech Republic, England, and Croatia respectively.

A victory in any of those matches would bank another €1.5m (£1.34m) into Scottish football’s coffers. A draw, meanwhile, would give Scotland a €750,000 (£674k) boost (Forbes).

That’s just the start too. For those who go all the way, further riches in excess of €20m (£17.9m) would be added to their prize fund. Therefore, whoever wins the Euros could bank over £30m (Forbes).

Granted, that won’t be Scotland, but there’s a chance to make a bit of extra cash for a game that desperately needs it as sponsorship dries up and crowds remain banned from stadiums.

Celtic deserve credit for their work

Celtic, meanwhile, can look on with pride.

It’s not only Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie, and Leigh Griffiths that they played a hand in developing. The likes of Declan Gallagher, Kieran Tierney, Stuart Armstrong, and Greg Taylor have all played their part in this qualifying campaign after spending time at Parkhead/Celtic’s academy.

This isn’t an article in which we’re looking to boast about how we’ve single-handedly taken Scotland to the Euros ourselves. We’re not that big-headed, and it’s hardly true either.

But for a club that is so often criticised by fans of provincial clubs in Scotland about their lack of consideration for Scottish football’s bigger picture, this is a vindication of our work over the years too.

Celtic have played a big hand in helping Scotland qualify for Euro 2020. Don’t get us wrong. Rangers have done too with Ryan Jack performing extremely well on Thursday. Motherwell, St Mirren and Hibernian are also architects of this achievement after helping develop Gallagher, Stephen O’Donnell, and John McGinn respectively.

But the Hoops also deserve a pat on the back for their work when you look around the Scotland squad. It’s an achievement every club in the country should be proud about, especially those who played a part in some of these heroes’ development.

In other news, an impressive English talent has held his hands up to Celtic’s quality.