INTERNATIONAL FEES

[LEATHERSTOCKING]

When did the SFA first pay players to play for the national team? How much was it and what`s been the escalating fee since?

[John Meffen]

i thought they only got paid if they qualified for a major tournament, might be wrong

[ScottishFA]

Not sure when payments started, but for many years it was a flat fee.

By the start of the millennium it had reached a scale of £500 for an appearance, plus £500 per point in competitive matches. However, given player wages, it was seen as pin money by the players and was more trouble than it was worth.

Berti Vogts, to his credit, suggested to the senior players that it would benefit everyone if they scrapped the match fee, and instead put in place a system of bigger bonuses for qualifying for a major tournament. So since 2002 the players have, of course, been playing for free (luxury hotels and travel thrown in).

In the event of Scotland qualifying, there is an agreed sum of money that the SFA would divvy up to the players on a pro-rata basis depending on how many appearances they had made. And for friendlies, nothing but the honour.

[Snuff]

This may not help pinpoint a start date, but Tommy Docherty told me that when he was a Scotland player in the 1950s they got a £50 match fee; but, the SFA being the SFA, if they swapped their jersey with one of the opposition, the SFA took the cost of the jersey off their fee.

[Snuff]

Old age is rapidly catching up, I forgot about present-day perks.

David, I don't know about any flat-rate fee, but as I understand it: if a player is in a present day Scotland match squad they get:

In the squad but not stripped - a match pennant.

On the bench, but unused - pennant plus a jersey.

On the bench and used or in the starting line-up - pennant, two jerseys (one to wear, a second to swap), plus a cap.

[ScottishFA]

Just to clarify that last bit, all the players who are stripped, whether they play or not, get two shirts. And since last season, the shirts have match details on the chest, with their name on the back.

They only get a cap if it is a competitive match. For friendlies, everyone gets a pennant, whether they play or not.

[kiwiscot]

Iirc at one time the International Football Board set the fees for appearing for your country in the 1960s the fee was 60 quid ( sorry dont have a pound sterling icon on a kiwi computer ) and around 1970/71 season it was raised to 100 quid much to Northern Ireland and Wales's dismay as they argued that they couldnt afford the fees , but set they were. Boneses were left to be set individualy by the four home nations but as for jerseys, penents caps etc I dont really know. Wouldnt have a clue what they are paid now but it came as no surprise that Bertie Vogts changed the system as it was well known that West German International players recieved nothing for the honour of playing for their country but did get huge boneses for World Cup and European Championship matches, it seemed to work for them.