Football matches attended by Government officials: FOI release

Information requested

Information relating to John Swinney, Neil Grey and Humza Yousaf over the last five years:

1) Football matches attended in an official capacity (in Scotland & abroad) inc venue, date and fixture details.

2) the reason for attending and why it was important to their job role.

3) costs involved.

4) all correspondence including invitation/request for tickets to and from the organisers/source of tickets.

Response

Some of the information you have requested is available from the Scottish Government's website where we proactively publish Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

In terms of how the visits were arranged, the Scottish FA regularly invites Ministers to international matches and domestic cup finals and semi-finals. These provide a good opportunity to engage with a number of football stakeholders on current key issues. Invitations are sent to the Scottish Government by the organising body, either the Scottish Football Association or the Scottish Professional Football League, and, as with any engagement invitation, officials provide advice to Ministers on potential attendance.

For costs for matches in Scotland, tickets are supplied by either the Scottish FA or the Scottish Professional Football League. Government Car Service vehicles and drivers are operated as shared resources, and as a consequence frequently cover multiple customers throughout that day. We therefore we do not record costs for individual journeys. Mr Swinney travelled to Germany for the 2024 European Football Championships and the costs can be found here: Cost of First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture's trip to Germany for the Euros: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.