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EXCLUSIVE: Perthshire's Eilidh Barbour on Match of the Day ...

EXCLUSIVE Perthshires Eilidh Barbour on Match of the Day
The Dunkeld journalist was touted as a possible replacement for Gary Lineker on Match of the Day before new host Kelly Cates was announced.

When you spend the majority of your life exposed to the Scottish elements at sporting events – the prospect of a week in the sun is very exciting indeed.

That’s what is on Eilidh Barbour’s mind when I call her for a chat at the beginning of December.

“I am going on holiday on Monday, which I cannot wait for,” says the Sky Sports presenter.

“We’re going to Oman just outside Muscat for eight days,

“I’m trying not to think about how much I’m going to have to do when I get back.

“January is always incredibly busy, so I like to try and get a week away in winter to reset.

“Also, I am out in the cold all the time, so it will be nice to get some warmth!”

Sky Sports presenter Eilidh Barbour.
Eilidh grew up in Dunkeld. Image: SNS

By the time this is published, the Dunkeld journalist will have returned from the holiday with her partner of two years – former Hibernian and Livingston midfielder Marvin Bartley.

She will also have enjoyed a “noisy” Christmas day with her family in a large rented house in the Borders.

“It’ll be nice to get everyone together again,” she says.

“I think there’s 18 of us on Christmas day.

“No doubt, we’ll have far too much food and it will be noisy, but it will be good fun.”

Eilidh Barbour touted as new host of Match of the Day

The 42-year-old, who is the face of Sky Sports’ Scottish football coverage, has worked at several major sporting events, including the Fifa World Cup, the Euros, the Open, the Winter Olympics and the Ryder Cup.

She also presented the first Scottish women’s domestic game to be broadcast on Sky Sports in 2022.

At the time of our interview, she is in the spotlight as journalists across the UK speculate who will replace Gary Lineker on Match of the Day.

She is being touted for the gig, alongside the likes of Gabby Logan and Alex Scott.

Since then, it has been announced that her Sky Sports colleague Kelly Cates will take over next season.

Eilidh was touted to replace Gary Lineker on Match of the Day. Image: BBC/Nick Eagle

When I ask her what she makes of all the recent speculation, she doesn’t give anything away.

“I honestly don’t know what is going on,” she laughs.

“Match of the Day is the flagship football program of our country.

“It’s the most watched football programme on TV every Saturday night.

“So to even have even have my name mentioned alongside that is a huge honour.”

Would she like to see a woman take over Gary, who has presented the show since 1999?

Eilidh and her partner Marvin Bartley at Palmerston Park in 2023. Image: Ross MacDonald / SNS Group

Eilidh, who attended Royal School of Dunkeld and Breadalbane Academy in Aberfeldy, is diplomatic in her response.

“I just hope the best person gets it,” she says.

“I’m not like, ‘Oh, I want it to be a female’, or, ‘I want it to be somebody with a different ethnic background’.

“It’s not about that. It’s just about everybody having the same opportunities and the same chance.

“For me, it just has to come down to who is the right fit and who is the best person for that job.”

What are Eilidh Barbour’s 2024 career highlights?

Although Eilidh won’t be stepping into the role, she says that covering for Gary on two MOTD programmes this year was a “special” moment.

She says: “I mean, it’s just iconic, isn’t it?

“You sit in the studio and you hear that Match of the Day music, and then you get to pick up off the back of it.

“It’s quite surreal, because of how historic that programme is.”

Covering the Euros as an in-camp reporter with the Scotland team for BBC Sport in Germany was another highlight of 2024.

Eilidh Barbour in a St Johnstone shirt
Eilidh celebrated the Saints’ cup double season in 2021. Image: Eilidh Barbour/Twitter

“The atmosphere was superb.

“Obviously the results were not what we’d all hoped for, but it was great.

“I just wish we’d been able to stay a little bit longer. Hopefully we’ll be back again and we can do it all again.”

Eilidh, who is a well-known St Johnstone fan, is also pleased her favourite football club wasn’t relegated. “That’s always good,” she jokes.

She recently hosted the club’s celebratory anniversary dinner at Perth Concert Hall. , which marked 10 years since they lifted the Scottish Cup.

“It was amazing,” she enthuses.

“If I’d said to my 12-year-old self, ‘In 30 years’ time, you’re going to be on a stage talking about St Johnstone winning a Scottish cup, and you’re going to be speaking to all the guys’ – honestly, I would have been so excited.”

How St Andrews commentator Hazel Irvine inspired Eilidh Barbour as a child

As a child, Eilidh was inspired by Scottish sports commentators such as Alison Walker, Sally Magnusson and St Andrews-born Hazel Irvine.

“I don’t think I ever really saw barriers to me doing what I now do,” she says.

“I always had females to look to, particularly with Hazel breaking into the mainstream, UK-wide sports, including Grandstand and Olympic Games.

“To hear a woman’s Scottish accent on national sports programmes was an inspiration to me.

“That is why I believe that, if you see it, then you can want to be it.”

In an uncanny full-circle moment, Eilidh went on to replace Hazel as the BBC golf anchor in 2017.

Eilidh at the official opening of the new Dunkeld and Birnam Covered Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) in 2023. Image: Supplied

Her childhood in rural Perthshire also aided her career.

“Growing up in Dunkeld, I was always into sport, and I always played it,” she says.

“But we didn’t have enough people in Dunkeld, so you needed everybody to make teams.

“If I went down to the park where the boys were playing football, it was never a question of me not playing.

“So I never felt like sport wasn’t for me, or that I didn’t belong within that environment.

“I think that helped me in a lot of ways.”

Eilidh Barbour walked out of Scottish Football event after ‘sexist’ comments

The only time, Eilidh says, she felt like she didn’t belong, was at a Scottish Football Writers’ Awards event in 2022.

She made headlines after walking out in protest at comments made by after-dinner speaker Bill Copeland, which she said were “degrading” to women and included “homophobic jibes”.

But she insists she has had a “95% positive experience” in the sporting world.

“There have been so many male allies who have encouraged me and given me opportunities to develop and have helped me along the way,” she says.

“So I’ve been very grateful for all of them.

“And I never want that to go unnoticed, because there are so many really good guys that work within the industry.”

Eilidh Barbour. Supplied by Eilidh Barbour/Instagram.

2025 is looking like another big year for Eilidh, who is now based in Edinbugh.

She will continue covering Scottish football for Sky Sports, as well as the Open in Portrush and the Ryder Cup in New York.

“I don’t know what else I’m doing on top of that,” she says.

“Things appear, and things come into the diary and opportunities might arise.”

Thankfully, she thrives on the spontaneity of her career. “Apart from when I book theatre tickets and can’t go!”

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