Football in Scotland
Sport in Scotland has developed partly independently, partly in connection with sports in the UK. Football is the most popular sport in Scotland . Scotland , along with the three other Home Nations of the United Kingdom ( England , Northern Ireland and Wales ), is considered to be one of the mother countries of modern "Association" football. Founded in 1873, the Scottish Football Association is the oldest in the world after the English Football Association . Because of this tradition as the co-motherland of football, the Scottish Football Association is, despite Scotland's lack of independence, a completely independent member of both FIFA and UEFA , participates in world and European championships with its own national team and runs its own league with the Scottish Premiership at the top of the league system.
The two most popular and successful Scottish men's football clubs are the two eternal Glasgow rivals Celtic and the Rangers . The world-famous derby is called Old Firm , but it is also the name of the two teams, which translates as "old firm".
History of Scottish Football
Scotland was one of the first countries to play football. Initially, the rules that were drawn up by the English Football Association in 1863 were largely based on . Queen's Park was one of Scotland's first football clubs and is probably the oldest surviving football club outside of England. At the beginning the Hoops took part in the English FA Cup and reached the final twice, which they lost both times.
Some unofficial games with representatives from England and Scotland had already been played on The Oval pitch in London , but Scotland did not host the first officially recognized international match until November 30, 1872. One of the leading figures in this alignment was Charles William Alcock . In the decades that followed, football became the most popular sport in Scotland.
Scottish Football Association - the Scottish Football Association
The sport of football in Scotland is organized by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). The association was founded on March 21, 1873 following a meeting of the eight founding associations eight days earlier in the Glasgow “Dewar's Hotel”. After the English Football Association , the SFA is the second oldest national football association in the world.
In 1910 the Scottish Football Association joined the world football association FIFA . It joined the European football union UEFA in 1954.
The SFA puts together the Scottish national team as well as the national selection teams in the junior area and organizes the Scottish Cup , which is held under its roof .
The seat of the Scottish Football Association is the Glasgow Hampden Park , which also houses the Scottish Football Museum .
The Scottish national football team
See main article Scottish National Football Team .
The Scottish professional league system
The current league system has existed since the 2013/14 season. Four professional leagues are followed by two hierarchically equal regional, semi-professional leagues, one of which, the Lowland Football League , which was only founded with the league reform in 2013, has a sub-structure of two equal leagues. The traditional Highland Football League has no substructure due to the lower population density in the north of the country. The North Caledonian Football League , which plays in the catchment area of the Highland Football League and has existed since 1896, is not linked to the professional league system. Only one club in this independent league, Golspie Sutherland FC , Sutherland is eligible to play in the Scottish FA Cup .
Up until the 2013/14 season, no athletic transition ( promotion ) from the semi-professional to the fully professional leagues was possible. If a professional club went bankrupt, the vacant position was filled by nomination. This also applied in the event that a club had finished last in the lowest professional class three times in a row and had to be relegated. Relegation games have been planned since the league reform. So far, the athletic promotion to fourth-rate Scottish League Two has only been achieved by the champions of the Lowland Football League 2015/16, Edinburgh City .
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step |
Leagues |
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1 |
Scottish Premiership |
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2 |
Scottish Championship |
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3 |
Scottish League One (Ladbrokes League One) |
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4th |
Scottish League Two |
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5 |
Highland Football League |
Lowland Football League |
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6th |
East of Scotland Football League South of Scotland Football League West of Scotland Football League |
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The Scottish Cup competitions
Scottish Cup
First held in 1873, the Scottish FA Cup is one of the oldest national cup competitions in the world. The competition is open to all clubs affiliated with the Scottish Football Association. The 12 clubs of the Scottish Premiership and the 30 clubs of the three other professional leagues automatically participate in the Scottish Cup. The clubs of the fifth or sixth class, semi-professional, leagues can qualify over two preliminary rounds.
The cup is played in the knockout system . The matches are drawn by lots and the first person drawn receives home rights. If the first match remains without a winner, a second leg will be scheduled. If the second leg also ends in a draw after regular playing time, extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out follow until a winner is determined. The semi-finals will take place on neutral ground.
The final of the Scottish Cup is traditionally held every year in May in Glasgow's Hampden Park . During the renovation of Hampden Park, the final also took place in Celtic Park and the Ibrox Stadium .
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup has existed since 1947. It is held among the members of the Scottish Premiership and those of the three other professional leagues.
Scottish League Challenge Cup
The Scottish League Challenge Cup is a competition for all professional teams below the Scottish Premiership . So for clubs of the Scottish Championship , the Scottish League One and the Scottish League Two . It was introduced in 1990 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Scottish Championship. Due to the exclusion of the first division side, the cup is a relatively easy way for smaller clubs to upgrade their list of successes with a trophy.
Scottish teams in the European Cup
Scottish clubs play a relatively minor role in European football. Only the old firm teams Celtic and Rangers from Glasgow are considered competitive , even if their major successes in Europe were a long time ago.
Even so, the Scottish teams have achieved some triumphs in the past.
The Rangers won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1972 after losing out in the 1967 finals in the same competition.
The same competition could win Aberdeen 1983 under coach Alex Ferguson . Aberdeen also won the European Super Cup against HSV that year.
Dundee United lost Gothenburg in the final of the UEFA Cup in 1987 . In the 1980s, the Arabs , along with Aberdeen's Old Firm, “snapped” some titles that were traditionally won by one of two Glasgow teams. Based on this, Dundee United and Aberdeen are also referred to as New Firm .
Probably the greatest success in European club football on the Scottish side was Celtic. The team sensationally defeated Inter Milan 2-1 in the final of the European Cup in 1967 . All of the participating Hoops players, born within 30 miles of Glasgow , came to be known as the Lisbon Lions . In 1970 , Celtic moved back into the final of the premier class, but lost to Feyenoord Rotterdam just 2-1 after extra time. In 2003 the team advanced to the final of the UEFA Cup, but lost to FC Porto in Seville. 40,000 supporters from Glasgow who traveled with them celebrated the team at the time, the Bhoys from Seville .
Amateur football
There are around 35,000 organized amateur footballers in Scotland. Scottish amateur football is coordinated by the Scottish Amateur Football Association (SAFA), founded in 1909 . As a partner of the Scottish Football Association, SAFA and its 50 regional associations are currently organizing 67 leagues across the country, mostly limited by their geographic extent. Many of the Scottish amateur clubs compete in more than one amateur league at the same time.
In addition to the amateur league competitions, the Scottish Amateur Football Association hosts the Scottish Amateur Cup , in which hundreds of Scottish amateur clubs compete for the national cup in a knockout system.
Some Scottish amateur teams are well known and have a long track record. In clubs like Drumchapel Amateur FC , where the later famous coaches and players Alex Ferguson , David Moyes , and Archie Gemmill began their careers, players for higher leagues are often produced.
Women and girls soccer
Women's football is still a marginal sport in Scotland. Still, the Scottish Womens Football Association is growing steadily. The best-known player is the goal scorer Julie Fleeting .
Leagues
The top division is the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) with twelve clubs. In the 2006/07 season, the following clubs take part in the game: FC Aberdeen , Hibernian Edinburgh , Edinburgh LFC , Hutchinson Vale , Glasgow City LFC , Hamilton Academical , FC Kilmarnock , Newburgh JFC and the Raith Rovers . The SWPL champions qualify for the UEFA Women's Cup .
The Scottish League is one of the average strong leagues in Europe. Most Scottish internationals play in the FA Women's Premier League . For this reason, the Scottish clubs around the UEFA Women's Cup have not yet achieved any notable success. The most successful participant so far has been Hibernian Edinburgh , who won two games in 2004 but lost the decisive group game.
Under the Scottish Women's Premier League is the Scottish Women's Football League (SWFL). The SWFL consists of 38 clubs, which are divided into three divisions. The first and second divisions are single-track, the third division two-track.
Cup
The Amicus Scottish Cup is the cup competition in Scottish women's football. All members of the Scottish Women's Premier League and Scottish Women's Football League can participate. Associate members from lower leagues can apply to participate.
National team
The Scottish national team has not yet qualified for a World Cup. The selection is only average in a European comparison. Their home games wearing the team usually before about 1,000 spectators at McDiarmid Park on Perth from.
Individual evidence
- ^ Ian Thomson: Scotland. In: James Riordan , Arnd Krüger (Hrsg.): European Cultures in Sport. Examining the Nations and Regions. Intellect, Bristol 2003, ISBN 1-84150-014-3 , pp. 23-46.
- ^ William J. Murray: The Old Firm: Sectarianism, Sport and Society in Scotland. John Donald Publishers, 2000, ISBN 0-85976-542-3 .
- ↑ Golspie Sutherland Football Club , North Caledonian FA, accessed April 8, 2019.
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