Sports in Scotland, Part 1: Football (Soccer)

Association Football (what we Yanks call soccer) is the national sport of Scotland. A greater % of the population watch football in Scotland than anywhere else in the world.

 The sport goes back to the early days of Scotland, when several field ball games were referred to as "foot ball" (it was even banned by the Scottish Parliament in 1457, along with golf). Until the 1800s, these various football games would have been very similar to modern rugby. But in the 1800s, Scottish (and English) football began to take shape. The oldest Scottish football team (called football clubs or F.C. in Britain.) is Queen's Park F.C. housed at Hampden Stadium in Glasgow (which was the largest staidum in the world until 1950.) It is still an amateur club.

Hampden Stadium in Glasgow

Scottish National Cup

The Scottish National Cup was established in 1873, a year after the very first professional football match. it is the oldest national cup in the world. The Scottish National Team, nicknamed the Tartan Army, also plays at Hampden Stadium.

But mainstream football in Scotland - while also played in schoolyards, playgrounds, and in numerous amateur leagues -- consist of two professional leagues: The Scottish Premiere League (SPL), formed in 1998 and the older Scottish Football League (SFL) with three tiered divisions (First, Second, Third), formed in 1890. The SPL is the equivalent of Major League Baseball, while the SFL is akin to baseball's minor leagues. Each year, the top team in the SFL's First Division move up to the Premiere League (called promotion), while the bottom 12th-place  team of the SPL moves down to the SFL (which is is called relegation.)

Twelve teams make up the Scottish Premiere League (SPL).

Here are the current 2010-2011 SPL teams:

Aberdeen FC
Dundee United FC -- finished 3rd in 2010
Celtic FC (Glasgow) -- finished 2nd in 2010
Hamltion Academical FC
Hearts of Midlothian FC (Edinburgh) -- finished 6th in 2010
Hibernian FC (Edinburgh) -- finished 4th in 2010
Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (promoted in 2010 from SFL)
Kilmarnock FC
Motherwell FC
Rangers FC (Glasgow) - finished 1st in 2010
St Johnston FC
St. Mirren FC


In Edinburgh, there are two SPL teams: Hearts of Midlothian and Hibernian

Named for a Walter Scott novel (which was originally the nickname used for the infamous prison in Edinburgh, the Tolbooth), the Hearts of Midlothian FC (or simply the Hearts) were formed in 1874 and play at the 1886-built Tynecastle Stadium. They play Dundee FC the day we arrive, 15 May 2011. But their main rival is the Hibernian FC.

Formed in 1875 by Irish immigrants in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, the Hibs first played the Hearts on Christmas Day in the nearby Meadows Park (final score: 0-0). Today, they play at Easter Road Stadium. For fans of Trainspotting, this is the team many of the characters in the novel (and film) support.

Hearts vs. Hibs at Easter Park Stadium in Edinburgh

 

The Meadows Park -- site of the first match between the Hibs and the Hearts in Edinburgh

The Old Firm

Celtic and Rangers fans physically divided at an Old Firm Derby

But the two teams that most outside of Scotland know about are the Celtics and the Rangers, both located in Glasgow. Known together (for unknown reasons) as the Old Firm, the intense (and even at times violent) rivalry has unfortunately given both Glasgow and British football a bad reputation over the years. Although much less so today, this rivalry -- which goes back to 1888 with their first match (a Rangers victory) has taken on sectarian and religious division, with Protestant, native Glaswegains supporting the Rangers while Catholic, Irish Glaswegians would support the Celtics. Unfortunately, while matches between the two (called Old Firm Derbies) have seen violence in the past (e.g., 1980, 1999) and crime even today rises on those game days as much as nine-fold. The last match was 2 April 2011.

FYI - DO NOT WEAR RANGERS OR CELTIC SHIRTS WHILE WE ARE IN GLASGOW.

For the last 13 years, either the Celtics or the Rangers have been the National Champs. This year, they are in fierce competition for the national title yet again.

Celtic Park in Glasgow, the largest stadium in Scotland -- seats over 60,000