Scottish Football Association Celebrates 150th Anniversary Of The National Game
The Scottish FA is today (Monday, 13 March) celebrating 150 years of the national game by opening the archives of the Scottish Football Museum and sharing thousands of pages of historical records dating back to the earliest days of Scotland’s national game.
On 13 March 1873, the Scottish Football Association was formed during a meeting at Dewar’s Hotel in Glasgow. In doing so, it became the second-oldest national association in world football and ensured Scotland’s role in the development and growth of the modern game.
The anniversary is the latest milestone in a year-long celebration that has already included the honouring of the first-ever men’s and women’s international matches; with the re-enactment of the first ever international match between Scotland and England at the West of Scotland Cricket ground, and the reunion of the Ravenscraig Pioneers, the Scotland team managed by Elsie Cook and led by Rose Reilly, at the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup Play-Off match against Austria.
The inaugural Week of Football – a celebration of the impact of the national game across Scotland and beyond – takes place in June between the women’s and men’s versions of the Scottish Cup final, which will both be played for the first time at the national stadium.
A new digital archive holds the earliest records of Scottish football, giving a glimpse into the origins of the game in Scotland through Scottish FA minute books and Scottish FA annuals.
Over 5,800 pages of Scottish FA minute books (1879 – 1969), and 900 pages of Scottish FA annuals (1875 – 1900) will be accessible in the archive.
For the first time, fans will be able to access records telling the story of the birth of the professional game in Scotland, along with the earliest histories of Scotland’s most storied clubs.
Richard McBrearty, Scottish Football Museum Curator, said: “The thousands of pages of historical archive that have been released today provide an incredible resource for football in Scotland and around the world to learn about the foundations of Scotland’s national game.”
Rod Petrie, Scottish FA President, added: “It is a great honour to be President of the Scottish FA 150 years on from the founding moments of the association. Scotland has contributed so much to the world’s game and it’s exciting to see Scotland’s unique place in the history of world football recognised.
“The National Week of Football will offer a legacy to the anniversary and a way to celebrate all the ways football positively impacts our country, setting the course for the next 150 years.”
Scottish Football Museum has digitised its football archive to make the history of the game available to new generation of football fans online here
Image: SFA
