Sport in Scotland
Sport plays a central role in Scottish culture. The temperate, oceanic climate has played a key part in the evolution of sport in Scotland, with all-weather sports like association football, rugby and golf dominating the national sporting consciousness. However, many other sports are played in the country, with popularity varying between sports and between regions.
Scotland has its own sporting competitions and governing bodies, such as the Camanachd Association, the Scottish Rugby Union, Scottish Rugby League. The country has independent representation at many international sporting events, for example the Rugby League World Cup, as well as the Commonwealth Games.
Scots, and Scottish immigrants, have made several key contributions to the history of sport, with important innovations and developments in:
golf, curling, football, rugby union, Highland games, shinty, cycling, and water polo.
Highland games, the largest and most widespread multi-sport festivals of the 19th century, are claimed to have influenced Baron Pierre de Coubertin and Dr William Milligan Sloane of Princeton when he was planning the revival of the Olympic Games. De Coubertin and Milligan, who was researching his book on Napoleon at the time, saw a display of Highland games at the Paris Exhibition of 1889.
Football codes
Ever since the 19th century, the two main football codes in Scotland are association football and rugby union, though the former being significantly dominant since World War II. Some others are also played. For Gaelic football, please see under Gaelic Athletic Association, further down.Traditional football
There is a long tradition of football games stretching back centuries. While these games were referred to as "football", many of them were very different from modern football, and involved carrying the ball. One of these games was outlawed in 1424. The history of football in Scotland includes various traditional ball games, for example the Ba game; some of these early games probably involved the kicking of a ball. Uncertainty about the specific nature of these games is because prior to 1863, the term "football" implied almost any ball game that was played on ones feet and not played on horseback. Some of these local games were probably played as far back as the Middle Ages, although the earliest contemporary accounts come in the eighteenth century. Many of these accounts refer to the violence of traditional Scottish football and as a result many games were abolished or modified. Several burghs retain an annual Ba game, with the Kirkwall Ba Game in Orkney being probably the most famous form of traditional football in Scotland. Elsewhere in Scotland, the greatest evidence for a tradition of football games comes from southern Scotland, in particular the Scottish Borders.Association football
Historian Ged O’Brien and archaeologists from Archaeology Scotland stated in 2025 that they had uncovered "compelling evidence" that a small piece of land near Anwoth Old Kirk in Kirkcudbrightshire was the oldest known football pitch in the world, dating from at least 1627. Reportedly, Reverend Samuel Rutherford was outraged that parishioners played football during the afternoon of Sabbath and ordered that they place a row of large stones across the field to prevent further games. Soil tests from the site indicated that the stones had been placed there during Rutherford's tenure.The world's first official international association football match was held in 1872 and was the idea of C. W. Alcock of the Football Association, which was seeking to promote association football in Scotland. The match took place at the West of Scotland Cricket Club's Hamilton Crescent ground in the Partick area of Glasgow. The match was between Scotland and England and resulted in a 0–0 draw. Following this, association football became the most popular sport in Scotland. The Scottish Cup is the world's oldest national trophy, first contested in 1873. Queen's Park F.C., in Glasgow, is probably the oldest association football club in the world outside England.
The Scottish Football Association, the second-oldest national football association in the world, is the main governing body for Scottish association football, and a founding member of the International Football Association Board which governs the Laws of the Game. As a result of this key role in the development of the sport, Scotland is one of only four countries to have a permanent representative on the IFAB; the other four representatives are appointed for set periods by FIFA. The country has hosted several international football competitions, including the 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship, the 1998 UEFA European Under-16 Championship and UEFA Euro 2020, and is scheduled to host the upcoming UEFA Euro 2028 and the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup competitions.
The SFA is also responsible for the Scotland national football team. The national stadium is Hampden Park in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow. Supporters of the national team are nicknamed the Tartan Army and are well-regarded for their friendliness, receiving particular acclaim at Euro 2024 in Germany. As of January 2026, Scotland's men's team are ranked as the 38th best national football team in the FIFA World Rankings. Their highest ranking was 14th in 2007, and lowest was 86th in 2004. The national team last attended the World Cup in France in 1998, but finished last in their group stage after defeats to eventual runners-up Brazil and Morocco. They won a single point after a 1-1 draw with Norway. After a barren spell of 23 years without attending a major tournament since 1998, Scotland qualified for successive European Championships in 2020 and 2024 and the 2026 FIFA World Cup under Steve Clarke; sealing the latter in a famous 4-2 win against Denmark.
Elite club association football in Scotland is represented by the Scottish Professional Football League. The Scottish Premiership was named by UEFA in 2024 as the best-supported league per capita in Europe, with 18.36 per 1,000 people attending games in the 2023/24 season. The most successful clubs in Scotland by far are Rangers and Celtic, collectively known as the Old Firm; since the 1984-85 season, no other club has won the Scottish Premiership title aside from them. They are also by far the best-supported clubs in Scotland, poessessing two of the largest football stadiums in the country with 51,700 and 60,411. With 120 trophies to their name as of May 2025, Celtic are currently the second most successful team in professional football, behind Al Ahly of Egypt. Other successful clubs in Scotland include Aberdeen, Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian and Dundee United.
Scotland's association football clubs have had a fairly high degree of success internationally. In terms of European competitions, Rangers, Celtic and Aberdeen have all won a major honour. Rangers were the first team from Britain to reach a European Final, the 1961 European Cup Winners Cup; they later won this honour in 1972. Aberdeen, under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson, famously beat Real Madrid to win the 1983 edition. However, Celtic are the only Scottish team to have won Europe's premier competition, the Champions League, doing so in 1967 and also becoming the first winners from Britain. Their victory is particularly historic as the competition was won by a team comprising no players born more than from the home of the club, Celtic Park.
Rugby union
The world's oldest regular rugby fixture was first played in 1858 between Merchiston Castle School and the former pupils of Edinburgh Academy. Edinburgh Academy was also involved in the first-ever international rugby union game, when a side representing England met the Scottish national side on the cricket field of the academy at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh on 27 March 1871, which Scotland won.The Scottish Football Union was founded in 1873 and is a founding member of the International Rugby Board, joining in 1886 with Ireland and Wales, England joining in 1890. In 1924, the SFU changed its name to become the modern-day Scottish Rugby Union, who now administer rugby union in Scotland. Scotland was the host nation for the 1973 International Seven-a-side Tournament, the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens competition, as well as the 1991 Rugby World Cup. Whilst the country was not the official host nation, it hosted some matches during the 1999 and 2007 Rugby World Cup competition respectively.
Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh is the home of the Scotland national rugby union team., Scotland rank 7th in the World Rugby Rankings, their peak position being 5th in 2018 and 2023. The senior team annually takes part in the Six Nations and has participated in every iteration of the Rugby World Cup, taking place every four years. Scottish players are also eligible for selection for the British and Irish Lions, a composite team that tours the Southern Hemisphere, also taking place every four years. Scotland's Six Nations fixtures at Murrayfield are regularly sold out.
Scotland has two professional sides that compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments: Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors. Two other professional sides also formerly existed: Caledonia Reds and the Border Reivers, these sides folded due to funding issues within the SRU. The Scottish League Championship exists for amateur and semi-pro clubs.
Rugby union is most popular in the Scottish Borders; Melrose annually hosts its own rugby sevens tournament to which teams from around the world are invited. Despite football being by far the most popular sport in the country, it is a growing sport with 49,265 registered players and over 200 clubs as of 2020.