About Scotland

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) was established on 13 March 1873 in Glasgow, making it the second-oldest national football association in the world, after England's FA. Eight founding clubs responded to a newspaper advertisement and met to create the association, initially with the aim of organising an annual challenge cup competition — the Scottish Cup, which began in 1874 and remains the world's second-oldest national cup competition. The SFA holds permanent IFAB membership, giving Scotland a permanent voice in the Laws of the Game alongside England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Scotland played in the world's first international football match on 30 November 1872, drawing 0–0 with England in Glasgow — a milestone in the history of the sport. The SFA joined FIFA in 1910 (with brief absences in 1920–24 and 1928–46) and became a UEFA member in 1954. Headquartered at Hampden Park in Glasgow, the association governs 125 member clubs and operates performance schools to develop young talent.

Scotland has produced some of football's most legendary managers and players, including Bill Shankly, Matt Busby, Jock Stein — who led Celtic to the European Cup in 1967 — and Kenny Dalglish. The national team qualified regularly for World Cups between 1974 and 1998 but failed to advance from the group stage on each occasion. A long wait ended when Scotland qualified for UEFA Euro 2020, their first major tournament appearance since 1998.