Scottish Football Association Explained

Scottish Football Association should not be confused with Scottish Football Union.

Badge Size:200
Headquarters:Hampden Park, Glasgow, G42 9AY
Fifa Affiliation:
  • 1910–1920
  • 1924–1928
  • 1946–present
Region:UEFA
Region Affiliation:1954
Subregion:IFAB
Subregion Affiliation:1886
President:Mike Mulraney
Vice-President:Les Gray

The Scottish Football Association (also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA; Scots: Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations. It was formed in 1873, making it the second oldest national football association in the world. It is not to be confused with the Scottish Football Union, which is the name that the SRU was known by until the 1920s.

The Scottish Football Association is a member of both UEFA and FIFA and holds a permanent seat on the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which is responsible for the Laws of the Game. It is based at Hampden Park in Glasgow.[1] In addition, the Scottish Football Museum is located there.

The Scottish Football Association is responsible for the operation of the Scotland national football team, the annual Scottish Cup and several other duties important to the functioning of the game in Scotland.

History

Formation

Following the formation of Scotland's earliest football clubs in the 1860s, football experienced a rapid growth but there was no formal structure, and matches were often arranged in a haphazard and irregular fashion.

Queen's Park, a Glasgow club founded in 1867, took the lead, and following an advertisement in a Glasgow newspaper in 1873, representatives from seven clubs – Queen's Park, Clydesdale, Vale of Leven, Dumbreck, Third Lanark, Eastern and Granville – attended a meeting on 13 March 1873. Furthermore, Kilmarnock sent a letter stating their willingness to join.

That day, these eight clubs formed the Scottish Football Association, and resolved that:

Founding members

The following eight football clubs founded the Scottish Football Association:

!Manufacturer!Location
Queen's ParkGlasgow
ClydesdaleGlasgow
Vale of LevenAlexandria
DumbreckGlasgow
Third LanarkGlasgow
EasternGlasgow
GranvilleGlasgow
Kilmarnock

Chief Executive/Secretary

The chief executive of the Scottish Football Association oversees the development of football in Scotland and the administration of disciplinary matters, and is also responsible for the general organisation of the national side. One of the most prominent roles of the chief executive is to hire and dismiss Scotland national football team managers.[2]

Association overview

National teams

See main article: Scotland national football team. As well as the Scotland national football team, the Scottish Football Association is also currently responsible for organising the Scotland national football B team, as well as men's national teams at under-21, under-19, under-18 and under-17 levels. There was also a semi-professional team, but this was disbanded in 2008.[8] In women's football, there is the full Scotland women's national football team, under-19 and under-17 teams. In Futsal, there is a full national side.

Club competitions

The Scottish Football Association organises the Scottish Cup and the Scottish Youth Cup. Although the SFA are not involved in the day-to-day operation of the Scottish Professional Football League or other league competitions, they do appoint referees to officiate the games in these leagues, as well as dealing with player registrations and disciplinary issues.

Club licensing

The Scottish Football Association encourages quality of governance in football clubs through a system of club licence awards. All SFA member clubs are assessed annually in four areas (ground, first team, youth team, and governance) and, if appropriate, awarded a licence at platinum, gold, silver, bronze or entry level. [9] only Celtic and Rangers have been awarded a platinum-level licence, while two others (Hibernian and St Johnstone) hold gold-level licences. All clubs in the Scottish Professional Football League are required to be licensed at bronze level, Highland Football League, and Lowland Football League are required to be licensed at entry level or above.

Performance Schools

The Scottish Football Association established a number of performance schools around Scotland in 2012 with the aim of developing footballing talent in young people and at grassroots level. The programme is for under-12 players, and will provide them with 800 hours of additional coaching.[10], seven performance schools exist:

Member clubs

124 clubs are full members of the Scottish Football Association, comprising:[9]

Affiliated associations

National associations

The Scottish Football Association has affiliated to it the following seven national associations:[18]

Local associations

There are 10 local associations affiliated and the competitions they manage are also listed below:

Recognised leagues

The following six leagues with their affiliated leagues and cups are recognised by The Scottish Football Association:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Contact Us – Scottish Football Association – Scottish FA. scottishfa.co.uk. 27 April 2018. 28 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180428093804/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish-fa/organisation/contact-us/. live.
  2. Web site: New SFA chief ready to take flak . BBC Sport . 6 June 2007 . 1 June 2007 . 13 September 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070913100807/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/6705941.stm . live .
  3. Web site: SFA chief executive Gordon Smith steps down from role . BBC Sport . 19 April 2010 . 19 April 2010 . 28 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231028141516/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/scotland/8630722.stm . live .
  4. News: Regan named new Scottish FA chief executive. BBC Sport. 28 July 2010. 30 October 2010. 28 October 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231028141517/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/scotland/8863484.stm. live.
  5. Web site: Scotland: Stewart Regan steps down as SFA chief executive. BBC Sport. 1 February 2018. 1 February 2018. 1 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180201172031/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42910099. live.
  6. Web site: Ian Maxwell appointed as Chief Executive. Scottish Football Association. 23 April 2018. 23 April 2018. 24 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180424091002/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/news/ian-maxwell-appointed-as-chief-executive/?rid=13929. live.
  7. Web site: Scottish FA & SPFL merger not likely, says Andrew McKinlay . Brian . McLauchlin . BBC Sport . 8 May 2018 . 8 May 2018 . 25 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181025111440/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/scotland/44040948 . live .
  8. News: SFA pulls the plug on Scots semi-pro team . 7 November 2008 . 18 November 2013 . . Johnston Publishing . 2 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190702201844/https://www.scotsman.com/sport/sfa-pulls-the-plug-on-scots-semi-pro-team-1-1145824 . live .
  9. Web site: 28 June 2023. Licensed Clubs – June 2023. 12 July 2023. Scottish FA. 12 July 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230712115014/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/10719/280623-club-licensing-awards.pdf. live.
  10. Web site: Scottish FA JD Performance Schools | Performance | Scottish FA. scottishfa.co.uk. 17 June 2023. 3 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230403220848/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/. live.
  11. Web site: Hazlehead Academy | Performance Schools | Scottish FA. scottishfa.co.uk. 17 June 2023. 17 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230617192228/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/hazlehead-academy-aberdeen/. live.
  12. Web site: St John's High School | Performance Schools | Scottish FA. scottishfa.co.uk. 17 June 2023. 7 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180807033351/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/st-johns-high-school-dundee/. live.
  13. Web site: Broughton High School | Performance Schools | Scottish FA. scottishfa.co.uk. 17 June 2023. 23 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230423041758/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/broughton-high-school-edinburgh/. live.
  14. Web site: Graeme High School | Performance Schools | Scottish FA. scottishfa.co.uk. 17 June 2023. 15 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210215073511/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/graeme-high-school-falkirk/. live.
  15. Web site: Holyrood Secondary | Performance Schools | Scottish FA. scottishfa.co.uk. 17 June 2023. 17 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230617192238/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/holyrood-secondary-glasgow/. live.
  16. Web site: Grange Academy | Performance Schools | Scottish FA. scottishfa.co.uk. 17 June 2023. 17 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230617190546/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/grange-academy-kilmarnock/. live.
  17. Web site: Braidhurst High School | Performance Schools | Scottish FA. scottishfa.co.uk. 17 June 2023. 17 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230617192250/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/performance/jd-performance-schools/braidhurst-high-school-motherwell/. live.
  18. Web site: The Scottish Football Association Handbook 2021/2022. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211231155242/https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/8291/sfa_handbook-2021-22_digital.pdf. 31 December 2021.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Scottish Football Association".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.