The Scotland national amateur football team was the
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
representative team for
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
at
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. It was formed in 1926 and continued until 1974.
History
Origins and first match (1893–1926)
Following the adoption of professionalism in 1893, the
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the t ...
continued to field both professional and
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
players, but by the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1914, the number of amateurs winning international caps was in decline. Between the formation of the SAFA in 1909 and 1926, the SFA turned down requests from the SAFA, the FA and the FFF to stage international matches featuring a Scottish team made up of purely amateur players. One reason was that a Scottish amateur national team featuring no players from wholly amateur
Scottish League First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...
club Queen's Park would not be in the national interest, due to the prospective Scotland amateur matches clashing with Queen's Park's. In August 1926, the SAFA announced that the first Scotland amateur international match would take place against their
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
counterparts on 18 December that year at
Filbert Street
Filbert Street was a football stadium in Leicester, England, which served as the home of Leicester City F.C. from 1891 until 2002. Although officially titled the City Business Stadium in the early 1990s, it remained known almost exclusively by ...
, with the team's selection being determined by the SFA. In front of a 10,000 crowd, Scotland won the match 4–1, courtesy of two goals from
Laurie McBain
Laurie (Lee) McBain (born October 15, 1949) is a best-selling American writer of seven historical romance novels from 1975 to 1985. Her novels ''Devil's Desire'' and ''Moonstruck Madness'' each sold over a million copies.George Jessiman and James Crawford.
Pre-war (1926–1939)
Between 1926 and 1939, Scottish League First Division club Queen's Park provided the majority of the players for the Scotland amateur team, with many of the players winning full international caps as well. With England as the biggest opponent and crowd draw amongst the
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...
, the strongest possible team was selected and often included an all-Queen's Park XI. In the same period, Scotland played regular friendly matches against the
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
amateur representative teams and the matches were used to experiment with lineups featuring amateur players from other
Scottish League
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...
clubs, in addition to amateurs playing in the Highland League,
East of Scotland League
The East of Scotland Football League (EoSFL) is a senior football league based in the east and south-east of Scotland. The league sits at levels 6–9 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League.
Fo ...
Scottish Universities
There are fifteen universities in Scotland and three other institutions of higher education that have the authority to award academic degrees.
The first university college in Scotland was founded at St John's College, St Andrews in 1418 by H ...
and in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Friendly matches were played versus
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
in 1932.
In its first entry into the unofficial British Amateur Championship in the 1927–28 season, Scotland finished as runners-up to England and won the competition for the first time during the 1929–30 season, finishing undefeated. Further victories followed in the 1933–34, 1935–36 and 1936–37 seasons, before the outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in August 1939 caused the cessation of amateur international football. Scotland's penultimate match before the declaration of war resulted in its heaviest defeat, 8–3 versus England at
Champion Hill
Champion Hill is a football stadium in East Dulwich in the London Borough of Southwark. It is the home ground of Dulwich Hamlet.
History
Dulwich Hamlet began playing at the ground in 1912. 'The Hill' was formerly one of the largest amateur grou ...
on 11 March 1939.
Post-war (1939–1974)
Following the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Scottish amateur team did not play again until 1949. The SAFA assumed responsibility for team selection and Scotland's first match in a decade took place versus Ireland at Grosvenor Park on 16 March 1949, with John Boyd scoring a late equaliser to salvage a 2–2 draw. The team would win just two more British Amateur Championships over the next 25 years, in the 1951–52 and 1961–62 seasons. Starting in 1952, amateur internationals were regularly staged against non-Home Nations opposition and two years later, the SFA once again became responsible for team selection. The team entered two competitions in 1963, the FA Centenary Amateur Tournament and the Uhuru Cup in
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
and finished as winners and runners-up respectively. Scotland finished as runners-up in the 1966–67 UEFA Nations Amateur Cup, losing 2–1 to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
at the
Lluís Sitjar Stadium
Estadi Lluís Sitjar was a multi-use stadium in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. It was used mostly for football matches and hosted the home matches of RCD Mallorca. The stadium was able to hold 18,000 people and opened in 1945. RCD Mallorca left the ...
in
Palma, Majorca
Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of Mallorc ...
. The team played its final match on 5 April 1974, a 1–1 British Amateur Championship draw with England at
Highfield Road
Highfield Road was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City F.C. for 106 years.
History
It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre, and staged its final game o ...
. The team ceased to exist later that year, when the FA abolished the distinction between amateurism and professionalism in domestic football.
Venues
The Scotland amateur team predominantly played its home matches at
Hampden Park
Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
,
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
– a ground also home to the full Scotland national team and Queen's Park. Matches outside Glasgow were mainly played in
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...
,
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
and
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
.
Records
Most appearances
Most goals
Honours and achievements
*
British Amateur Championship
The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...
UEFA Amateur Cup
The UEFA Amateur Cup was a football competition for amateur teams in Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. ...
runners-up: 1966–67
* Uhuru Cup runners-up: 1963
References
{{Scotland national football team
Amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...