The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association;

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: ''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 Association football ( sco, fitbaa, gd, ball-coise) is one of the national sports of Scotland and the most popular sport in the country. There is a long tradition of "football" games in Orkney, Lewis and southern Scotland, especially the S ...

. 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 The Scottish Football Union was a football league competition that existed from 1906 till the outbreak of the First World War. It was formed after the collapse of the Scottish Football Alliance. Initial membership of the Union was: Alloa Athl ...

, which is the name that the SRU was known by until the 1920s. The Scottish Football Association, along with

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

and the other British governing bodies, sits on the International Football Association Board which is responsible for the laws of the game. The SFA is also a member of

and founder member of

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...

. It is based at Hampden Park in Glasgow. 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 Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. ...

, the annual

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,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 The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning ' ...

Dumbreck Dumbreck ( gd, An Dùn Breac, lit, the Speckled Fort) is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated south of the River Clyde. Dumbreck is a conservation area. The district is served by Dumbreck railway station. The only church i ...

, 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:

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. * Archibald Rae (1873–1874) * J.C. Mackay (1874–1875) * William Dick (1875–1880) * James Fleming (1880–1882) * Robert Livingstone (1882) * John McDowall (1882–1928) * Sir George Graham (1928–1957) * Willie Allan (1957–1977) * Ernie Walker CBE (1977–1990) * Jim Farry (1990–1999) * David Taylor (1999–2007) *

Gordon Smith Gordon Smith may refer to: In politics * Gordon H. Smith (born 1952), former U.S. Senator from Oregon, and current Area Authority for the LDS Church *Gordon Elsworth Smith (1918–2005), Canadian politician *Gordon Smith (academic) (1927–2009), ...

(2007–2010) *

Stewart Regan Stewart Regan (born 10 February 1964, County Durham) is the former CEO of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the Scottish Football Association. He was also Director of the English Football League Championship, a position he took up following 17 yea ...

(2010–2018) * Ian Maxwell (2018–present)

National teams

As well as the

, the Scottish Football Association is also currently responsible for organising the Scotland B national football 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. In women's football, there is the full Scotland women's national football team, under-19 and under-17 teams. In

Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

there is a full national side.

Club competitions

The Scottish Football Association organises the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish Youth Cup. Although the SFA are not involved in the day-to-day operation of the

Scottish Professional Football League The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is the national men's association football league in Scotland. The league was formed in June 2013 following a merger between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League. As ...

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. As of June 2021, only

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

have been awarded a platinum-level licence, while three clubs have been awarded gold-level licences: Hibernian, St Johnstone and St Mirren. All clubs in the

, Highland Football League, and Lowland Football League are required to be licensed at entry level or above.

Member clubs

As of June 202

122 clubs are full members of the Scottish Football Association, comprising: * All 42 clubs in the

* All 18 clubs in the Highland Football League * All 16 clubs in the Lowland Football League * 2 clubs in the Midlands Football League: ** Lochee United and Tayport * 2 clubs in the North Caledonian League: ** Fort William and Golspie Sutherland * 26 clubs in the East of Scotland Football League: ** Blackburn United, Broxburn Athletic,

Burntisland Shipyard Burntisland Shipyard Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Burntisland, Fife. The club competes in the and play their home matches at Recreation Park. They are full members of the Scottish Football Association. Hi ...

, Camelon Juniors, Coldstream, Dalkeith Thistle, Dunbar United, Dundonald Bluebell, Dunipace, Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare, Haddington Athletic, Hawick Royal Albert, Hill of Beath Hawthorn, Jeanfield Swifts, Linlithgow Rose, Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale, Musselburgh Athletic, Newtongrange Star, Penicuik Athletic, Preston Athletic, Sauchie Juniors, St Andrews United,

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, Tranent Juniors, Tynecastle, and Whitehill Welfare * 3 clubs in the South of Scotland Football League: ** Newton Stewart, St Cuthbert Wanderers, and Wigtown & Bladnoch * 13 clubs in the West of Scotland Football League: ** Auchinleck Talbot, Benburb, Bonnyton Thistle, Clydebank, Cumnock Juniors, Darvel, Girvan, Glasgow University, Irvine Meadow XI, Kilwinning Rangers, Pollok,

Rutherglen Glencairn Rutherglen Glencairn Football Club is a Scottish football club based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. Nicknamed ''The Glens'' and formed in 1896, they play at The Hamish B Allan Stadium (New Southcroft Park). Glencairn currently ...

, and Threave Rovers

Affiliated associations

National associations

The Scottish Football Association has affiliated to it the following seven national associations: * Scottish Amateur Football Association * Scottish Junior Football Association *

Scottish Para Football Association Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Scottish Schools Football Association Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Scottish Welfare Football Association The Scottish Welfare Football Association (SWFA) is an affiliated association of the Scottish Football Association. It was formed at the end of the First World War to boost morale among factory workers. Historically, over 500 clubs competed in We ...

Scottish Women's Football Scottish Women's Football (SWF), formerly known as the Scottish Women’s Football Association (SWFA) between 1972 and 2001, is the governing body for women's association football in Scotland. It is an affiliated national association of the Scotti ...

Scottish Youth Football Association Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Local associations

There are 10 local associations affiliated and the competitions they manage are also listed below: * Aberdeenshire and District Football Association ** Aberdeenshire Cup ** Aberdeenshire Shield **

Aberdeenshire League The Aberdeenshire and District League, usually known as the Aberdeenshire League, is a football tournament for clubs in membership of the Aberdeenshire and District Football Association. The clubs are drawn from the historic counties of Aberde ...

* East of Scotland Football Association ** East of Scotland Cup ** East of Scotland Shield **

King Cup The King Cup (sometimes spelled King's), officially known as The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' Cup ( ar, كأس خادم الحرمين الشريفين), is the Saudi Arabian football knockout cup competition, run by the Saudi Arabian Foo ...

** East of Scotland Qualifying Cup ** Alex Jack Cup *

Fife Football Association Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i. ...

Fife Cup The Fife Cup is a Scottish regional football competition for clubs in the historic county of Fife. The competition was founded by the Fifeshire Football Association in 1882. The competition was originally known as the "Fifeshire Cup" from 1882� ...

Forfarshire Football Association Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agr ...

**Forfarshire FA Challegnge Cup *

Glasgow Football Association Founded in 1883, the Glasgow Football Association, based in the city of Glasgow, Scotland and affiliated to the national Scottish Football Association, is one of the oldest such bodies in football. In the modern game its influence is limited, th ...

** The City of Glasgow Cup *

North of Scotland Football Association The North of Scotland Football Association is a local football association affiliated to the Scottish Football Association. Member clubs are drawn from across the Highlands and Moray and includes teams playing in the Scottish Professional Football ...

** North of Scotland Cup **North of Scotland FA U20 League *

Southern Counties Football Association Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

** Alba Cup ** Southern Counties FA Challenge Cup ** J Haig Gordon Memorial Trophy ** Potts Cup ** East, South and West of Scotland Cup Winners Shield ** South Region Challenge Cup *

Stirlingshire Football Association Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling. It borders Perth ...

** Stirlingshire Cup *

West of Scotland Football Association West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

** Renfrewshire Cup **Renfrewshire Victoria Cup * Wigtownshire & District Football Association ** Cree Lodge Cup ** Tweedie Cup * ''5 North Caledonian Football Association competitions also registered:'' ** North Caledonian League ** Ness Cup ** North Caledonian Cup ** Football Times Cup ** Jock Mackay Cup

Recognised leagues

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

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existe ...

** Scottish Challenge Cup * Scottish Highland Football League ** Highland League Cup ** SHFL U17 League *

Scottish Lowland Football League The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) is a senior football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the ...

** Lowland League Cup ** Lowlands Development League ** Lowlands Development League Cup **Lowlands Development Challenge Cup ** Lowlands Development Knock Out Cup * East of Scotland Football League ** East of Scotland Football League Cup * West of Scotland Football League ** West of Scotland Football League Cup ** Strathclyde Cup * South of Scotland Football League ** South of Scotland Football League Cup

References

External links

*
FIFA profile

UEFA profile
{{Authority control 1

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 ...

Sports organizations established in 1873 1873 establishments in Scotland Organisations based in Glasgow