Scottish Football Association

Scottish Football Association

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Scottish Football Association

The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and The Scottish FA) 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.

The Scottish Football Association sits on the International Football Association Board which is responsible for the laws of the game. The SFA is also a member of FIFA and founder member of UEFA. 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 annual Scottish Cup and several other duties important to the functioning of the game in Scotland.

History
Chief executive
National teams
Club competitions
Affiliated associations

National associations
Local associations

See also
References
External links

History

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, "The clubs here represented form themselves into an association for the promotion of football according to the rules of The Football Association and that the clubs connected with this association subscribe for a challenge cup to be played for annually, the committee to propose the laws of the competition".^[1]

Chief executive

Gordon Smith

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 team managers.^[2]

There have been seven chief executives since 1882:^[3]

John McDowall (1882–1928)
George Graham (1928–1957)
Willie Allan (1957–1977)
Ernie Walker (1977–1990)
Jim Farry (1990–1999)
David Taylor (1999–2007)
Gordon Smith (2007–)

National teams

As well as the Scotland national football team, 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 is also a semi-professional team. In women's football, there is the full Scotland women's national football team and an under-19 team.

Club competitions

The Scottish Football Association organises the following competitions:

Although the SFA are not involved in the day-to-day operation of the Scottish Premier League or the Scottish Football League they do appoint referees to officiate the games in these leagues.^[1]