PANEL 97    Fitba

Futeball is recorded as early as 1424, when it was outlawed. But what might seem like football now was played all over Scotland. Ancient versions, like the Jethart Hand Ba’ game, do not involve much kicking – of the ball, at least – but other variants do. It was not until the 1860s and 1870s that football’s laws were codified and the first association of clubs was in England. Queens Park in Glasgow was founded in 1867 and it played against English opposition, reaching the FA Cup final twice. The first international match between Scotland and England took place in 1872. It was a 0–0 draw but the first time the Scottish football team played in navy blue jerseys with a thistle embroidered on the breast was two years later. They borrowed the design from the national rugby team. Scottish clubs began to form, mainly in the west at first, and the second oldest cup competition in the world began in 1873 with the Scottish Cup. Vale of Leven and Queens Park dominated the early years. Players were paid almost from the outset and Scotland’s largest and wealthiest clubs have traditionally been Rangers and Celtic (although Rangers have recently fallen on hard times) and the first Old Firm match was played on Glasgow Green. After the Second World War, Scottish football enjoyed some glorious episodes. In 1967, Celtic became the first British side to win the European Cup and, in 1972, Rangers won the Cup Winners’ Cup. But, since the mid 1970s, there has been a general decline – apart from Alex Ferguson’s achievements at Aberdeen in the early 1980s – and the national side has fallen far down the world rankings. But hope springs eternal.

 

Panel stitched by:

The Glasgow Banner Group

Marilyn Caddell

Clare Hunter

Mary McCarron

Grace Pratt

Norma Ventisei

Agnes Wylie

Stitched in:

Bishopbriggs, Uddington, Balquhidder, Lanark