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.]] Sport plays a central role in Scottish Culture . The Temperate , Oceanic Climate has played a key part in the evolution of Sport in Scotland, with all-weather sports like Football , Rugby Union and Golf dominating the national sporting consciousness. However, many other sports are played in the country, with popularity varying between sports and between regions. Scotland has its own sporting competitions and Governing Bodies , such as the Scottish Football League and the Scottish Cyclists' Union . The country has independent representation at many international sporting events, for example the Football World Cup and the Cricket World Cup , as well as the Commonwealth Games ; although notably not the Olympic Games . Scots , and Scottish Emigrants , has made several key contributions to the History Of Sport , with important innovations and developments in: Golf , Curling , Football , Highland Games (contributed to the evolution of modern Athletics events), Shinty (the predecessor of both Ice Hockey and Bandy ), Cycling ( Kirkpatrick Macmillan invented the pedal bicycle), and Basketball . Football See Also: Football in Scotland international, Scotland versus England , Hamilton Crescent , Glasgow , 1872 . Once kept by the Rugby Football Union as an early example of Rugby Football .]] Association Football is the National Sport , both in terms of participation and numbers of spectators. There is a long tradition of football games stretching back to the earliest reference to the game in Scotland, when it was outlawed in 1424 . The History Of Football in Scotland includes various traditional ball games, for example the Ba Game ; some of these early games probably involved the kicking of a ball. Uncertainty about the specific nature of these games is because prior to 1863, the term "football" implied almost any ball game that was played on ones feet and not played on horseback. Some of these local games were probably played as far back as the Middle Ages , although the earliest contemporary accounts (as opposed to decrees simply banning "football") come in the eighteenth century. Many of these accounts refer to the violence of traditional Scottish football F.P. (1931) Scottish Popular Football, 1424-1815, The American Historical Review and as a result many games were abolished or modified. Several Burgh s retain an annual Ba game, with the Kirkwall Ba Game in Orkney being probably the most famous form of traditional football in Scotland. Elsewhere in Scotland, the greatest evidence for a tradition of football games comes from southern Scotland, in particular the Scottish Borders . The world's first official international football match was held in 1872 and was the idea of C. W. Alcock of The Football Association which was seeking to promote Association Football in ScotlandMinutes of the Football Association of October 3 1872, London. The match took place at the West Of Scotland Cricket Club 's Hamilton Crescent ground in the Partick area of Glasgow . The match was between Scotland and England and resulted in a 0–0 draw. Following this, the newly developed Soccer became the most popular sport in Scotland. The Scottish Cup is the world's oldest national trophy, first contested in 1873 (although the FA Cup is an older competition, its original trophy is no longer in existence). Queen's Park F.C. , in Glasgow, is probably the oldest association football club in the world outside England . The Scottish Football Association (SFA), the second-oldest national football association in the world, is the main Governing Body for Scottish football, and a founding member of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which governs the Laws Of The Game . As a result of this key role in the development of the sport Scotland is one of only four countries to have a permanent representative on the IFAB; the other four representatives being appointed for set periods by FIFA . The SFA also has responsibility for the Scotland National Football Team . The national stadium is Hampden Park in Glasgow. Supporters of the national team are Nickname d the Tartan Army . As of March 2007, Scotland are ranked as the 16th best National Football Team in the FIFA World Rankings . They have improved steadily after Walter Smith took over as manager, beating 2006 World Cup finalists France in a European Championship qualifier. The national team last attended the World Cup in France In 1998 , but finished last in their group stage after defeats to runners-up Brazil and Morocco . They won a single point after a one-all draw with Norway . Elite club football in Scotland is split between the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League . Scotland's football clubs have had a relatively high degree of success internationally . In terms of European competitions, Rangers , Celtic and Aberdeen have all won European competitions, however Celtic are the only team to have won the European Cup (now the Champions League), Europe's premier competition. Celtic won this cup in 1967 becoming the first British team (and the first from northern Europe) to do so. Their victory is an important one in Football History with the competition being won with a team comprising no players born more than thirty miles (48 km) from the home of the club, Celtic Park. The most successful teams over the years have been the (five), Portugal (three) and Spain (five) have more top-rated stadia, while Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey all also have two. Rugby See Also: Rugby union in Scotland Rugby league in Scotland Rugby Union is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union . Murrayfield Stadium , in Edinburgh , is the home of the Scotland National Rugby Union Team . The world's oldest continual rugby fixture was first played in 1858 between Merchiston Castle School and the former pupils of The Edinburgh Academy . The Edinburgh Academy was also involved in the first ever international rugby union game when a side representing England met the Scottish national side on the cricket field of the Academy at Raeburn Place , Edinburgh on March 27, 1871, which Scotland won. The national side today competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and has appeared at every Rugby World Cup . Professional clubs compete in the Celtic League and the European Cup and a National League for amateur and semi-pro clubs also struggles.Even the top clubs struggle to attract more than a thousand spectators but the National side still gets a respactable attendance. Rugby League is a growing sport in Scotland which is growing in popularity. Athletics , Scottish Sprinter , Rugby Internationalist , and Christian Missionary to China . He won the Men's 400 metres at the Summer Olympic Games Of 1924 . His story was portrayed in the film '' Chariots Of Fire ''.]] scottishathletics is the governing body for athletics in Scotland. It replaced the Scottish Athletics Federation in April 2001. Australian Rules Football See Also: Australian rules football in Scotland Aussie Rules has never had a high profile in Scotland, but it is notable that Scots played an important role in setting up some of the clubs in Australia . Scots living in Melbourne and Victoria in the mid-19th century were greatly involved in the formation of the rules of the game, as well as the formation of a number of early clubs, including the still-existing Essendon Bombers in the elite Australian Football League in Melbourne , Australia . The team, Glasgow Redbacks wear black jumpers with a red diagonal stripe across the front, the same as worn by Essendon Football Club. This is said to recognise the Scottish roots of Essendon, which was formed in 1871 by a Scots family who had moved to Melbourne. It is also rumoured - though unconfirmed - that Aussie Rules was played in Scotland pre-WWI. There are currently four teams in SARFL, most established in the early 2000s. There was an abortive attempt during the 1990s to set up the Caledonia Sharks. Until recently, Scottish Aussie Rules tended to be subsumed to the British leagues, but this is less the case now. Badminton BADMINTONscotland is the national governing body for the sport of badminton in Scotland. Baseball Baseball has existed in , the Glasgow Baseball Association, and the Strathclyde Falcons. As of 2007, the Glasgow Baseball Association formed a senior team for those players who wanted to play baseball at the club beyond the age of 16, they won their first games against the manchester A`s. There have been only 8 scottish baseball players to play in the Major leagues. The last being Tom Waddell in 1987. Baseball is a minority sport in Scotland and it is not very popular. However baseball is expanding in the country, in June of 2007 a youth baseball team in Fife was founded. Basketball Basketballscotland is the governing body of basketball in Scotland. Cricket See Also: Cricket in Scotland Cricket has a lower profile in Scotland than it has south of the border in England . Scotland is not one of the ten leading cricketing nations which play Test Matches , but the Scottish National Team is now allowed to play full One-day International s even outside the Cricket World Cup , in which Scotland competed in 2007. Scotland has a well established recreational cricket structure. Cycling Cycling is a popular amateur sport, with 99 clubs throughout the country, from the Shetland Wheelers to the Stewartry Wheelers. At the elite level, Scots have been more successful at Track Cycling rather than Road Racing , although Scotland has a long history of time-trialing on the road. The lack of road races within the country, with not a single UCI -ranked event, is largely to do with the refusal of Scottish Local Authorities to close public roads to allow road races to take place safely. Scotland has one Velodrome , at Meadowbank Stadium , in Edinburgh . The governing body is the Scottish Cyclists' Union . In recent years Mountain Biking has become very popular, with Scottish Geography being ideal for training and racing. The Fort William World Cup event has become the highlight of the series. Scotland has produced several world-class cyclists. Probably the most renowned champion outwith Scotland is the great ). Graeme Obree , David Millar (no relation), and Chris Hoy have also reached the very peak of their respective events. Curling Scotland is the home of Curling (2002 Olympic champions, women) which, although not as popular today as in Canada , remains more popular in Scotland than anywhere else in Europe. Scotland are the current (2006) men's World curling champions, and have won World championship gold on 3 previous occasions. Golf Scotland is the "Home of Golf ", and is well-known for its many Links courses, including the Old Course at St Andrews , Carnoustie , Muirfield and Royal Troon . Highland games The Highland Games are a distinctive feature of the national sporting culture. There are numerous annual games hosted in the Highlands including Braemar and Dunoon . Judo Scots have been very prominent on the podium at the Judo events at the Commonwealth Games . Judo is absent from the programme of events at the 2006 Commonwealth Games , but is likely to return at future Games. Motorsport Scotland has been successful in all forms of motor racing especially since it's growth in popularity since World War II . Several Scottish drivers have had illustrious careers at the top level and success has come in many different championships including Formula One , The World Rally Championship , Le Mans 24 Hours , CART , and the British Touring Car Championship . Formula One driving for the Stewart Grand Prix team in Montreal in 1997. The Tartan livery of the team was a special Stewart F1 tartan designed for the team and its addition to the cars indicates the Stewarts' origins in Scotland .]] Scotland has had several Formula One drivers over the years since the championship commenced in 1950. A full list of these drivers can be found at . Of these drivers the best known are Jim Clark , who won 2 World Championships before his untimely death, Jackie Stewart who managed to gain 3 World Championships and David Coulthard who still races in the championship for the Red Bull Racing team. Coulthard has been Scotland's most successful driver in recent memory having runner up in the World Drivers Championships a number of times and is the front running British Driver in the all-time lists. No round of F1 has however been held in Scotland making the country one of the most successful countries without hosting a race. Rallying The McRae family are Scotland's best known rally drivers, in particular Colin McRae who won the WRC in 1995. He also managed to affirm his popularity by adding his name to a series of successful rally games. Louise Aitken-Walker made significant inroads into the male-dominated sport. Scotland also hosts a number of minor rally events and has hosted the British round of the WRC however this now takes place almost exclusively in Wales . Le Mans Allan McNish has competed in both F1 in 2002 for Toyota and in German Touring cars Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), but is best known for his 1998 24 Hours Of Le Mans victory with the Porsche team. Peter Dumbreck has also competed in the 1999 24 Hours Of Le Mans , and is better known for his infamous accident in the 1999 event where his Mercedes-Benz CLR car suffered aerodynamic problems and took off, somersaulting through the air. BTCC In British Touring Car Championship Scotland has had a had a double champion in John Cleland . A number of drivers have raced successfully in recent years including Anthony Reid and David Leslie. One round of the championship is annually held in Scotland. American Race Series Some Scottish drivers have had success in the American series of mainly Oval Racing . Currently Dario Franchitti from Bathgate , competes in the Indy Racing League competition having previously raced very successfully in CART . Allan McNish currently competes in the ''American Le Mans'' ALMS series where he made history by driving the first diesel powered race-car in the series to victory. Scottish circuits Which there are a number of smaller circuits for private use in Scotland and a number of rally stages, the only circuit to host top level circuit motor racing in Scotland is Knockhill in Fife . Shinty See Also: Shinty Shinty is the traditional game of the Scottish Highlands and is still played widely across the area today, with clubs also based in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Fife and Perth, and in most universities. Its governing body is the Camanachd Association (in Scottish Gaelic , ''Comunn na Camanachd'') who are based in Fort William . The sport's premier prize is the Scottish Cup, more popularly known as the Camanachd Cup . Shinty also has the honour of having provided, according to the Guinness Book Of Records , the world's most successful sporting team, Kingussie Camanachd . Shinty was formerly played through the Winter but has recently become a primarily Summer game. It has common roots with the Irish Sport of Hurling . Snooker Scotland has produced many great Snooker players over the years. Many of which have gone on to win the World Championship. Walter Donaldson was the first Scotsman to be crowned World Champion, winning in 1947 and again in 1950. In the modern snooker era the most successful, and it could be said one of the most famous, Scottish snooker player is Stephen Hendry . He has won the World Snooker Championship 7 times, winning it 5 years in a row from 1992 onwards and holds the record as being the youngest ever winner, beating Englishman Jimmy White 18 frames to 12 in 1990, aged just 21. Scotsman John Higgins or as he is more affectionately know "The Wizard of Wishaw" won the World Snooker Championship beating Irishman Ken Doherty in 1998. Since 1990 a Scottish player has featured in almost every World Snooker Championship Final. 1991, 2000, 2003 and 2005 being the only years since 1990 when a Scottish player hasn't made it to the final. As of 2007, the current World Snooker Champion is Scotsman John Higgins . In an epic match, which holds the record as the longest ever recorded best of 32 frames, he won 18 frames to 13 against Englishman Mark Selby . Speedway Scotland currently has two Motorcycle Speedway teams racing in the UK Premier League, Glasgow Tigers and Edinburgh Monarchs. History and more detail to follow (feb 2007). It is a big sport in Scotland. Swimming The governing body is the Scottish Amateur Swimming Association . Tennis Tennis has a very long history in Scotland, with Real Tennis being played at Falkland Palace , Fife . Andy Murray is currently doing very well in the world rankings. The Aberdeen Cup , established in 2005, is an annual competition between the Scotland and England tennis teams. School Sport The leading body for physical education in the United Kingdom is the Association For Physical Education . This includes sports such as benchball (similar to the American Dodgeball but you catch instead) and Gaelic Handball , which is similar to American Handball . Olympic Games Scottish athletes have competed at every Olympic Games , since the inaugural modern Games, as part of the Great Britain And Ireland team (prior to Irish Independence ) and then the Great Britain And Northern Ireland team. A Scot, Launceston Elliot , won Great Britain and Ireland's very first Olympic gold medal, in 1896 in Athens . Scotland have only ever won one Olympic medal as ''Scotland'', when the Men's Field Hockey Team won a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Games . This was also the only occasion when either England (gold) or Wales (bronze) have won a medal in their own right; and was Ireland 's only medal (silver) prior to independence. The Curling gold medal in Chamonix in 1924 was won by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club team, the Scottish national team, and the women's curling gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 was won by the top Scottish team at the time, skipped by Rhona Martin . Scottish summer Olympic medallists =1896 Athens
=1900 Paris
=1904 Athens
=1908 London
=1912 Stockholm
=1920 Antwerp
=1924 Paris
=1928 Amsterdam
=1948 London
=1952 Helsinki
=1956 Melbourne
=1960 Rome
=1964 Tokyo
=1968 Mexico
=1972 Munich
=1976 Montreal
=1980 Moscow
=1984 Los Angeles
=1988 Seoul
=1992 Barcelona
=1996 Atlanta
=2000 Sydney
=2004 Athens
Scottish winter Olympic medallists =1924 Chamonix
=1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen
=2002 Salt Lake City
Commonwealth Games See Also: Scotland at the Commonwealth Games Floorball Not amongst the most popular sports but has grown in recent years with 9 teams taking part in the 2007/08 season. The overseer is the Northern League but the governing body of UK floorball is the GBFF . Teams competing in the 2007/08 season are Aberdeen Oilers, Balwearie Lightning, Balwearie Thunder, Chapel, Dundee Northern Lights, Forth Phoniex, Glenrothes Grrrowl, Hawick and RBS Linlithgow. SPORTS MEDIA Scotland has a distinct set of media products, especially when it comes to sports coverage. The main Scottish Daily Newspapers , the '' Daily Record '', '' The Herald '' and '' The Scotsman '', have extensive coverage of Scottish and international sport; and decent coverage of Scottish sport is one of the key tools used by Scottish editions of English Newspapers , most successfully employed by '' The Scottish Sun ''. There is also a variety of Magazine titles. Titles include '' The Celtic View '', '' Rangers News '', '' Bunkered '', '' Scottish Club Golfer '' and '' Rally Action ''. The main sports television shows on the largest two channels are '' Scotsport '' on STV and ITV1 Border Scotland (which is recognised by the Guinness Book Of Records as the world's longest running sports television programme) and '' Sportscene '' on BBC Scotland . BBC Radio Scotland 's main sports show is '' Sportsound '', and it has other sports output, for example the comedy show '' Off The Ball ''. All the main Independent Radio Stations report on local sport, and often cover football matches live. SEE ALSO
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