Football in Scotland

Association football 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 Scottish Borders, although many of these include carrying the ball and passing by hand, and despite bearing the name "football" bear little resemblance to association football. Founded in 1873, Scotland has the second oldest national Football Association in the world (behind England's FA), and has various professional and amateur levels. The trophy for the national cup, the Scottish Cup, is the oldest national sporting trophy in the world. Scotland and Scottish football clubs hold many records for football attendances.

There has been debate as to whether Scotland is the traditional home of football, rather than England. The first game of international association football was played in Glasgow, and resulted in a 0–0 draw between Scotland and England. In respect of Scotland's footballing history, it is one of only four permanent members of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which governs the Laws of the Game. The earliest record of football in Scotland dates from 1424 in an act of the Parliament of Scotland, whereby the King of Scotland, James I prohibited men from "playing at the football" and branded the game "decreed".

The national team play home matches at Hampden Park in Glasgow, and have appeared in eight FIFA World Cup competitions (the most recent being 1998) and four appearances at the UEFA European Championship (the most recent being 2024. Scotland also compete in the UEFA Nations League, and were in Group A for the 2024–25 instalment. For the 2026–27 tournament, Scotland will compete in Group B.