Football in Scotland is a popular professional sport. Founded in 1873,[1] Scotland has the second oldest national football association in the world. The national cup competition, the Scottish Cup, was started in the 1873–74 season. Its trophy is the oldest national sporting trophy in the world.[2] A Scottish football league system was first instituted in 1890, with the creation of the Scottish Football League. A second national cup competition, the Scottish League Cup, was created in the 1946–47 season. This page details the team and individual records set in these competitions.
League competitions
editTeam records
edit| Rank | Club | Tier One: Premiership |
Tier Two: Championship |
Tier Three: League One |
Tier Four: League Two |
Totals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rangers | 55* | 55* | |||
| 2 | Celtic | 54 | 54 | |||
| 3 | Hibernian | 4 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 4 | Greenock Morton | 6 | 3 | 1 | 10 | |
| 5 | Falkirk | 7 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 6 | Raith Rovers | 6 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 7 | Ayr United | 6 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 8 | Clyde | 5 | 4 | 9 | ||
| 9 | Partick Thistle | 6 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 10 | Heart of Midlothian | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Rank | Club | Tier One: Premiership |
Tier Two: Championship |
Tier Three: League One |
Tier Four: League Two |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rangers | 55 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Dumbarton | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Rank | Club | Tier Two: Championship |
Tier Three: League One |
Tier Four: League Two |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenock Morton | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Hamilton Academical | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Queen's Park | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Dumbarton | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Ross County | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | Livingston | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 7 | Albion Rovers | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | Gretna | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Rank | Club | No. of seasons |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic | 128 |
| 2 | Rangers | 124 |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 122 |
| 4 | Hibernian | 118 |
| 6 | St Mirren | 114 |
| 5 | Aberdeen | 113 |
| 7 | Motherwell | 109 |
| 8 | Dundee | 100 |
| 9 | Kilmarnock | 95 |
| 10 | Partick Thistle | 85 |
| Rank | Club | First season of current spell |
No. of seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic | 1890–91 | 128 |
| 2 | Aberdeen | 1905–06 | 113 |
| 3 | Motherwell | 1985–86 | 40 |
| 4 | St Johnstone | 2009–10 | 16 |
| 5 | Rangers | 2016–17 | 9 |
| 6 | Hibernian | 2017–18 | 8 |
| 7 | St Mirren | 2018–19 | 7 |
| 8 | Ross County | 2019–20 | 6 |
| 9 | Heart of Midlothian | 2020–21 | 4 |
| 10 | Kilmarnock | 2022–23 | 3 |
| Club | First title | Longest time between titles | Years | Current time since last title | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Last title won | Years | |||
| Dumbarton | 1890–91* | 1890–91 | 1891–92 | 1 | 1891–92 | 132 |
| Rangers | 1890–91* | 1963–64 | 1974–75 | 11 | 2020–21 | 3 |
| Celtic | 1892–93 | 1953–54 | 1965–66 | 12 | 2023–24 | 0 |
| Heart of Midlothian | 1894–95 | 1896–97 | 1957–58 | 61 | 1959–60 | 64 |
| Hibernian | 1902–03 | 1902–03 | 1947–48 | 45 | 1951–52 | 72 |
| Third Lanark | 1903–04 | 1903–04 | 1903–04 | 120 | ||
| Motherwell | 1931–32 | 1931–32 | 1931–32 | 92 | ||
| Aberdeen | 1954–55 | 1954–55 | 1979–80 | 25 | 1984–85 | 39 |
| Dundee | 1961–62 | 1961–62 | 1961–62 | 62 | ||
| Kilmarnock | 1964–65 | 1964–65 | 1964–65 | 59 | ||
| Dundee United | 1982–83 | 1982–83 | 1982–83 | 41 | ||
*1890–91 title was shared between Dumbarton and Rangers
- Titles
- Most top-flight league titles: 55, Rangers[3]
- Most consecutive league titles: 9, joint record:[4]
- Longest gap between title wins: 61 years, Hearts (1897 to 1958)
| Position | Club | Last season in position |
No. of clubs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Falkirk | 1909–10 | 3 |
| Greenock Morton | 1916–17 | ||
| Airdrieonians (1878) | 1925–26 | ||
| 3rd | St Mirren | 1892–93 | 10 |
| St Bernard's | 1893–94 | ||
| Raith Rovers | 1921–22 | ||
| East Fife | 1952–53 | ||
| Partick Thistle | 1962–63 | ||
| Clyde | 1966–67 | ||
| Dunfermline Athletic | 1968–69 | ||
| Livingston | 2001–02 | ||
| St Johnstone | 2012–13 | ||
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 2014–15 | ||
| 4th | Cambuslang | 1890–91 | 5 |
| Leith Athletic | 1891–92 | ||
| Ayr United | 1915–16 | ||
| Queen of the South | 1933–34 | ||
| Hamilton Academical | 1934–35 | ||
| 5th | Queen's Park | 1928–29 | 4 |
| Ross County | 2012–13 | ||
| Cowdenbeath | 1924–25 | ||
| Clydebank (1914) | 1919–20 | ||
| 6th | Renton | 1891–92 | 1 |
| 7th | Abercorn | 1890–91 | 1 |
| 8th | Vale of Leven | 1890–91 | 1 |
| 9th | Port Glasgow Athletic | 1903–04 | 1 |
| 10th | Clydebank (1965) | 1985–86 | 2 |
| Cowlairs | 1890–91 | ||
| 11th | Albion Rovers | 1921–22 | 2 |
| Arbroath | 1937–38 | ||
| 12th | Stirling Albion | 1958–59 | 2 |
| Gretna | 2007–08 | ||
| 18th | East Stirlingshire | 1963–64 | 1 |
| 19th | Bo'ness | 1927–28 | 1 |
| 20th | Alloa Athletic | 1922–23 | 1 |
- Top-flight appearances
- Most appearances: 127 completed seasons, Celtic (1890–present)[5]
- Largest victories
- Largest top flight home win: 11–0, Celtic v Dundee, 26 October 1895[6]
- Largest top flight away win: 1–11, Airdrieonians v Hibernian, 24 October 1959[6]
- Streaks
- Longest top flight unbeaten run: 62 games, Celtic (20 November 1915 – 21 April 1917)[7][8]
- Most consecutive top flight wins: 25, Celtic (2003–04)
- Unbeaten league season:
- Attendances
- Highest attendance: 118,567 - Rangers v Celtic at Ibrox Park, 2 January 1939
Individual
edit- Goals
- Most top flight goals in a career: 410, Jimmy McGrory (Celtic 397, Clydebank 13)[11]
- Most top flight goals in a season: 52, Willie MacFadyen (Motherwell, 1931–32)[12]
- Most top flight goals in a game: 8, Jimmy McGrory (Celtic 9 Dunfermline Athletic 0, 14 January 1928)
- Most top flight hat-tricks: 48, Jimmy McGrory
- Appearances
- Most top flight appearances: 626, Bob Ferrier (Motherwell)[13]
- Most consecutive appearances with a goal scored: 14, Evelyn Morrison (Falkirk, 1928–29)
- Goalkeepers
- Longest consecutive period of time without conceding a goal: 1,256 minutes, Fraser Forster (Celtic, 2013–14)[14][15]
- Titles
- Most league title wins by a manager 18, Bill Struth (Rangers)
- Most league title wins by a player 13, Sandy Archibald (Rangers)
Scottish Cup
editTeam records
edit- Most final wins: 42, Celtic[16][17]
- Most consecutive final wins: 4, Celtic (2016–17 to 2019–20)[16]
- Most final appearances: 61, Celtic (includes cancelled 1909 fixture)[16]
- Most consecutive final defeats: 3, Vale of Leven (1882–83 to 1884–85)
- Most consecutive final appearances: 8, Rangers (1975–76 to 1982–83)[17]
- Longest gap between final wins: 114 years, Hibernian (1901–02 to 2015–16)
- Most final appearances without winning: 2, Hamilton Academical (1910–11, 1934–35)[16]
- Most final appearances without defeat: 2, St Johnstone (2013–14, 2020–21)
- Longest winning streak in finals: 14, Rangers (1929–30, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66)
- Longest losing streak in finals: 10, Hibernian (1913–14, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1946–47, 1957–58, 1971–72, 1978–79, 2000–01, 2011–12, 2012–13)
- Biggest final wins: 5 goals, joint record:
- Most goals in a final: 7:
- Renton 6–1 Cambuslang, (1887–88)
- Celtic 4–3 Queen's Park, (1899–1900)
- Hearts 4–3 Celtic, (1900–01)
- Celtic 6–1 Hibernian (1971–72)
- Motherwell 4–3 Dundee United (1990–91)
- Most goals by a runner-up: 3:
- Queen's Park: Lost 3–4 against Celtic (1899–1900)
- Celtic: Lost 3–4 against Hearts (1900–01)
- Dundee United: Lost 3–4 against Motherwell (1990–91)
- Hearts: Lost on penalties against Celtic after the game finished 3–3 (aet) (2019–20)
- Most final losses: 19, Rangers (excludes cancelled 1909 fixture)[16]
- Most common pairing in the final: 16, Celtic v Rangers (8 Celtic wins, 7 Rangers wins)1908–09 was withheld)[17]
- Most wins while playing at tier 2: 1, joint record:
- East Fife F.C. (1937–38)
- Hibernian (2015–16)
- Attendances
- Highest attendance: 146,433, Celtic v Aberdeen at Hampden Park, 24 April 1937 (1936–37)
Individual
edit- Most cup final wins by manager: 14, Willie Maley (Celtic)
- Most cup final wins by player 8, Bobby Lennox (Celtic)
- Most overall goals: Jimmy McGrory 77 goals (Celtic 74, Clydebank 3)
- Most Scottish Cup goals in a match: John Petrie 13 (Arbroath 36, Bon Accord 0, 12 September 1885)[18][19]
Scottish League Cup
editTeam records
edit- Most final wins: 28, Rangers[20]
- Most consecutive final wins: 5, Celtic (1965–66 – 1969–70)[20]
- Most final appearances: 36, joint record: Celtic and Rangers[20]
- Most consecutive final defeats: 4, Celtic (1970–71 – 1973–74)
- Most consecutive final appearances: 14, Celtic (1964–65 – 1977–78)[17]
- Most final appearances without winning: 3, Dunfermline Athletic[20] (1949–50, 1991–92, 2005–06)
- Most final appearances without losing: 3, East Fife (1947–48, 1949–50, 1953–54)
- Longest gap between final wins: 21 years, Aberdeen (1955–56 – 1976–77)
- Longest winning streak in finals: 9, Rangers (1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2007–08)
- Longest losing streak in finals: 5, joint record:
- Kilmarnock (1952–53, 1960–61, 1962–63, 2000–01, 2006–07),
- Dundee United (1981–82, 1984–85, 1997–98, 2007–08, 2014–15)
- Biggest final win: 6 goals:
- Celtic 7–1 Rangers, (1957–58)
- Most goals in a final: 9:
- Most goals by a runner-up: 3:
- Most final losses: 15, Celtic[20]
- Most common pairing in the final: 17, Celtic v Rangers (9 Rangers wins, 8 Celtic wins)[17]
- Most wins while playing at tier 2: 1, joint record:
- East Fife F.C. (1947–48)
- Raith Rovers (1994–95)
- Attendances
- Highest attendance: 107,609, Celtic v Rangers at Hampden Park, 25 October 1965 (1965–66)
- Individual
- Most cup final wins by manager: 6, Scot Symon (East Fife and Rangers), Jock Stein (Celtic) and Walter Smith (Rangers)
- Most overall goals: Joe Harper 74 goals (Aberdeen 51, Hibernian 16, Morton 7)
Transfers
editRecord transfer fees paid
edit| Rank | Player | From | To | Fee | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tore Andre Flo | Chelsea | Rangers | £12,000,000 | 23 November 2000 | [21] |
| 2 | Arne Engels | FC Augsburg | Celtic | £10,800,000 | 31 August 2024 | [22] |
| 3 | Odsonne Édouard | Paris Saint-Germain | Celtic | £9,000,000 | 15 June 2018 | [23] |
| 4 | Adam Idah | Norwich | Celtic | £8,250,000 | 14 August 2024 | [24] |
| 5= | Christopher Jullien | Toulouse | Celtic | £7,000,000 | 28 June 2019 | [25] |
| 5= | Ryan Kent | Liverpool | Rangers | £7,000,000 | 2 September 2019 | [26] |
| 7 | Michael Ball | Everton | Rangers | £6,500,000 | 20 August 2001 | [27] |
| 8 | Jota | Benfica | Celtic | £6,465,000 | 1 July 2022 | [28][citation needed] |
| 9= | Cameron Carter-Vickers | Tottenham Hotspur | Celtic | £6,000,000 | 10 June 2022 | [29] |
| 9= | Chris Sutton | Chelsea | Celtic | £6,000,000 | 11 July 2000 | [30] |
| 9= | John Hartson | Coventry City | Celtic | £6,000,000 | 2 August 2001 | [31] |
| 9= | Auston Trusty | Sheffield United | Celtic | £6,000,000 | 31 August 2024 |
Record transfer fees received
edit| Rank | Player | From | To | Fee | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt O'Riley | Celtic | Brighton | £30,000,000 | 27 August 2024 | [32] |
| 2= | Kieran Tierney | Celtic | Arsenal | £25,000,000 | 8 August 2019 | [33] |
| 2= | Jota | Celtic | Al-Ittihad | £25,000,000 | 3 July 2023 | [34][35] |
| 4 | Moussa Dembélé | Celtic | Olympique Lyonnais | £19,700,000 | 31 August 2018 | [36] |
| 5 | Calvin Bassey | Rangers | Ajax | £19,580,000 | 20 July 2022 | [37] |
| 6 | Odsonne Édouard | Celtic | Crystal Palace | £14,000,000 | 31 August 2021 | [38] |
| 7 | Kristoffer Ajer | Celtic | Brentford | £13,500,000 | 21 July 2021 | [39][40] |
| 8 | Victor Wanyama | Celtic | Southampton | £12,500,000 | 11 July 2013 | [41] |
| 9= | Virgil van Dijk | Celtic | Southampton | £11,500,000 | 1 September 2015 | [42][43] |
| 9= | Nathan Patterson | Rangers | Everton | £11,500,000 | 4 January 2022 | [44] |
Most successful clubs by titles
edit| Team | Domestic | European | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League titles | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Champions League | Cup Winners' Cup | Europa League | Europa Conference League | Super Cup | ||
| Celtic | 54 | 42 | 22 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 119 |
| Rangers | 55 | 34 | 28 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 118 |
| Aberdeen | 4 | 7 | 6 | - | 1 | - | - | 1 | 19 |
| Heart of Midlothian | 4 | 8 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 16 |
| Hibernian | 4 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| Queen's Park | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| Kilmarnock | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| Dundee United | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| Dundee | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| Motherwell | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| St Mirren | - | 3 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| East Fife | - | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| Dumbarton | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Third Lanark | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Clyde | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| St Johnstone | - | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| Falkirk | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Dunfermline Athletic | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Partick Thistle | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Inverness Caledonian Thistle | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Greenock Morton | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Airdrieonians | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| St Bernard's | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Raith Rovers | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Livingston | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Ross County | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
References
edit- ^ "Scottish FA > About". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
- ^ "Scottish Cup > History & Archives". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
- ^ "Linfield overtake Rangers as Irish champions declared 'most successful club'". 2 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d Stokkermans, Karel (23 December 2013). "Trivia on Winning Domestic Championships". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ Stokkermans, Karel (18 June 2015). "Coventric!". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- ^ a b Stokkermans, Karel (19 December 2013). "Double Digits Domestical". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Stokkermans, Karel (23 December 2013). "Unbeaten". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ Brown, Alan (29 October 2001). "Celtic FC's series of 62 matches unbeaten in Division One". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ McLeod, Liam (4 November 2017). "Celtic: Brendan Rodgers' team earns place in the history books". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ Barnes, John (13 December 2017). "Celtic 3–1 Hamilton Academical". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
- ^ Brown, Alan; Robertson, Forrest; Ross, David (20 March 2009). "Scotland - All-Time Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ Kilani, Imed (16 March 2012). "Top Division Scoring Records". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ Rota, Davide (20 January 2012). "List of League Appearances Records". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ "Fraser Forster: Celtic clean sheet record a team effort". BBC Sport. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Aberdeen 2–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster's Scottish record for the longest time without conceding a league goal was an unbroken 1,215 minutes coming into the game - it was ended at 1,256 minutes. Celtic had not let in a Scottish Premiership goal since they last played Aberdeen, in a 3–1 win back on 23 November.
- ^ a b c d e Ross, James M. (25 July 2013). "Scotland - List of Cup Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Stokkermans, Karel (28 November 2013). "Domestic Cups Trivia". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
- ^ "PERRIE'S FEAT". Press and Journal. 14 April 1936. Retrieved 1 January 2022. (via) British Newspaper Archive
- ^ A day when Scottish football scorched the record books The Scotsman, retrieved 14 July 2007. Archived from the original Archived 14 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine on 27 March 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Ross, James M. "Scotland - List of League Cup Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Flo goes to Rangers". BBC Sport. 23 November 2000.
- ^ "Celtic buy Engels and Trusty as they work on McCowan deal". BBC Sport. 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
- ^ "Celtic sign French striker Edouard in record deal". AFP. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
- ^ FC, Celtic (2024-08-14). "Adam Idah returns to the champions as he signs five-year-deal with Celtic". Celtic FC. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
- ^ "Christopher Jullien: French defender joins Celtic". BBC Sport. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ "Ryan Kent: Liverpool forward completes Rangers move". BBC Sport. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- ^ "Ball makes Rangers move". BBC Sport. 17 August 2011.
- ^ Devlin, Kieran (1 July 2022). "Celtic sign Filipe Jota from Benfica in £6.4m deal". The Athletic. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ Atkinson, Mark (10 June 2022). "Cameron Carter-Vickers: Celtic complete permanent transfer - fee, length of contract, what player and coach had to say". msn.com. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ "O'Neill secures Sutton". BBC Sport. 11 July 2000. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
- ^ "Celtic sign trio on deadline day". BBC Sport. 2 August 2001. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
- ^ Loudon, Calum (2024-08-26). "Celtic confirm sale of Matt O'Riley to Brighton in record deal worth up to £30m". STV News. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
- ^ "Kieran Tierney: Celtic defender completes £25m Arsenal move". BBC Sport. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- ^ "Jota: Portuguese winger leaves Celtic to join Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia". BBC Sport. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- ^ "Jota: Al-Ittihad sign Portuguese winger from Celtic in £25m deal". Sky Sports. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "Moussa Dembele: Celtic striker joins Lyon in £19.7m move". BBC Sport. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
- ^ Coyle, Andy (20 July 2022). "Rangers sell defender Calvin Bassey to Ajax for club record fee". STV Sport. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
- ^ "Odsonne Edouard nears £14m Crystal Palace move as Giorgos Giakoumakis & Jota join". BBC Sport. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Kris Ajer posts heartfelt message with special mention to John Kennedy after sealing Celtic exit". The Glasgow Times. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Brentford sign Ajer from Celtic in £13.5m deal". MSN.com. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
- ^ "Victor Wanyama completes £12.5m move to Southampton from Celtic". The Guardian. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ^ Hynter, David (1 September 2015). "Virgil van Dijk signs for Southampton from Celtic for £11.5m". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ^ Celtic reportedly received further funds when van Dijk was sold by Southampton to Liverpool in January 2018, due to a sell-on clause in the deal agreed between Celtic and Southampton (BBC Sport).
- ^ "Nathan Patterson: Everton complete signing of Scotland right-back from Rangers". BBC Sport. 4 January 2022.
External links
edit- "League Records". Statto.com. Retrieved 24 August 2012.