Historical Football Kits

 

The Scottish Football League

Formed in 1890, the SFL is the second oldest national league in the world. Originally the competition was strictly amateur, (professionalism was not recognised in Scotland until 1893) and formed of eleven clubs, ten of which were based in the West of Scotland. Of the original members, only Celtic, Dumbarton, Hearts, Rangers and St Mirren survive to this day.

Scotland is unique in having three quite separate governing bodies and structures for the sport. "Senior" competition is governed by the Scottish FA (SFA) and includes members of the Scottish Premier League, the Scottish Football League, Highland League etc. "Junior" clubs play at a level below that of the Senior clubs and are governed by the Scottish Junior FA (SJFA). "Junior" refers to the standard rather than the age of the players. Junior and Senior clubs do not compete against each other and there is no mechanism for clubs to progress through the leagues from Junior to Senior status. Some clubs who dropped out of the Scottish League continue to play within the Junior framework. A third body, the Scottish Amateur Football Association (SAFA) oversees some 1,000 clubs in 67 different local leagues playing at a lower level. Unlike England, there is no pyramid structure in Scotland and while clubs are free to change affiliation, they cannot progress through the different levels.

The Scottish League has undergone a bewildering number of reorganisations since its formation in 1890. A short history by Tony Brown is available here. A valuable summary in .pdf format can be downloaded from Scottish League.net while for those interested in more detailed history of the various leagues that have come and gone I recommend the excellent site by Brian McColl.

Between 1927 and 1929 the Scottish Football League directed that clubs should wear white shorts at home and black shorts when playing away. Up until the mid 1990s the home club changed when there was a clash.

Dave Moor (August 2007)