Launched by Historic Environment Scotland (HES), the project aims to identify and document the places that have shaped the sport’s history, many of which remain overlooked or unrecorded.
Arriving as Scotland prepares for its ninth-ever World Cup finals, the initiative focuses on association football’s development from the 1860s onwards—a period when Scottish teams and players were instrumental in shaping the global game.
HES is inviting the public, including fans, communities and historians, to nominate sites connected to the sport’s past.
These could include stadiums, pavilions, parks and buildings, or less obvious locations that hold historical significance.
Suggestions will help HES identify locations for further research and recording, with some potentially gaining recognition as protected historic places, including listed buildings and scheduled monuments.
Victoria Murray, head of heritage information, recording and business at HES, said: “As Scotland get ready to return to football’s world stage, it feels like the right time to look at the origins of the modern game and Scotland’s role in that story.
“Football is Scotland’s national sport and a key part of our history, and we’ve launched this project to better understand the sites that are important to our football heritage.
“We want to hear from anyone who knows about the places that have played a part in the development of football in Scotland.
“These could be the remains of grounds themselves – such as recently scheduled Cathkin Park or the site of First Hampden – or more varied sites with football links – such as the listed Rose Reilly pub in Glasgow’s southside, where we recently updated our records to recognise the former Hampden Bar’s connection to Reilly, who is an icon of women’s football in Scotland.
“We know that there are many people right across the country who are keen to get involved in how the history and impact of football in Scotland is recorded and celebrated, and we’d like to encourage as many as possible to take part in our survey.”
The project aims to paint a fuller picture of how football has influenced communities and culture across Scotland.
Ged O’Brien, football historian and founder of the Scottish Football Museum, welcomed the initiative.
He said: “Football is all about memories.
“Many of those memories are stored in the places we love: the stadium, the pub, the park where we played.
“They must be recorded, cherished and protected, so that future generations can have their own memories.
“The football culture of Scotland is the football culture of world football.
“The historic environment of football was nurtured and brought to full bloom in a thousand corners of Scotland.
“They all tell us where football came from and who we are as a nation.
“It is our duty to collect and promote the places where Scottish sporting genius was turned into something tangible.
“They are evidence of the birth pangs of the modern game.”
Members of the public can submit site suggestions through the consultation page on the HES website.
The survey will remain open until Thursday, August 20.
The Scottish football heritage project has been informed by Talking About Heritage, HES’s national conversation about heritage, where the organisation spoke to more than 6000 people across Scotland about what heritage matters to them and how it should be looked after.
For more information and to read the project report, visit the HES website.
