SFA MARKS 150 YEARS OF INTERNATIONALS

The SFA marked 150 years since the first official men’s international football game yesterday.

Scotland hosted England at the West of Scotland Cricket Ground in Partick, Glasgow, on St Andrew’s Day 1872.

Teams representing Scotland and England took to the field in front of thousands of spectators to play out a 0-0 draw – a significant moment in the development of international football.

The size of the crowd that day is uncertain, with estimates ranging between 2,500 and 4,000.

All 11 players for the Scotland team were selected from the membership of Queen’s Park FC.

Teams of local schoolboys and girls took to a specially-laid pitch at the West of Scotland Cricket Ground yesterday to walk in the footsteps of history.

They played out an entertaining recreation of the original match.

Scotland player Craig Gordon surprised the schoolchildren by joining in with the match.

Colin and Alex Taylor, great-grandsons of Joseph Taylor who represented Scotland that day, attended the event alongside representatives from the SFA, Scottish Football Museum and Queen’s Park. The latter played at full-back for Scotland in the first six international matches and featured in all three of Queen’s Park’s Scottish Cup wins between 1874 to 1876.

The milestone date was marked as part of the SFA’S calendar of events celebrating 150 years of Scotland’s national game, including the founding of the SFA and the first season of the Scottish Cup.

The Scottish Football Museum based in Hampden Park is hosting a special exhibit, ‘The History Makers’, showcasing artefacts that tell the stories of the key moments in Scotland’s football history.