top of page

WHERE? In the Southside of the city, in between the districts of Mount Florida and King's Park

SCOTTISH FOOTBALL MUSEUM

4637156050

Hampden Park, Scotland's national football stadium, is also home to the Scottish Football Museum, which has over 200 items of memorabilia on display, including a match ticket from that 1872 international game, the oldest football ticket in the world.

Despite the sorry state of Scotland’s national team, it is a country whose history is steeped in the game, having played the first-ever international game against England in 1872. The game took place in the West of Scotland Cricket Ground in Partick, and rather frustratingly ended in a 0-0 draw. Although we have failed to qualify for a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup, the passion for football runs deep, and the legion of fans, the Tartan Army, follow their team around the globe, bringing with them their pride and good humour (which they often need after ninety minutes of play). It is because of this passion, pride and heritage that the Scottish Football Museum exists. The museum is home to the oldest national football trophy, the Scottish Cup, which was crafted in 1873.


Although the museum has been in existence as an exhibition since 1994, it only moved to its permanent home at Hampden Park in 2001. As well as the fourteen different galleries that will take you through the ages of football, the museum often holds special exhibitions. There is also the option to take a tour around Hampden Park, which holds the European attendance record for an international match; 149,415 people watched Scotland trounce England 3-1 in the 1937 British Home Championship game. As a result of security measures, Hampden’s capacity was cut almost in half from 150,000 to 81,000 in 1977. It currently has a capacity of 52,063, nearly a third of what it was at its peak.

The current Hampden Park is the third stadium to carry the name, all within a stone’s throw of one another. The first, created in 1873, was abandoned due to a proposed railway cutting through one of the terraces. Kingsley Bowling Green and an adjoining rose garden now stand in its place. The second was used for twenty years, but when planning permission for more space was rejected, a third site was sought out. That stadium was sold to Third Lanark A.C. and renamed Cathkin Park. It is now a public park, with one of the terraces still visible. The current stadium opened in 1903. Ironically for a Scottish national stadium, Hampden Park was named after a street which overlooked the first ground, Hampden Terrace. The irony is that this was named for John Hampden, an Englishman and Westminster politician who died during the English Civil War in 1643.

NEARBY SIGHTS

4637098320

The pioneer of sustainable building with many examples across Glasgow

4637098320

Buildings and designs by Scotland's most famous architect

4637098320

Glasgow has a vast selection of museums and art galleries

4637098320

The highlights for those only in Glasgow for a day or two

bottom of page