THE Scottish FA have announced a calendar of events to celebrate 150 years of the national game.
Hampden chiefs have scheduled numerous events over the next 18 months to mark 150 years since the first international football match, the founding of the Scottish FA and the first season of the Scottish Cup.
Events will honour landmark moments in Scottish football history including the first-ever men's international and the first-ever Scottish women's national team.
The Scottish FA today released a video recounting the history of Scottish football with an archive sequence narrated by voices of football past and present.
Edinburgh-based Daniel Gray penned a script with broadcasters Archie Macpherson and Eilidh Barbour narrating the video.
The video can be viewed on a fresh 150 years of Scottish football website with a commemorative 150 years crest also displayed on the site. You can check out the video and crest HERE.
The first milestone to be marked in the 18-month period will be the Scottish Women's National Team's first official match. The game was against England and held 50 years ago in Greenock on November 18, 1972.
The Ravenscraig Pioneers will be honoured in the week leading to the play-off for the 2023 Women's World Cup with a special reunion event.
150 years of Scottish football. The next 18 months will see a series of events honouring the legends of our game, from those who first took to the pitch in 1872, to the Ravenscraig Pioneers of 1972, and beyond. pic.twitter.com/xO3UGJiCOg
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) September 29, 2022
An art exhibition named the Icons Mural will also be unveiled around the play-off on Hampden's West Stand honouring some of the most significant women's football trailblazers.
The players who featured in the first ever Scotland Women's National team match will also be guests of honour at the play-off match against Austria.
The Scottish FA have then arranged a special event at the West of Scotland Cricket ground to honour the first international football match in the world.
On November 30, 1872 - St Andrews Day - a Scotland side featuring players from Queen's Park drew 0-0 with England in front of 4,000 spectators.
The Scottish Football Museum in Hampden Park will also host a special exhibition titled 'Milestones'.
The exhibition will tell the stories of key moments in Scottish football history.
On display - among other things - will be the only surviving match ticket from the first international match as well as an embroidered lion which adorned the Scotland shirts on that day.
Mementos from the Ravenscraig Pioneers will also be displayed in the 'Milestones' exhibition with a match programme and poster to feature.
The Scottish FA will also announce further activities "in due course" involving the founding of The Scottish FA, the "Three Hampdens" and the 150th Scottish Cup.
Scottish FA president Rod Petrie commented: “I am privileged to have the honour of being President during such an historically significant anniversary.
"Of course, the very fabric of football was woven here in Scotland and I look forward to seeing that history being retold not just for the benefit of today’s Scottish football fans but for fans of football around the world.
“It is entirely appropriate that the celebrations kick-off by honouring the Ravenscraig Pioneers, whose determination 50 years ago set in motion a commitment and dedication to the women’s game which has culminated in the SWNT qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup and UEFA Women’s EURO in recent years, with Pedro Martinez Losa’s team on the cusp of reaching a second Women’s World Cup.
“The National Week of Football will provide a centrepiece and legacy to the anniversary; an annual focal point for us all to celebrate the many and varied ways in which the power of Scottish football positively impacts on our country.”
