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19092009CENTENARY

Scottish AmateurFootball AssociationCENTENARY EDITION

100 Lions - 100YearsA C E L E B R AT I O N - 1 0 0 Y E A R S O F T H E S A F A

01

These perceptive words were utteredby my, now sadly deceased, motherto my head teacher just as a young

Angus Mackay was about to leave primaryschool for Biggar High School in 1965.

A mother who, despite what could beconstrued as disapproval, spent the next 35years washing a football strip mostweekends because her son, the blue eyedboy, was the secretary, winger, occasionalgoalkeeper and frequent substitute for the“local team”.

The “local team” was initiallyTinto BoysClub, founded in 1967 with a 14 year oldGus Mackay as secretary and, ultimately,SymingtonTinto AFC spawned in 1973when the local boys team amalgamatedwith “the amateurs”.

It was, however, in season 1968/69 that thefoundations were laid for my “future careerin the amateur game.”

Symington won the South of ScotlandCup, my uncle scored the winning goaland young Mackay was “hooked”.

Fortunately for this mediocre “duffer”there is more to amateur football thanplaying and in 1975, when the then teammanager was sacked for rustling sheep andleft the village, Symington is a rural areaafterall, the Club offered me the positionof coach. I have held this position intandem with the Club Secretary’s post forall but 3 of the last 33 years when a briefskirmish with junior football saw me coachat Lanark and Shotts.

Deprived, by a lack of talent of thenecessary experience gained by playing thegame I turned to the SFA’s renownedcoaching courses and, I suppose, becamepart of the “Largs mafia”, even managingon one occasion to coach the famousEusebio.

Other highlights for me in the last 30 years

have been Symington’s two South Cupwins, our playing twice in the last 16 of theScottish Amateur Cup, promotion to theCaledonian League Premier Division,coach to the SAFA international team andmost importantly over 1200 games fieldingteams with SymingtonTinto.

Keen to learn and experience the wideraspects of the amateur game, I wasprivileged to serve the LanarkshireAmateur Football Association in the 70’sand 80’s, first as an Emergency CommitteeMember, then as President and LifeMember where early experience andinfluence came from the legendary ArchieBennie and I had my first dealings with ayoung Hugh Knapp.

At District level, serving on the SouthWestCommittee under the stewardship ofJohnston Cox and Duncan Grant gave mean early insight into the workings of theNational Association.

Elected to Council in 1996, I wasimmediately impressed, not only by thesense of tradition that prevails, but also theknowledge, enthusiasm and calibre of theelected delegates who gather from acrossthe country. We truly are a NationalAssociation.

After serving on various of the standingcommittees, I was proud and privileged in2005 to join an illustrious band and beelected President of the Association, ourhighest honour.

As we celebrate our Centenary my hope isthat, ably assisted by my fellow officebearers, council members and of courseour secretary Hugh Knapp the “wee boyfrom Symington” has made in some smallway a positive contribution to “amateurfitba”.

PresidentAngus Mackay

Angus MackayPresident of theScottish Amateur Football Association

He’s mair interested in fitba than his schuil work Mr Bell“ ”

George started his career in amateurfootball during 1962 when hebecame the first Secretary and a

Founder member of Gartcosh UnitedAFC.The club joined the Airdrie &Coatbridge and District Amateur FootballLeague and in 1964, he was elected to theEmergency Committee. In June 1967 hewas elected as League Secretary, a positionhe still holds after 42 years in office.

There has been much change over theyears and during Season 1970/71 theleague, “Airdrie & Coatbridge & DistrictLeague” changed its name to “The CentralScottish Amateur Football League”.Theleague had expanded over these years andthe new name would reflect thegeographical area in which the league wasoperating. In the years that lay ahead theywould consolidate the league’s positionwithin the Scottish Amateur FootballAssociation.

It was in 1977 and due to pressure of workthat he retired from Gartcosh United AFCto devote his time to the Central ScottishAFL. On retiring, he reflected over thoseyears at club level with the memories ofthe successes and disappointments that hehad experienced in the line of winning andlosing.You can never lose the passionateway you feel for your club, and even to thisday follows the results and progress of hisbeloved Gartcosh United AFC.

During the late 70s and early to mid 80swith the game still changing, he led theCentral Scottish through further change. Anew league set up would be introduced,attracting new entrants and in 1987, theleague would change dramatically. Asponsorship deal was negotiated withScottish & Newcastle Breweries Ltd thatcontinues to this day, and has hadimmense financial benefits to the leagueand its member clubs.

George has served the Scottish AmateurFootball Association over many years,serving as a member of Council, and beingnominated and elected to a number of theAssociation’s Committee’s such as theExecutive & Finance Committee, AppealsCommittee, National DisciplinaryCommittee (South), InternationalCommittee, Constitutional ReviewCommittee,

He was honoured in 1985 when hereceived Life Membership of theAssociation.

It was in 1998 that he was appointedHonoraryTreasurer of the Association andhas enjoyed being involved with thefinancial operations of the Associationduring the term in this office.

President Elect /TreasurerGeorge Dingwall

George DingwallPresident Elect / Treasurer

02/03 Office Bearers

As I had to give up playing in theearly sixties due to an aye injury Istarted to referee in 1967 in

Stirling & District Amateur FootballAssociation and having been appointed toreferee the Mathieson ChallengeTrophyon two occasions and as assistant refereetwice I was then fortunate to be asked toreferee a quarter final tie of the ScottishAmateur cup at Dunipace Juniors groundbetween Links United AFC andStrathkelvin AFC.

Having enjoyed my refereeing career atamateur level until 1980 I then turned myattention to assisting Stirling & DistrictAFA as match secretary. It was also mypleasure to have served Stirling & DistrictAFA as their President from 1992 to 1995and from 1997 to 2000 these beingexperiences which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I also served on theWestern DistrictExecutive Committee under thechairmanship of the late EricWhitegaining valuable experience as secretary ofthat committee. In 1988 I was asked to actas match secretary of the Scottish AmateurCup on the retiral of Andrew Laird whohad been match secretary being awardedfor thirty years.

In my twenty one years as Scottish matchsecretary I have seen many changes mostof which have been to the betterment ofamateur football and made many friends inthe amateur game over the length &breadth of Scotland and beyond havinghad the opportunity to travel toLuxemburg with a Scotland party whowere competing in the UEFA RegionsCup.

I have been honoured by Stirling &District AFA who awarded me LifeMembership and I was granted LifeMembership ofThe Scottish AmateurFootball Association in 1999 an honourwhich is very much treasured.

Match SecretaryGeorgeWatson

George WatsonMatch Secretary

Office Bearers

04/05

Iplayed football at amateur level fromthe age of 18 until 27 when injurycurtailed my football career. I am

proud to say that I was never ordered offduring my playing days.

Teams I played for were Dryford AFC,Dukes Head AFC both members of theLothian & Edinburgh AFA and House O’Hill AFC of Edinburgh Sunday AFA.

After a break from playing football I wastempted back into the administration sideof the game mainly Secretary of QueensRetreat AFC, briefly with Ferryhill AFC /Leith United AFC who amalgamated.

I was Secretary of both clubs when theyreached the final of the Famous GrouseTrophy but unfortunately I was on thelosing side on both occasions.

I joined the Committee of the EdinburghSunday AFA in 1984 as DisciplinarySecretary while still acting as a clubSecretary and then became LeagueSecretary in 1990 to the present day.

In 1998 I became Match Secretary of TheFamous GrouseTrophy which has nowbeen superseded byThe Scottish AmateurSundayTrophy to the present day.

Match Secretary – Scottish AmateurSundayTrophyRW McGechie

Robert W McGechieMatch Secretary – Scottish Amateur Sunday Trophy

Office Bearers

Iwas stricken with the football bug at avery early age and graduated fromwatching senior football to playing

with my school Kilmarnock Academy,which was at that time a predominatelyrugby playing school. Playing with theAcademy we entered and wonThe BrodieCup, a prestigious competition for localschools in Kilmarnock and District whichwas a great achievement for a school whichconcentrated much more on rugby.

Having left school I then played forBellfield BC who were members of theAyrshire Amateur FAYouth League beforemoving into the Ayrshire Junior Leagueswith Hurlford United and MayboleJuniors.

I emigrated to Lanarkshire in 1969 and onhanging up my boots I joined BalmoreHydraulics AFC in the Lanarkshire AFAto assist with coaching and training beforemoving on to manage my local amateurteam in Larkhall.

In 1986 I was approached to see if I wouldbe interested in standing for the post ofMatch Secretary of the Lanarkshire AFAand my appointment to that post in 1986set me off on a journey through amateurfootball which has been immenselyenjoyable.

I was also appointed as the LanarkshireAFA Delegate to the Council of theScottish Amateur Football Association in1986 and was elected to the South ofScotland Executive Committee, as it wasthen, before being elected to theWesternDistrict Executive Committee in 1988.

I followed Archie Bennie, who was a realstalwart of amateur football for over 50years, into the post of Secretary/Treasurerof the Lanarkshire AFA on his retiral fromthat post in 1992. I was honoured to havebeen awarded Life Membership of theLanarkshire AFA in 1993, an award Icherish. During my time as an OfficeBearer of the Lanarkshire AFA I firstcrossed swords with Angus Mackay in hiscapacity as Secretary of SymingtonTintoAFC.

In January of 1994 I was fortunate enoughto be appointedTreasurer of the ScottishAmateur Football Association a post whichwas vastly different in its accountingpractices than those of the presentcomputerised age.

On Arthur Duncan’s resignation from theposition of National Secretary in July 1994I was delighted to accept the offer to stepinto that post, a position which I have beenprivileged to hold until the present time.

I consider my position as NationalSecretary to be a labour of love and I havebeen extremely privileged to have held thispost for 14 years, meeting and makingmany, many friends during that time.

I never cease to be amazed at thecommitment, dedication and enthusiasmof the army of volunteers who contributeweek in week out to the well being ofamateur football, so hats off to all you ladsand lassies who keep our Association aliveand well.

SecretaryHugh Knapp

Hugh KnappSecretary

Office Bearers

06/07

On behalf of everyone at the Scottish FA,it gives me great pleasure to contribute tothis special publication marking 100 yearsof the Scottish Amateur FootballAssociation.

For any organisation to reach its centenaryyear is an incredible feat, but for one thatrepresents a membership as large anddiverse as the SAFA, it is even moreremarkable. I was struck recently at thesheer scale of the amateur game inScotland when I was asked to do the drawfor theThe Foster’s Scottish Amateur CupandThe Foster’s Scottish AmateurTrophy3rd round draws cup competition. Notonly was it the largest draw - in terms ofteams - that I had ever seen, it was alsoremarkable to see teams taking part fromright across the country.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, of course.Football is, after all, Scotland’s nationalsport. In fact, it is more than that - it is ournational obsession. With all the press andmedia interest in the top levels of theprofessional game, it would be easy tothink that Scottish football is all about theelite levels. To think that, however, wouldbe doing a massive dis-service to thethousands of amateur players who play thegame each year. Their participation leveldwarfs that of the professional leagues. Inthat respect, it could be argued that it isthe amateur game that ensures thatfootball continues to flourish across ourcountry.

Grassroots and amateur football sits rightat the heart of so many of ourcommunities.The teams that play in ouramateur leagues and cup competitions arean important expression of local identityand the social role that the teams playcannot be underestimated.The role offootball in society and the way in which itcan influence people is something that I

am greatly interested in. I firmly believethat the power of football as a force forchange is something that we must continueto harness across Scotland.

I have no doubt that the amateur game hasa vitally important role to play indeveloping people as well as developing thegame. Football is an incredible sport.Quite apart from the unique experience ofcamaraderie that you get from being partof a team, football is helping to keepgenerations of Scots fit and healthy. It isteaching young men and women disciplineand respect - and it is helping to givepeople the confidence to succeed in otherparts of their lives.

As the majority of Scots who play footballdo so at the amateur and grassroots level,we must continue to work with the SAFAand all the amateur leagues in order toincrease participation and to develop ourplayers. I never played at an amateur levelduring my career ‚ I was fortunate enoughto progress straight from the youth toprofessional leagues, however, as I travelthe country in my role at the Scottish FA Ican see for myself just how important theamateur competitions are and the deepsense of pride that players and supportershave for their local teams.

Harnessing this pride and developing thegame is something that I knowwe can all work together to achieve.

Once again, on behalf of everyone at theScottish FA, my congratulations to all theplayers and staff of the Scottish AmateurFA. Here’s to the next 100 years.

Chief Executive,The Scottish FAGordon Smith

Gordon SmithChief Executive - The Scottish Football Association

Who would have imagined back in 1982when I blew my whistle for the very firsttime at Motherwell Bridgework vVictoria,which included 6 yellow cards and 3 redcards, that nearly 20 years to the day later Iwould have been standing on the podiuminYokahamaTokyo picking up a medalafter officiating at theWorld Cup Finalbetween Brazil and Germany. Peoplereading this article will find it difficult tobelieve me when I say that that surrealevening in Japan the memories of my firstever match in Motherwell 20 yearsprevious came flooding back.

I have very special memories of refereeingin the Scottish / Lanarkshire AmateurLeagues and always looked forward toreceiving the phone call from Ian Danskin,the then Lanarkshire match secretary, on aSunday night informing me what task layahead 6 days later for the paltry fee of £6,no more now than a gallon of petrol, or ifyou were doing really well a postcardwould drop through the door with aScottish Amateur Cup tie from GeorgeWatson. Cherished memories indeed!

Now working full-time at the Scottish FAin the Referee Development Department ,I can appreciate and remember thedifficulties, loneliness and vulnerability ofofficiating on the public parks whereofficials have little or no protection.

All top referees have come through theamateur grades be it in Lanarkshire,Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh orTayside andit makes a perfect grounding for whatchallenges lie ahead for young aspiringreferees. Playing amateur football andturning up with all your friends andcolleagues can be comforting particularlywhen you enter an intimidatingenvironment, but as a referee you arealways on your own and feel as if you haveno support to call on. But what achallenge!

Players and club officials must realise thatretaining referees in the early stages oftheir career is extremely difficult but veryimportant and every effort should beafforded to them in offering support andshowing more understanding in what theyare attempting to achieve because withoutreferees we have no game.

In refereeing we lose 70/80% of newreferees we recruit in their first two yearsfor various reasons but a lot of the reasonis because of abuse experienced in theminor grades. A very disturbing statistic.

A referee is a very important part of thegame and it is too easy to cast him as thevillain when in fact he has a role to protectthe players from serious injury, from actsof violence but he also works very hard tokeep the players on the field of play andthis is where his/her man-managementskills are of the utmost importance.Thereis no difference whether you are refereeingMotherwell Miners v SymingtonTinto orRangers v Celtic, the beauty of our game isthe Laws are the same at all levels butcertainly the publicity and attention aredifferent. In my days in the Lanarkshireamateurs players could be heard shoutingat me “hey Dallas nae wonder you arereffin in the 5th division” which I foundamusing because it was the same divisionthey were playing in! But I wouldn’t havechanged it for the world.

A regret that a lot of referees have is theydidn’t start their refereeing careers earlierbut in those days it wasn’t possible becauseyou couldn’t play and officiate at the sametime, so understandably players chose toplay as long as they could, but nowchanges have been made in the system toallow players to play for example on aSaturday and officiate on a Sunday.Thismeans when they do stop playing theyhave a few years experience in therefereeing field that allows them to take itmore seriously at a higher grade withbetter chances of accelerated promotion.

When I stopped playing amateur footballin Shotts at the age of 23 at no time did Iever imagine that I would go on to officiateat over twenty old firm matches, and havethe pound coins to prove it, and refereeover one hundred and thirty matchesoverseas.

Taking up refereeing was one of my betterdecisions but I am sure thousands ofpeople will disagree…!

Hugh Dallas MBE

Hugh Dallas MBEThe Scottish Football Association

The Scottish Football Association(SFA) had been established in1873 when eight clubs, of whom

only Queens Park survives, formed theAssociation principally to organise andsponsor a cup competition. At this timethere were many other Scottish clubs someof whom were members of the FootballAssociation (FA) established in England in1863.

The establishment of the FA separatedwhat we now call the rugby clubs from thefootball clubs as prior to this the rulesallowed a mixture of handling and kickingthe ball.

There were local leagues and cups, friendlymatches and a vast amount of “city”matches whereby select teams fromGlasgow or Edinburgh for example wouldplay Sheffield or Blackburn. Basically,clubs established their own prestigiousfixture list, and there was no formal leagueset up until the English League wasformed in 1888.The SFA decided to adopt the FA rulesbut only after a lengthy debate about theoffside rule. Some things never change!

The English League was “professional”though the practice was not adopted intothe rules until 1885.The player exodusfrom Scotland lured by the big wagesbeing offered was soon to become a floodand expedited the formation of theScottish Football League (SFL) in 1890and the introduction of professionalisminto Scottish football.Membership of the SFL was by invitationand of the eleven clubs who were foundermembers, six foundered within the first tenyears. Notably, Queens Park and Clydedeclined offers to join the new League.Eventually, Queens Park, though of coursestrictly an amateur club accepted the offer

to join the Scottish League in 1900 morethrough fear of being frozen out of fixturesthan for any dilution of their amateurbeliefs.

TheWelsh Football Association wasformed in 1876 followed by the IrishFootball Association in 1880.

In 1882 the Football Associations’ of thefour countries formed the InternationalFootball Association Board to control thelaws of the game.The FederationInternationale de Football Association(FIFA) was formed in 1903 whenrepresentatives of Belgium, Denmark,France, Holland, Spain, Sweden andSwitzerland met in Paris,The FootballAssociation declined to attend and theother three home countries were notinvited as FIFA could see no reason forseparate representation.The FA joined ayear later with the other home countriesfollowing in 1911. A far cry from the twohundred plus members FIFA boasts in the21st century.

Football in many guises and degrees offormality was played long before the SAFAwas founded. It has often been recorded,that historically whilst Scotland educatedits population it failed to feed them.However one of the side benefits of placesof education was that they gave rise tosporting opportunity, and there is nodoubt the first forms of organised footballdeveloped from the churches, schools anduniversities.

Around 1900 there were leagues inexistence formed by local communitygroups, schools, churches and juvenileassociations.

The earliest known records of a footballclub were of one based in Edinburgh in

The Originsof theSAFA.

08/09

1824 when a trainee lawyer, John Hope,organised a season of games on Saturdayafternoons forThe Foot-Ball Club.Theclub consisted of members of the legalfraternity and landed gentry and playedinitially on Dalry Estate, then part of anEdinburgh suburb, and later at GreenhillPark in Bruntsfield.There was an annualsubscription of one and sixpence (7.5p).By 1826 the club had eighty five membersbut no records can be found after 1841.

Of the amateur football clubs that werecognise today, Glasgow UniversityFootball Club was established in 1877closely followed by Edinburgh Universityin 1878, St Andrews University 1887 andAberdeen University 1889.

On the basis that the club is the oldestplaying a form of football recognisable today, let us have a closer look at theGlasgow University Football Club.Glasgow University (Caledonian League)joined the SFA in 1878, a membershipthey have flirted with to the present day,but in their first season when they weredrawn against Queens Park in the Scottish

Cup they withdrew leaving Queens a bye.The University side competed in ScottishAmateur Football League in its inauguralseason 1901/02.

In 1967 a group of graduates formed theWesterlands club who joined the ScottishAFL (SAFL).

In season 1983/84, the club took theirleave of the SAFL and joined the newlyformed Caledonian League but left thesecond team to compete in the SAFLIn season 1989/90, the club also enteredteams in the new Greater Glasgow PremierAFL leaving their 3rd & 4th teams in theSAFL, though in 1993 their long standingmembership of the SAFL ended.

Honours gained by the club were ScottishAmateur Cup winners in 1927,West ofScotland Cup winners in 1932, ScottishAmateur League Division 2 winners in1949, 1962 and 1973. In addition theyhave had eleven amateur internationalistsand one player,WW Beveridge, whogained 3 full international caps forScotland in 1879 & 80.

Club secretary, John Paterson, becamePresident of the SAFL and was electedVice President of the SAFA in season1924-25 whilst he was secretary of theclub and the first team goalkeeper. JimCraig, former dentist and Celtic “LisbonLion”, is one of many senior players whohave played for the club.

Besides playing in the various amateurleagues, the club entered the Scottish Cupon occasion, and in January 1960 had thedistinction of being defeated 15-0 by thecup holders St Mirren for whom centreforward Gerry Baker scored ten goals.In 2008 they run four teams in amateurleagues, with three teams performing onWednesdays in the Scottish UniversityLeague and still hold membership of theSFA.

A picture of Glasgow University FC takenin 1877 at the start of the SFA

The Origins of the SAFA

10/11

To put matters into perspective andto appreciate the passage of onehundred years since the Scottish

Amateur Football Association (SAFA) wasformed in 1909, it is imperative to savour asnapshot of the world at that time.

Joseph Rowantree, who gave his name tothe progressive think tankThe JosephRowantree Foundation stated 100 yearsago that the social evils facing Britain inthe first decade of the 20th century werepoverty, war, slavery, intemperance, theopium trade and gambling and describedthem as “great scourges of humanity”.Britain had a few years earlier lost QueenVictoria who had reigned for sixty threeyears, the three year long BoerWar hadended, the Labour Party had just beenformed, and London held the OlympicGames at short notice after a volcaniceruption on Mount Etna had forced theorganisers to abandon the proposed venueof Rome.

At first glance it appears little has changedin the world for in 1909Turkey acceptedcash for the loss of Serbia andHerzegovina, an earthquake in Francekilled sixty people and floods in Mexicocaused 1400 deaths.

In Britain, however, the Liberal reformerand Chancellor of the Exchequer, DavidLloyd George, introduced the firstpensions of five shillings (25p) for thoseover seventy years, imposed severe taxes onlicences for alcohol whilst America was inthe midst of “going dry” with an increasingnumber of States declaring Prohibition.

Hollywood had yet to produce a film.TheApache chief Geronimo died in an Indianreservation, whilst nearer home LouisBleriot became the first person to flyacross the English Channel.The telephonewas in its infancy, cars were few and far to

be seen, and women did not have a vote.Commander Robert Peary of the US Navybecame the first man to reach the NorthPole after six attempts.

Electricity was in its infancy, the Royal AirService, forerunner to the Royal Air Force,had been formed less than a yearpreviously and a race course at Scone wasopened six months earlier. The first SOSwas used at sea when a ship went down inthe Azores.

In Scotland, a baby by the name ofAlexander Matthew Busby was born inOrbiston, Bellshill, Scotland.

The over riding air at this time reeked withthe tensions throughout Europe whichwere about to erupt into world war, thewar to end all wars, resulting in the deathof ten million people.

Rowantree, could well have made hisstatement at the start of the 21st century!

Scottish AmateurFootballAssociation

Sir Matt Busby

The Scottish Amateur FootballAssociation (SAFA) was formed in1909 when after an initial meeting

held in February attended by eighty clubsfrom throughout Scotland, Queens ParkFC, Glasgow & District FP FootballLeague and the Glasgow & DistrictSecondary Schools League met and agreedon its formation. James Allison, Presidentof Queens Park FC, took the chair. Itwasn’t until January 1910 that the firstoffice bearers were appointed, those beingas follows;

President R A Lambie, Glasgow & DistrictFP League, Secretary JW Millen,Hamilton Crescent FP andTreasurerW MCrow of the Glasgow & District SecondarySchools League.

On 28th May 1909, the Scottish FootballAssociation (SFA) discussed a request formembership to the body from the SAFA.This was referred to the SpecialCommittee who reported back inNovember of that year that a decisionwould be deferred until a full list of SAFAmember clubs was submitted for approval.At this time five SAFA clubs had appliedfor direct membership of the SFA.

It was not at all unusual to have jointmembership as it permitted clubs toparticipate in competitions organised bythe SFA. It is less common today thoughamateur clubs such as BurntislandShipyard and Glasgow University retaindual membership. At a meeting on 14thDecember 1909, the SFA approved themembership of the SAFA and appointedMessrs Liddell and Robertson as theirrepresentatives on the SAFA.They wereobviously very wary of their new associatesas Liddell was Immediate Past Presidentand Robertson wasVice President of theSFA.

Wasting no time the SAFA, in February1910, asked the SFA to donate aChallenge Cup and badges for annualcompetition, but in early March of thatyear the SFA advised the SAFA theyunderstood that some of their memberclubs had registered professional playersand they must be investigated.Three clubswere expelled from the SAFA, and on 30thMarch 1910, the SFA agreed to present acup to the value of £20.00 and thesecretary was asked to obtain quotationsfor the design and cost. The cup finallypresented to the SAFA on 27th May 1910,to be known as the Scottish Amateur Cup.

Regardless of the outcome of the requestto the SFA, the SAFA proceeded with anational cup competition.Twenty threeteams entered the first ever ScottishAmateur Cup competition in 1910 andthese are listed below;

Airdrie LodgeAllan Glens FPBabcock &Wilcox AthleticBellahouston FPCreetownVolunteersEdinburgh Civil ServiceHamilton Crescent FPHelensburghHutchison School FPJohn Neilson Institute FPKilmacolmLeith AmateursLennox AmateursNewton StewartPaisley AcademicalsPaisley Grammar SchoolParkside AmateursPeterhead HibernianPollockshields AmateursQueens ParkVale of AthollWest Calder SwiftsWhitehill FP

1909 - 1917Humble Beginnings

Newtyle Athletic AFC 1908 - 1909

The competition got off to an inauspiciousstart when Kilmacolm protested about theground conditions at their first round tieagainst Paisley Grammar School.The tiewas replayed the following week withPaisley Grammar School wining.The firstwinners were John Neilson Institution FPAfc who defeated Paisley Academicals by2-0 at Love Street Paisley in April 1910.Obviously no cup or medals werepresented after the final.

The cup was eventually presented to thewinning side in December 1911 and theSAFA had specially commissioned solidgold badges presented to the winners.Remarkably, two of the teams,WhitehillFP (Scottish Amateur Football League)then members of the Glasgow & DistrictFP League andVale of Atholl, currentmembers of the Perthshire AmateurFootball Association, are still in existence.

Prior to this CreetownVolunteers hadappealed to the SFA against the decisionof the SAFA to expel them frommembership as they had one registeredprofessional player but this was dismissed.Also in May 1910, the SFA dismissed anappeal from Helensburgh against adecision of the SAFA saying that theynever interfered with decisions of memberAssociations.

In November 1910, the SAFA asked thepermission of the SFA to play aninternational match against England onlyto be told their request was premature, andwhen the SAFA endeavoured to arrange a

meeting with the SFA to discuss thematter, this was refused.By the way, it was only on 1st December1910 that it was made compulsory for thegoalkeeper to have a different colouredjersey from his teammates.

The Annual General Meeting of the SAFAin May 1911 saw three Associations andseventeen clubs in membership, and it wasnoted with regret that two foundermembers Paisley Academicals andKilmacolm had gone defunct.In December 1911, the SFA advised theOlympic Games Committee that theycould not send an amateur football teamto Stockholm for the 1912 Games. In the1908 Games, Great Britain had defeatedDenmark by 2-0 in the final.

The 1910/11 Scottish Cup attractedtwenty three entries the same as theinaugural competition and the holdersJohn Neilson Institution FP were knockedout in the 2nd round albeit after a protest.

In November 1912, the SAFA againrequested permission to play aninternational match against England andwere turned down and told that in future ifthere were to be such a game, it would beunder the jurisdiction of the SFA.TheSFA did indeed try to arrange the gamefor December 1913, but this date waschanged several times and then abandoneddue to the outbreak of war in 1914.

In March 1913, the SAFA requested thepermission of the SFA to play teams on

Twenty three teams entered thefirst ever Scottish Amateur Cupcompetition in 1910;

Airdrie Lodge

Allan Glens FP

Babcock & Wilcox Athletic

Bellahouston FP

Creetown Volunteers

Edinburgh Civil Service

Hamilton Crescent FP

Helensburgh

Hutchison School FP

John Neilson Institute FP

Kilmacolm

Leith Amateurs

Lennox Amateurs

Newton Stewart

Paisley Academicals

Paisley Grammar School

Parkside Amateurs

Peterhead Hibernian

Pollockshields Amateurs

Queens Park

Vale of Atholl

West Calder Swifts

Whitehill FP

12/13

1909 - 1917 Humble Beginnings

the continent.This was agreed to providedthey played teams in membership of theInternational Federation and all detailswere submitted to the SFA for approval.

December 1913 saw the SAFA requestingaffiliation to the SFA, but discussionspetered out as did football in generalwhen, on 28thJune 1914,The ArchdukeFranz Ferdinand of Austria and his wifewere assassinated in Sarajevo leading tothe outbreak of the GreatWar.

The SAFA AGM in May 1914 reportedthree Associations and thirty two clubs inmembership, and theTreasurer advised theAssociation was £21.00 in credit.The 1stround of the Scottish Cup was set for 16thJanuary 1915, but no football occurred foranother five years. Similarly the initialinternational match against England to beorganised by the SFA was another casualty.

Amateur football literally stopped for theduration of the war, and in October 1917the SAFA advised the SFA that it wasdormant having only one club inmembership. Just prior to this the SFAsaid they would not be appointingdelegates to the SAFA.

From the SAFA formation in 1909 untilits cessation due to the hostilities in 1914,the three office bearers, President Lambie,Secretary Millen andTreasurer Crowremained unchanged.

The main purpose of the SAFA at thistime appeared to be the administration ofthe Scottish Amateur Cup competition.

Edinburgh Civil Service Strollers FC 1913/1914

Wellbank AFC 1913/1914

14/15

Iceland became independent fromDenmark, Lenin, followed by Stalinlead the Russian Revolution, Alcock &

Brown flew the Atlantic non stop. It wasthe era of the flappers,The Charleston,and Depression on both sides of theAtlantic.Troubles were brewing in Irelandwith the rise of Sinn Fein, and fascismgrew under Mussolini in Italy and Hitler inGermany. Eric Liddell won the 400metresgold medal in the 8th Olympics held inParis in 1924.

At the May 1919, AGM, there were threeAssociations and forty three clubs inmembership, and whilst the President andTreasurer were re-elected, JTaylor ofAlbert Road FP was appointed Secretary, aposition he was unable to occupy due tohis mobilisation into HM Forces.ThePresident stood in for the Secretary in theshort term. On his demobTaylorimmediately got involved with SAFA andwas appointedVice-President in 1928,Treasurer in 1929 and then served 3 yearsas President from 1930.

In May 1919, the Football Association(FA) asked the SFA to play the elusive firstinternational match the following season,but they had to decline as Queens Parkrefused to release their first team players asthey would have a fixture on the proposeddate. In May of that year the SFAinstructed the SAFA to remove the needfor two SFA representatives on the SAFACommittee. I do not think this wasbecause the SFA felt that the SAFA werecompetent to run themselves, more likelythey felt it was simply not necessary as theSFA had the final word on any requestfrom the member Leagues or Associationsand used that facility ruthlessly.

By October 1919, twenty three new clubshad entered the Association though fiveothers had dropped out.The 1921/22

Scottish Amateur Cup was won byGreenock HSFP after a replay againstColdstream, the first game at CappielowPark, Greenock attracting 3000 spectators.

In March 1922, the SFA turned down theoffer of an amateur international fixtureagainst the French FA and a furtherapproach from the FA was met with asimilar response.

In April 1924, the SAFA again asked toplay an international match againstEngland only to be told that a teamwithout Queens Park players was not inthe national interest.

However the SAFA agreed in August 1926that an amateur international match wouldtake place against England on 18thDecember 1926 in Leicester.The Scottishteam consisted of seven Queens Parkplayers, one from the Army and the otherthree from English senior teams.Threedays before the game the SAFA Presidentand Secretary were invited to attend thegame. Scotland won 4-1 and the expensescame to £291.19.2 (£291,97)

In December of that year, the SFAannounced that they would be altering theArticles of Association to incorporate thenecessary changes which meant that, fromseason 1927/28, the SJunFA and theSAFA were to be National Associationsaffiliated to the SFA. Each Associationwould be given a vote at SFA CouncilMeetings and the SFA was to set up anAppeals Committee to deal with appealsfrom each body.There would be no appealagainst decisions which might delay cupcompetitions and defaulters would beliable for expenses in addition to the £5.00Appeal Fee.

This was a major step forward in thedevelopment of the SAFA.

1918 - 1939Between the Wars

In 1927 P Buchanan, President of theSAFA was appointed delegate to the SFA,a complete reversal of the procedure set upin 1910.

In 1928 the SAFA hired a room from theSFA for meetings at a charge of £5.00 ayear, and the SFA announced that anyplayers in unauthorised football mightapply to the SFA for reinstatement before30th June to enable them to play thefollowing season.

The second international match v Englandtook place in May 1928 with Scotlandwinning 3-2 and showing a profit of£446.7.0 (£446.35). On this occasionthere were eight Queens Park players, twoanglos and I McDonald from MurrayfieldAmateurs in the team.

In early 1929, the SAFA asked the SFA ifthey could play internationals against

Ireland andWales, and these went ahead inOctober 1929, when Scotland beat Ireland3-0 and in February 1930, whenWaleswere defeated 1-0.

The international team to play England inApril 1931 included Queens Parkgoalkeeper R G C Peden. On qualifying asa teacher, Peden took up an appointmentin Dundee and turned out for MidlandsAFA side Hillcrest as a centre forward. InNovember 1932, he scored five goals in a7-2 victory over Arbroath HSFP.

Returning from the international match vEngland in March 1931, the train carryingthe players and officials was in a crash atLeighton Buzzard where six people werekilled, many injured, but fortunately theScottish party were unscathed.

In 1932 the SAFA were invited to havetwo representatives on the SFA Selection

Committee and dates for theinternationals against the three other homecountries were established.The SFAdecided that the players who representedtheir country would receive a gold medal.R Gillespie of Queens Park, who hadcaptained Scotland in the historic firstamateur international against England,was once again selected for theforthcoming international and was alsocapped and captained Scotland in the fullinternational against France later that year.

In February 1934, the SAFA met with theSFA to discuss what we would now findpolitically incorrect, “midget football”, butthis was rejected by the SFA as beingadequately provided for.This was ofcourse youth or under age boys football aswe know it today.

At dawn on the 1st September 1939 whenthe jackboot crossed the Polish border,

Britain, after issuing two ultimatums toGermany declared war and thus began theSecondWorldWar.

At the behest of the Government, inSeptember 1939 the SFA declared allfootball in Scotland be suspended butminor associations could continue.

1918 - 1939 Between the Wars

Coldstream FC 1923/1924

16/17

The horrors of the SecondWorldWar were ended by the dropping ofthe atomic bomb on Hiroshima

and Nagasaki.The United Nations wereformed and General de Gaulle was electedPresident of France.Winston Churchill,admired as a world statesman and leaderof the allied forces throughout the war,was defeated in the 1945 General Electionand Clement Atlee became Prime Ministerof Britain.

During the war years an EmergencyCommittee was formed to run the SAFAaffairs and some interesting matters wereunearthed. In 1942 four players from LawBoys Guild were suspended “sine die” forbetting on the outcome of a game againstLarkhall Rangers.Whilst in 1943, a JamesAshwood of CoatbridgeThistle wassuspended “sine die” for playing whilst aprofessional and having forged areinstatement certificate.

By 1943, however, twelveAssociations/Leagues had rejoined theSAFA including Lothian AFA, the ScottishAmateur Football League, theWest ofScotland AFA, and ninety eight teamsentered a “West Cup”.At the SAFA AGM of 1944, a NationalRegistration Scheme was discussed andrejected and the SAFA, who ran Under 18and 16 leagues, approached the SFA tohave allYouth Football under their control.The SFA AGM turned this proposaldown.The SAFA membership fee was fiveshillings (25p) per club or two andsixpence (12.5p) if the club had youthsection.

The 1945 AGM attracted only fourteenAssociations/Leagues and was not quoratethough by July that year it was agreed torestart Scottish and District Cups togetherwith the Under 18 and Under 16 nationalcompetitions.

There were sixty nine entries for theScottish Cup and eighty eight for theWestof Scotland Cup.

1940 - 1945The War Years

Winston Churchill declared anIron Curtain had descendedacross Europe, India gained

independence from Britain and the state ofIsrael was created in Palestine.TheCzechoslovakian athlete Emil Zatopek wonfour gold medals at the 14th OlympicGames held in London and Italianmanufacturer Adidas launched arevolutionary shoe called a “trainer”.

After the war, most Leagues andAssociations struggled to resurrect andmade stuttering progress caused by loss ofpersonnel, lack of equipment and kit,problems due to travel, effects of rationing.A glimpse into the Minutes of the BorderAmateur Football Association (BAFA)typifies the problems faced throughout thecountry at this time.

On 17th October 1945, a meeting of eightclubs in Newton St Boswells agreed toreconstitute the Border Amateur FootballAssociation though due to lack ofequipment it was unlikely that a full fixturelist could be operated and help was to besought from the SFA to obtain clothingand equipment certificates (coupons). Itwas agreed that all member clubs shouldmake a one off payment of £1.00 inaddition to the Association membershipfee to assist the purchase of equipment. Alater meeting tells of the SFA saying theycould only assist with coupons unless allmember clubs were affiliated to the SAFA.The Association later agreed that noleague fixtures be arranged but two cupcompetitions be organised. By January1946, six further clubs had joined thoughEyemouth United were refused admittanceon the grounds that this would provide allother teams with great difficulty inobtaining Saturday transport.

A public dance was to be held to raisefunds, and a recently appointed Patron,LordWilliam Scott, donated two guineas

(£2.10) to the Association funds.The solefootball played in this first post war seasonwas for the Dudley Cup which was won byKelso United who went defunct in 1974.The rival Border Football Association(BFA) then requested return of theDudley Cup and there followed a disputeas to its rightful ownership. All endedhappily when the BFA agreed to permitthe BAFA to use the trophy provided theyformally applied for permission each year.League football got underway on 5thOctober 1946, a later date than firstenvisaged due to the lateness of theharvest, with nine clubs participating.TheSFA had by now offered to pay 75% of thecoupon value for clubs wishing to purchasejerseys etc. Referees were in short supply,and it was with great reluctance that theAssociation applied to the SAFA to permitthe increase in the tariff from three and six(17p) to five shillings (25p) plus expensesto attract more officials.There was concernthat some local school masters would notpermit boys to play football unless it waswith the oval shaped ball.The severeweather caused postponement of allfixtures in February and March 1947 andthere were doubts if the league fixturescould be completed due to the overtime onthe farms and the government ban onevening games. Such was the concern thatthe Association agreed to abandon all cupcompetitions for the season, and if anyfuture league game was postponed itwould be called a draw. Clubs were nowwithdrawing from the Association due tothe conscription of players into the armedforces.Yes, a very different scenario to what facesAssociations and Leagues in 2008.

In 1946 SAFA PresidentWWTerrisresigned and on leaving presented a cupfor Under 16 competition.

The SAFA AGM of 1946 saw thirty sevendelegates attend and there were one

1946 - 1949The Post War Years

18/19

hundred and twenty six entries for theScottish Cup. In 1947 the SFA rejected anAppeal against an SAFA Sub Committeedecision and advised the SAFA to set up aRight of Appeal to Council. !947 also sawOrkney FA and Shetland FA apply foraffiliation to the SFA and permission wasgranted by the SFA for the SAFA to playNorthern League, Northern Ireland inBelfast in June of that year.

Amateurism had to be seen to work, andin July 1947 a John Campbell ofMinishant was reported for accepting aSavings Certificate as a prize. He wasspared his amateur status only after hereturned the gift.

The SAFA again applied to the SFA toresume internationals against England,Ireland andWales but were refused on thegrounds of “not full strength teams” and“a team without Queens Park playerswould be deluding the public”.

Orkney and Shetland FAs were grantedaffiliation to the SFA but did not requireto pay fees as they were deniedrepresentation for playing outwith theSFAs accepted season.The SAFA wereagain granted permission to play NorthernLeague, Northern Ireland in Dumfries inMay 1948, and in an about turn by theSFA they were told they could arrangefuture internationals against the otherhome countries.They were reminded thatthey would be fully responsible for allexpenses incurred.

At the behest of some member clubs theSAFA requested SFA permission to set upa National Registration Scheme but thiswas eventually rejected by the SAFACouncil as “being diametrically opposedto the amateur principles”.1948 also saw Inverness area clubsrefusing to join or affiliate to the SAFAand they were then reported to the SFA

for playing unauthorised football.Theycontinued to rebel but the SFA hit back bydeclaring (1) all clubs were ineligible, (2)players would have to apply to the SFA forreinstatement from unauthorisedfootball,(3) SFA member clubs must haveno dealings, offer pitches etc and (4)referee’s were advised they could notofficiate in matches.The President andSecretary of the SAFA made a pilgrimageto Inverness in December in an effort toresolve the problems and repeated thejourney to Sutherlandshire in the samemonth to put out the embers of rebellionin that area.

There is no clear picture of how long ittook to bring the clubs to heel, but theamount of players who applied to the SFAfor reinstatement from unauthorisedfootball during the course of the next yearsuggests it lasted no more than a season.

By the 1948 AGM, there were forty threeAssociations /Leagues, six hundred andfour teams and one hundred and seventythreeYouth members within the SAFA,and the Association accepted an offer fromthe SFA to hold their meetings at the SFAoffices in Glasgow. At the 1949 AGM, it

was agreed all Past Presidents of the SAFAshould be given automatic LifeMembership. A Murray McNab wasappointed Secretary and he acceptedprovided his company received payment of£150.00 for use of office staff to carry outthe duties. Once again a proposal for aNational Registration Scheme wasrejected.

The SAFA arranged its first amateurinternational against Ireland in Aberdeenand invited two delegates from the SFA toattend.There were seven Queens Parkplayers in the team whilst the reserve teamhad another five.There was no happyending to the first international match asScotland were defeated.

In 1949 the SAFA received an invitation toplay their French counterparts in Paris thefollowing year but had to decline the offeras they could not afford to finance the tripnor could the players take the necessaryfive days off work to participate.The rules,of course, strictly forbid players beingreimbursed for loss of wages.

1946 - 1949 The Post War Years

Clydesdale AFC 1948/1949 (Lanarkshire AFA)

Greenock HSFP AFC 1947 (Scottish Amateur FL)

Despite the SecondWorldWarbeing over, there was the threat ofthe new atomic weapon, and

peace still eluded the world with war inKorea and the French war inVietnam. Itwas the decade of Suez, the HungarianUprising, Burgess & MacLean, troublewith the Mau Mau in Kenya, EOKA inCyprus and Civil Rights in the UnitedStates. Dick McTaggart won a boxing goldmedal at the 16th Olympics in Melbourne.

The 1950 AGM saw membership rise tofifty eight Associations/ Leagues with eighthundred and twenty two clubs and twohundred and forty twoYouth teams andthe following season a total of twentyAppeals were lodged. In 1951 theEdinburgh Evening News presented atrophy for annual competition betweenteams in the South of Scotland, and theSAFA changed the name of the MidlandCup to the North ofTay Cup to avoidconfusion as many teams thought this wasa cup for Midlands AFA teams only.1952 saw the City & District AL permittedto change its name to the Central AL, and

early the next year the SFA turned down arequest from the SAFA to permit thetelevising of the amateur international vEngland. Later in 1953, NCR Afc(Midlands AFA) were given permission toplay the company factory team inAugsburg, Germany provided the SFAagreed.

In 1953 the Committee structure withinthe SAFA was composed of elevencommittees; Executive, Finance, Appeals,Selection,Youth,West, East, North ofTay,Fife, North of Scotland and South ofScotland. In 1957 the Executive andFinance Committees combined.Thisstructure remained unaltered until 1984when aWest District Sub Committee wasset up to handle the increased businessdue to Sunday football. A GeneralPurposes Committee was set up in 1997and in the 2003 theWest DistrictExecutive Sub Committee changed itsname to theWest District ExecutiveSunday Committee.The first international match v Eire wasarranged for Dublin in May with a return

at Celtic Park Glasgow the following year.

In 1954 the SFA again resumedresponsibility for amateur internationals.Later that year the SAFA donated a cup tothe Glasgow & District Secondary SchoolsLeague to celebrate their 50th anniversary.They were of course very much part of theformation of the SAFA back in 1909.Withthe cooperation of Glasgow EducationCommittee, the SAFA set up CoachingCommission with a full complement of 16students taking part.The SFA wereastonished at this foresight and asked ifthey could send delegates as observers.

The society we lived in was much reflectedby the membership of the SAFA, and in1955 for example, Dunfermline & DistrictWednesday AFA, Edinburgh & DistrictMidWeek AFA, EdinburghTuesday AFA,Glasgow ShopkeeperTuesday AFA andScottish Industrial Estates AFA were allmembers.

The 1955 AGM was held in Perth and thepoor attendance was put down to a railstrike. Cars were of course very much aluxury and rail travel was easy andeffective with expense awards all calculatedon the third class rail fares.

1957 saw the SFA give permission forgames to be played under floodlights. AJubilee Committee was set up by theSAFA in early 1959 to make arrangementsto celebrate the 50th anniversary of theAssociation and after an extensive search itwas reported that the early Minute Booksof the Association could not be traced. ADinner with entertainment was to beorganised and held within BurlingtonHouse, Glasgow in 1960. With an officialguest list of one hundred and thirty, onlysixty tickets were available for clubmembers.To commemorate the Jubilee theSFA presented the SAFA with aPresident’s Chain of Office.

1950 - 1959Out of the Darkness

The Origins of the SAFA

Millburn AFC 1952/1953 (Aberdeenshire FA)

20/21

The era of Flower Power and manwalking on the moon, Dr Beechingclosing 200 rail links and 2000

stations,The Forth Road Bridge openingand Celtic becoming the first British clubto win the European Cup saw the SAFApurchase a copy of the 1960 EuropeanCup Final between Real Madrid andEintracht Frankfurt which could be hiredfor £1.00 a time.Training in First Aid wasmooted for club officials, but the SAFAadvised teams to contact their local StAndrews Ambulance Service direct.Thepopular Coaching Commission coursescontinued and in 1960 there were forty sixparticipants.

The Dumfries & C District AFL wereadvised they could not fine players formisconduct offences but whereappropriate they could fine clubs.TheNational Registration Scheme was againdebated but turned down by Councilbefore it was taken to the AGM. Similarproposals for such a scheme were rejectedat the 1963 and 1964 AGMs.

However, in 1962 the SFA agreed at theirAGM to the SAFA proposal that anamateur player on a “B Form” could havehis registration cancelled on request andaltered their Articles of Associationaccordingly. A record two hundred andfifty nine entries for the Scottish Cup in1962 was exceeded in 1965 when twohundred and eighty four entered.

In 1965 the SAFA promoted an InterLeagueYouth Competition to start thefollowing season and Foulden Fc playingin the North Northumberland Leaguewere permitted by the SFA to affiliate tothe SAFA.The SFA also suggested thatone substitute might be used at anytime ina game but this met with a muted responseat the SAFA.

In April 1966 an SAFA Select playedEdinburgh University to commemoratethe Centenary of the Edinburgh UniversityAthletic Club.

By the 1966 AGM, the SAFA secretaryMurray McNab had moved to AlexanderSloan & Co who carried out the secretarialwork on behalf of the Association. Aproposal for a National RegistrationScheme was again debated and rejected.

A major step was taken in August 1966when the SAFA agreed that one substitutemight be allowed but only to replace aninjured player. He had to be on the teamlines and, if used in a cup competition,would be considered cup tied. A few weekslater the SAFA showed their teeth and toldLawside FP (Midlands AFA) to return theNorth ofTay Cup and all individualplaques when it was found they had playeda professional player in the final. Stirling &District AFA were warned that they mustgive dated suspensions and not gamesuspensions. In the course of the previousseason, twenty five Appeals were dealtwith. In August 1967 the referee’s tariff forthe Scottish Cup was set at £1.00 plustravelling expenses and the SAFA fundsstood at £1271.00.The SAFA wereprepared to permit one substitute for cupgames but each Association/League coulddecide for themselves whether to adoptthis rule.

In October 1967 the sons of Alex FBaxter, who for years had been theamateur football columnist with theGlasgow EveningTimes, approached theSAFA and offered a trophy in their father’smemory.The initial suggestion was to splittheWest of Scotland Cup into twosections, but this was rejected in favour ofa knock out competition between theAssociations/Leagues in theWest ofScotland.

In April 1968 the AF BaxterTrophy washanded over to the SAFA by the latecolumnist’s two sons.

Also in 1968 it was suggested the post ofPresident be restricted to one of threeyears but this was not accepted.In April 1969 Alexander Sloan & Cobecame the SAFATreasurers and theSAFA registered office would be thecompanies address at 142 StVincentStreet, Glasgow. An auditor wasappointed and the position ofSecretary/Treasurer was combined andtaken on by Murray McNab. An assistantsecretary was to be appointed at thefollowing AGM. At the 1969 AGM, thesetwo appointments were confirmed with theassistant secretary dealing with allYouthmatters. Once again a proposal for aNational Registration Scheme was debatedand rejected.

Tragedy struck the newly appointedSecretary/Treasurer when he was badlyinjured in a fall at home and he died inSeptember 1969 from his injuries.Theassistant secretary, Leslie Michie, who hadnever taken up that position, wasappointed Secretary/Treasurer until thefollowing AGM.

1960 - 1969Years of Enlightment and Hope

The years ofVietnam,Watergate, theBaader-Meinhof gang, theatrocities at the Munich Olympics,

violence in Northern Ireland, strikes,Britain joining the European Union, JackieStewart winning theWorld Formula OneChampionship, DavidWilkie the 200metres breast stroke gold medal in theMontreal, 21st Olympics and the Ibroxdisaster when sixty six people lost theirlives at a Rangers v Celtic NewYear match.

However, the 1970’s was to see hugechanges in the development of the SAFA.Whilst the world was falling apart, theSAFA started 1970 by purchasing a set ofstrips fromT Alexander of Paisley for£30.00 and advised clubs that frivolousappeals would result in costs being leviedagainst clubs.This was sparked off by anappeal by Pencaitland Amateurs (LothianAFA) requiring a Special Meeting with allthe cost of postage, lets etc and eventuallythe appeal being deemed frivolous.On the brighter side, the SFA offeredaccommodation for SAFA meetings free ofcharge with telephone facilities. It wasdecided there would be a programme forthe Scottish Amateur Cup final for the firsttime. Airdrie, Coatbridge & District AFLchanged their name to Central ScotlandAFL

At the 1970 AGM, there were now sixtyone Associations/Leagues and elevenhundred clubs in membership.The SAFAYouth Select had won the SFAYouth Cupfor the second season running.There werefour hundred and thirteen entries for theScottish Amateur Cup and the Associationfunds stood at £3694.75.The SAFAcommissioned a Ballot Box incommemoration of Murray McNab anddonated it to the SFA for use of allmember bodies for their cup draws.

In February 1972,W P Allan, the SFA

secretary, addressed a Council meetingstating that Sunday football could not takeplace until (1) the SAFA changed theirConstitution and (2) the SFA changedtheir Articles of Association. In a raredemonstration of unity, the SAFAsupported the SJunFA and SJuvFA andput forward a motion to the SFA AGM“That Sunday Football be permittedwhere both clubs agree to play”.This wassuccessful, but the SFA reminded theSAFA that an amateur could not play atrial for a Junior club if it was on a Sunday.The SFA agreed an amateur could playsummer and winter football provided hisregistration with the appropriateAssociation/League was in order, but achange of rules was required before thiscould take place.The SFA also confirmedthat professional players over the age oftwenty one could be reinstated to amateurprovided they were medically examined bytheir own doctor and the SFA doctor whohad to agree they could not earn a livingfrom playing football.The 1972 AGM saw two substitutes beingallowed and penalty kicks being used tosettle Scottish Cup ties. Later the SFAagreed they would alter their Articles ofAssociation to permit SAFA member clubsto play on Sunday.This was a momentousdecision which reflected the mood of thecountry at the time as the long heldpresbyterian outlook to the sabbath wasleft behind. There were four hundred andninety six entries for the Scottish Cup andthe SAFA funds stood at £3516.75.The SAFA requested the SFA changeArticle 126 to include the SAFA on the listof those able to participate in Sundayfootball and this was accomplished at theSFA AGM.This was a milestone in thedevelopment and expansion of the SAFA.

For season 1972/73, there were fourhundred and sixty entries for the ScottishAmateur Cup and in an unusual departure

1970 - 1979A Decade of Dramatic Development

22/23

from normal business a dispute was settledby Fife Police. Abbotshill (Kirkcaldy &District AFL) playedTayport (MidlandsAFA) in the Scottish Cup and the rule atthe time meant the home team had to paytravel expenses to the opposition providedthe distance travelled exceeded thirtymiles.The clubs could not agree, and theSAFA called upon Fife’s finest whodecided the distance between the groundswas thirty one miles.ThusTayport wereliable for expenses!

In 1976 Annan Athletic (Carlisle &District AL) successfully applied to play inthe Scottish and theWest of ScotlandDistrict Cups, and Iain McTweedsucceeded Ian Barbour as SAFA secretary.In early 1976, Netherlee Church (ScottishAFL) took the unusual step of reportingthree of their players for playingunauthorised football and suspendedthem.The players had to apply to the SFAfor reinstatement to amateur status beforecontinuing to play. Season 1975/76 wasthe only time the Scottish Cup final wasnot played as one of the finalistsCambusnethanTalbot were deemed tohave played an ineligible player in anearlier round.The investigation preventedthe final being played, and Colville Park(Central Scotland AFL) but then of theLanarkshire AFA, were presented with theScottish Cup and winners medals inOctober 1976, without having had thethrill of running out on to Hampden Park.

Sponsorship was being encouraged butclubs, Associations and Leagues werereminded that all sponsorship deals had tobe submitted to the SFA for approval.This resulted in large numbers ofapplications to the SFA each month.The1977 AGM saw a reported surplus of£765.00 for the year, the SAFA hearingthirty nine Appeals and the Scottish Cupattracting five hundred and eighty entries.Sunday football was up and running and itwas agreed to have a Scottish SundayTrophy, with the status of a District Cupfrom season 1978/79.Ties would beplayed only on a Sunday with 30 minutesextra time and penalties if necessary todecide the outcome.The secretary of the Dingwall & DistrictAFA, HarryWindsor, had secured a trophyfor the Highland Amateur Cup and wasconfident he would find a sponsor for thefirst competition.The SAFA received aninvitation to play in the Faroe Islands withall expenses paid from time of leaving fromand returning to Scrabster nearThurso onthe north coast of Scotland. The SAFAsought assistance for the travel andaccommodation to and from Scrabsterfrom the SFA and the Sports Council, buttheir appeals fell on stony ground and theywere unable to accept the offer.

The SFA now permitted sponsors’ nameson jerseys but they were limited to twelvesquare inches in total. Later in 1978,Tennent Caledonian Brewers agreed tosponsor the Scottish Cup for three years,

and the SAFA accepted an offer to playthe North Amateur League from NorthernIreland at Stranraer in April 1979.Thishad been considered in previous years butdue to the troubles in Ireland had nevermaterialised. The whisky company,Matthew Gloag & Sons, agreed a threeyear deal to sponsor the Scottish SundayTrophy and also supplied the cup. Halkirkwere beaten by South Ronaldsay fromOrkney in the Highland Amateur CupFinal which attracted the largest evercrowd of 1200 to a match inThurso.In October 1979, seven nominations werereceived for the position ofVice Presidentof the SAFA andTomWilkie (Angus AFA)was successful in the ballot. Out of theblue, the SFA offered a one off grant tothe SAFA to play the North League ofNorthern Ireland at Carrickfergus.December 1979 saw the SAFA agree toplace all records on permanent loan to theScottish Records Office.

1970 - 1979 A Decade of Dramatic Development

Elphinstone Hillburn AFC 1981. Willie Darroch, captian of Elphinstone Hillburnreceiving the Sunday Amateur Scottish Cup from Willie Miller, Sales Managerwith sponsors Famous Grouse Scotch Whisky.

This era saw the words “glasnost”and “perestroika” emerge from theSoviet Union with the reforms led

by Gorbachev. Britain had its first womenPrime Minister in MargaretThatcher whooversaw the FalklandsWar, and theChernobyl disaster brought home themessage to mankind that care of theenvironment was paramount. RonaldReagan was elected President of theUnited States, LechWalesa becameChairman of Solidarity in Poland.TheBerlinWall came down.The Prince ofWales married Lady Diana Spencer. AlanWells won a gold medal at the 22ndOlympics in Moscow, the Bradford CityFootball fire and the Hillsborough disasterin Sheffield.The Lockerbie air disasterclaimed two hundred and seventy lives.

After three years deliberation the SFAannounced that nylon studs werepermitted to be worn on all surfaces.Founder members of the SAFA , Glasgow& District FP FL, celebrated their 75thanniversary in February 1980.Bellahouston Academy FP were the onlyoriginal member club still in the Leaguethough Clydebank HSFP formed in 1919and Govan HSFP founded in 1909 werestill members of the League. By the 1980AGM, the SAFA had one hundred andtwelve Associations/Leagues with nineteenhundred and forty six clubs and eighthundred and sixty seven youth teamswhich translated to around fifty fivethousand people involved in amateurfootball each week.They had heard fifty sixAppeals in the past season but a furtherfifty five were improperly lodged. InOctober 1980, the talk was all of illegalsubstances, not those taken by individualsbut lime, paraquat and creosote used forline markings.The SFA were requested torule on this matter.

In November of that year the SAFA

announced their largest ever sponsorshipdeal to date when the producers ofVladimirVodka put their name to apackage of sponsorship including aNational 5-a-sideTournament, a newinnovation.The initial deal was for oneyear, but hopes were high that the NationalTournament would be highly successfuland raise the profile of the SAFA for yearsto come.It was decided the entrants for the 5-a-sideTournament would be by invitation only,and after protracted discussions, that itwould be a one day event in the KelvinHall Glasgow in April 1981. DavidFrancey, the voice of BBC Scotland’sfootball commentaries, agreed to act asMaster of Ceremonies.The winners of theScottish Cup and the District Cups werethus assembled with an army of SAFAvolunteer stewards etc, to witness DingwallThistle Afc winning the competition.

At the 1981 AGM, a possible financiallight was shining on the horizon when itwas suggested that the SAFA should run aLottery being promoted by the SFA.Thiswas to lead to another quantum leapforward in the development of the SAFAby providing the means and momentum toappoint a full-time official, the first in theSAFA’s history.The SAFA continued to grow, this beingreflected in the six hundred and fifty fourentrants for the Scottish Cup and anincredible two hundred and forty for theScottish SundayTrophy. Fife AFAcelebrated their Golden Jubilee.The 80s continued to reap a harvest ofsponsors. In addition to theaforementionedVladimirVodka, deals werestruck withTennent Caledonian Brewersfor a further three year extension to theirsponsorship of the Scottish Cup,TheNorth of Scotland Cup had an anonymousbacker for three years, the Under 18, 16,and 15 national cup competitions were

1980 - 1989Momentous Change

sponsored byTransalpino, a travel agencydealing mainly with students. ScottishBrewers sponsored the Fife Cup, MatthewGloag the Scottish SundayTrophy forthree years,The Press & Journal TheHighland Cup, Broughton Brewery theSouth of Scotland Cup,TheTartan ArmsBannockburn theWest of Scotland Cup.In 1982 the Ballot Box presented to the

SFA in memory of former SAFA secretaryMurray McNab was returned to theAssociation by the SFA. A Scottish AFLteam drew a team from Islay AFL inTheAF BaxterTrophy and it cost over£700.00 to fulfill the fixture.

After considerable discussion, by April1982 it was decided that a full timeSecretary/Treasurer should be appointedthough Alexander Sloan & Co, theAssociation treasurers would continue todeal with the financial matters.The postwas to be advertised and duties to includeattending all SAFA meetings and to besecretary of the Selection and Appealscommittees. It was anticipated the postwould be funded from investment incomeand proceeds from the SFA Lottery.There were two hundred and twentyapplicants and a subcommittee was set upto prepare a short leet. Five applicants,three of which were currently involvedwith the SAFA, were interviewed fromwhich Iain McTweed, the SAFA HonorarySecretary since 1976, was selected andoffered the post.The SAFA’s first full timeemployee took up his employment on 1stSeptember 1983.The Secretary workedfrom his house and was to have a sixmonth probationary period before finalconfirmation of his employment.Therewould be a salary review annually in May.This was yet another major step in thedevelopment of the SAFA.

The SFA Lottery administered by theSAFA was now beginning to plough fundsinto both the SAFA and its member clubsby way of commission on sales. By the1984 AGM, six hundred clubs wereparticipating.

In 1983 the Caledonian League wasformed when sixteen invited teams playedin the inaugural season. The rationale wasthat clubs of proven ability, with goodplaying surfaces and social facilities,competing against each other would raisethe status of amateur football.

In 1984 the Kingdom Caledonian AFAstarted in Fife, with invited clubs formingone division in an effort to raise thestandard of football in the area byattracting clubs from throughout Fife.

Amost bizarre case undertaken bythe Executive & FinanceCommittee began in June 1988

when a member of the North ofTayExecutive Committee was cited toexplain why he wrote a personal letterto the secretary of a team regarding adecision taken by the Committee in acase involving the club.

The individual failed to attendnumerous meetings but wrote in hisdefence stating he had tape recorded all

North ofTay Executive Committeemeetings he attended and claimed thecommittee Chairman had used offensivelanguage against him.

He also claimed to have a writtenapology from the Chairman for hisremarks, but no evidence of any kindwas ever produced and he waseventually Severely Censured andbarred from holding office of any kindfor five years.

1980 - 1989 - Momentous Change

Lothian AFA 75th Anniversary Dinner

Lanarkshire AFA 50th Anniversary Dinner. Officials and Guests.

24/25

1980 - 1989 - Momentous ChangeIn August 1984, the Strathpeffer PipeBand offered to play at the final of theHighland Cup for payment of £50.00.Thecanny secretary of the competition refusedbut compromised by allowing them playand to take a collection at half time.Thepipe major had great satisfaction inannouncing they had collected £100.00!Incidentally, the cup was won by Nessfrom Stornoway who defeated BishopmillVilla by 4-1.

Lothian AFA celebrated their 75thanniversary, and aWest Executive SubCommittee was set up on a temporarybasis to assist with the large workloadcaused by theWest of Scotland Cup andthe Scottish SundayTrophy.In 1985 Ayrshire AFA celebrated theirGolden Jubilee, and a year later the SAFApermitted their flagship competition, theScottish Cup to be renamed theTennentsScottish Amateur Cup.TomWilkie, the SAFA President, wasawarded Life Membership of the SFA forhis contribution to amateur football.

At the 1986 AGM, it was announced thattwo substitutes would be allowed fromnext season. One hundred and thirtyAppeals had been heard during the seasonof which forty six were incorrectly lodged.

A donation of £1500.00 was made to theJock Stein Memorial Fund.

In August 1987, a Match Secretary for theScottish SundayTrophy, George Steel, wasappointed for the first time. By the end ofthe year structural changes were madewithin the Lottery with the SAFASecretary/Treasurer assumingresponsibility for its supervision and aseparate Lottery account opened. InJanuary 1988, Hugh Knapp was welcomedas the Council delegate for LanarkshireAFA. An unusual Appeal was consideredwhen the Strathtay v Stow ScottishSundayTrophy tie was abandoned aftereighty four minutes as the strong windbrought down the crossbar. Adjacent parkswere available but the losing club refusedto move.The Appeal for the tie wasdismissed and the game recast as bothclubs would have had to agree to moveparks.

In August 1988, GeorgeWatson becameAssistant Match Secretary and in OctoberAndrew S Laird who had served thirtyyears as Match Secretary, was made a LifeMember of the SFA. In March the SFAconfirmed taping of nets to the posts andbar was acceptable, and the SAFAannounced that from next season nets

must be used in all Scottish SundayTrophy ties. As a result of a high numberof Appeals to the SFA, which they termedfrivolous, the SFA warned that in futureclubs submitting Appeals considered thusmight be levied expenses which couldamount to £200.00. In 1989The GreaterGlasgow Premier League commenced withtwenty invited clubs mainly from theEastwood area of Glasgow. The intentionwas to provide competitive football, ongood grass pitches and with limited travel.The decade closed with the presentation ofa SFA Long Service Award to A B Bennie(Lanarkshire AFA) for over fifty years

Throughout the 80s the SAFA grew at agreat pace, and at the end of the decade ithad one hundred and fiftyAssociations/Leagues with two thousandnine hundred fifty clubs and threethousand seven hundred teams. Between1975 and 1983 the Association haddoubled in size.This growth was due inthe main to the popularity of Sundayfootball and the rapid growth of youthfootball.The Scottish Cup entries hadreached eight hundred and two with sixhundred and fifty for the Famous GrouseScotchWhisky Amateur FootballTrophy.

Harris FP AFC team competing in Vladivar National 5-a-sidetournament. Featuring current Executive and FinanceCommittee member Ronnie Hughes

Vladivar sponsorship 1981. Representativesof Vladivar present sponsorship cheque toJohn Robertson (President SAFA)

26/27

The release of Nelson Mandela fromprison in South Africa, PollTaxriots in Britain, the GulfWar

starting, the opening of the ChannelTunnel, Eric Cantona’s “kung fu” attackon a spectator, the Dunblane massacre,Scotland kicking off theWorld Cuptournament in Paris and Liz McColganwinning the ladies 10,000 metres at theWorld Athletics Championships set thebackdrop for this era.

1990 started with the SAFA discussingwhether to continue with the ScottishSundayTrophy as so many teams werewithdrawing from ties. A Questionnaire onCautions was sent to allAssociations/Leagues and the introductionofVAT on fees would see increases acrossthe board at the start of season 1990/91.R Hay, Past President of the SAFA, wasawarded a Long Service Medal by theSFA. In November 1990, it becameapparent that the SFA were discussing thefuture of Scottish Football which mighthave a far reaching effect on the SAFA. Inaddition the SFA Development Officer,Andy Roxburgh, had issued a documentonYouth Football and joint meetings wereheld between the various bodies concernedwho were asked to report back. Numerouschanges were to be made to currentpractice including no 11–a-side untilUnder 12, smaller pitches and goals, moresubstitutes permitted, a smaller ball to beused and 7-a-side for up to Under 11s tobe introduced.

Towards the end of the year the SAFAlent its support to Queens Park when itwas mooted a new national stadium bebuilt elsewhere in Scotland.Dundee SundayWelfare AFA celebratedits 25th Anniversary before the year wasout, and early in 1992 another SundayAssociation, Maybury AFA, celebratedtheir 20th Anniversary.

By the time of the 1992 AGM there wasmixed news for the SAFA when, firstly theSFA offered rent free officeaccommodation and facilities for theSecretary for at least two years butsecondly, at the Scottish SundayTrophyFinal, Matthew Gloag & Co stunned thecompany when they announced theirsponsorship would cease forthwith.Further bad news followed whenTennentCaledonian Brewers said they would notbe continuing their sponsorship of theScottish Cup. Frantic discussion withMatthew Gloag & Co saw them agreeingto sponsor the Scottish SundayTrophy fora further season before a review, and witha twist in the tail the company expressedan interest in sponsoring the Scottish Cup.

In January 1993 it was agreed to advertisenot only for a Secretary but also a clerkessand 160 applicants were received for thepost of Secretary. After a short leet ArthurDuncan, a retired police inspector,accepted the post and started on 5thJanuary 1994.

James Brown, a director of Stranraer FCwho had offered the SAFA a cup in 1984,

left £250.00 to the SAFA in hisWill andsome time later it was agreed it be used toreplace aYouth Competition trophy. InFebruary 1992 the sad news that theGlasgow & District FP AFL was foldingcame with a simple telephone call fromtheir President. Indeed a disappointingend for a founding Association of theSAFA in 1909.The League’s various cupsand trophies were taken in for safe keepingby the SAFA in the hope that the Leaguemight be restarted.In August 1993, due to the scarcity ofdates available for possible replays it wasagreed that for one year only the ScottishCup ties would be one game played to afinish. At different dates during that yearWest Lothian AFA celebrated their 25thAnniversary and Giffnock North Afc their50th,In January 1994, Secretary Arthur Duncanattended his first Council meeting andHugh Knapp was appointedTreasurer.From the following season the SFAannounced that a named goalkeeper andthree substitutes would be permitted.

At an SGM the SAFA decreed that shouldan official or player be found guilty of any

1990 - 1999Development, Disillusionment & Disappointment

Aberdeenshire AFA Office Bearers and Executive Committeecelebrate their 50th Anniversary.

offence his club be fined £5.00.

Seven months after taking up the position,Arthur Duncan resigned as Secretary andHugh Knapp, a previous applicant, wasoffered the job.This was later approved byCouncil.The new Secretary started in July1994 and Jack Keating took on HughKnapp’s previous post as treasurer.Withthe aid of a SFA grant of £7500.00 a newcomputer was purchased.

In September the SAFA decided aNational Registration Scheme was notrequired as the game was recreational, butthe Union of European FootballAssociations (UEFA) decreed that theSFA must have a record of all footballplayers in the country and this included

amateur players. All Scottish Cup andDistrict Cup ties would be played to afinish after the first replay.

The SAFA permitted individualAssociations/Leagues to decide if theywished to insist jerseys have numbers. ByDecember Hugh Knapp had served hisprobationary period and formally acceptedthe position as Secretary of theAssociation.

Lottery ticket sales had decreased steadily,and when only 16 clubs were selling ticketsthe Lottery was closed in February 1995.However, it should be noted that duringthe years of its existence over one millionpounds had been raised for amateurfootball. Guidelines for all SeriousOffences were issued to allAssociations/Leagues for discussion, in anattempt to bring parity to decisionsthroughout the country. At the 1995AGM, it was agreed that five substitutes,of whom three could play, was to be

introduced next season. October 1995 sawthe 60th Anniversary of Ayrshire AFA, theSAFA making a trip to Shetland Islandsfor two games and Angus MacKayappointed to the Selection Committee.AWebsite was set up in December 1996.In March 1996, the SFA instructed aInternational Review Commission toreport on all aspects of football inScotland. Early “leaks” suggested the word“amateur” would disappear and all bodieswould have an equal say in any newstructure despite the SAFA’s numericalstrength in that it organised some 95% ofrecreational football in Scotland.

The SAFA set up a General PurposesCommittee and in August 1997, RobertMcGechie of Edinburgh Sunday AFA

attended his first Council meeting. PublicLiability Insurance would be compulsorywith immediate effect though to ease thepain the SAFA agreed to pay the premiumfor the first season. By September aMillennium Committee was formed, andthe next month Aberdeenshire AFAcelebrated their 50th Anniversary.

At the 1998 AGM, a full review ofdisciplinary procedures was set in motion,and the President’s Award was introduced.The SFA announced they had altered theirArticles of Association to permit players of“professional status” to play within theSAFA and formal reinstatement could beobtained by simply applying to the SFA. InSeptember the SAFA announced that aMillennium Dinner would be held in theForte Post House Hotel, Glasgow, inJanuary 2000 combining with acelebration of the SAFA’s 90thAnniversary.

By this time all records of the SAFA had

been put into the custody of the ScottishFootball Museum within Hampden Park,Glasgow.The International ReviewCommission reported to the SFA in April1998 but the recommendations weredefeated at an SFA meeting. However, nodoubt after considerable lobbying, thereport was approved at a SFA SGM inMay 1998.The main thrust as far as theSAFA was concerned was that a new body,The ScottishYouth Football Associationwould be set up to control all football upto Under 21 level..Youth Under 21Leagues would not be permitted to acceptnew teams therefore it was hoped that allUnder 21 football would be under thejurisdiction of the SAFA within threeyears.This caused much soul searchingwithin the SAFA, but at the 1999 AGM aballot saw theYouth Section go off to theSYFA.This was another milestone in thelife and times of the SAFA. A side issuesaw the establishment of a Players’ Licenseat a cost of £5.00 per club fixed for fiveyears.

TheWest of Scotland AFL celebrated theirCentenary late in the 1998. In the earlypart of the decade the numbers within theSAFA remained static at around onehundred and fifty Associations/Leagues,two thousand nine hundred and fifty clubswith three thousand seven hundred teams,but from 1995 the numbers decreaseduntil in 1999 there were one hundred andseven Associations/Leagues with twothousand one hundred and fifteen clubs.With the way going of theYouth clubs thefollowing season, this was a worryingstatistic.

On a brighter note sponsorship flourished,with B & Q sponsoring the East ofScotland, North of Scotland and ScottishUnder 16 national cups. Apart from theaforementioned problems with MatthewGloag & Co andTennent CaledonianBrewers, other sponsors such as Sport onTime, Andrew Sommerville,The Press &Journal,Trophy Centre,Transport &GeneralWorkers Union, Belt UpTrophiesand Soccerworld all came on board for thefirst time, Before the decade was outMatthew Gloag & Co had sponsored theThe Scottish Cup continuously from 1994to 2000 and the Scottish SundayTrophythroughout the 90s.

In 1999 the 1st UEFA Regions Cup sawWest of Scotland take part in thecompetition in Dublin which waseventually won byVenetia RegionalAssociation of Italy.This was a wonderfulexperience for all concerned despite thefact they did not qualify for the latterstages of the competition.

1990 - 1999 - Development, Disillusionment & Disappointment

Officials of the Scottish Amateur and the Northern AFLcelebrate the 75th anniversary of the Northern AFL

28/29

Into a new Millennium with the hype,elaborate celebrations and hope forpeace throughout the world which was

shattered by the 2001 “9/11” attack on theTwinTowers andWorldTrade Centre inNewYork. Two thousand nine hundredand seventy four people from ninetycountries lost their lives in the attack by al-Qaeda which triggered off the wars in Iraqand Afghanistan.The name Osama binLaden was on everyone’s lips.Thedevastating Indian Ocean tsunami killedtwo hundred and fifty thousand people. Aterrorist attack was carried out on Glasgowairport in 2007.The 29th Olympics of2008 in Beijing saw Edinburgh cyclistChris Hoy win three gold medals.

With theYouth section departingmembership dropped to seventy threeAssociations/Leagues with one thousandfive hundred and sixty clubs. The 2000AGM saw Robert McGechie take over asMatch Secretary of the Famous Grouse

ScotchWhisky Amateur FootballTrophy.District Cup ties were to be played to afinish at first attempt and Matthew Gloag& Co signed a four year sponsorship dealfor both Scottish Cups.

Early in 2001, the SAFA moved into newoffices in the reconstructed NationalStadium at Hampden Park Glasgow and anewWebsite was launched.The delicatecondition of the two Scottish Cups led tothe decision to have them repaired,mothballed and new trophies purchased.In May 2001, the Fixed PenaltyGuidelines for Standard Offences wasintroduced throughout the country for aninitial two year period leading to a review.

At the 2004 AGM, Matthew Gloag & Coannounced that their sponsorship of theScottish SundayTrophy, better known bythis time as the Famous Grouse ScotchWhisky Amateur FootballTrophy, was overafter a twenty five year relationship. This

was indeed a sad blow to the SAFA.However the Scottish Cup has beensponsored in turn by SoccerWorld andSportsguard since then. Replicas of thetwo major trophies were purchased andthe originals given on permanent loan tothe Scottish Football Museum atHampden Park.

In 2001 the Scottish Amateur FLcelebrated their Centenary, and GreenockHSFP did likewise in 2007. May 2003saw the 25th anniversary of the fixtureagainst the Northern Amateur FootballLeague of Northern Ireland for the JackBritton Rosebowl.Paisley & District AFA held their GoldenJubilee in 2004. In 2007 St MonansSwallows celebrated one hundred years offootball in the Fife village.

In February 2003, the SAFA had over fivehundred applications to take their “CLicence” coaching course to be run by the

2000 - 2008ANew Beginning

David Henderson scoring for theScottish team against Italy in the2008 UEFA Regions Cup

SFA in conjunction with the CommunityCoaches.TheWestern District ExecutiveSub Committee was renamed theWesternDistrict Executive Sunday Committeewhich more accurately reflected its duties.By 2004 Futsal had forty nine teams infour leagues and discussions wereadvanced with a sponsor but this later fellthrough. Around this time a shortage ofreferees was felt, particularly in theWest ofScotland, and meetings were held with theSFA in an attempt to improve thesituation.The Protection of Children Act (Scotland)2003 would affect clubs with Under 18players and information was made

available to the relevant clubs. A pilotscheme for the National RegistrationScheme started in season 2005/06 underthe auspices of the SFA, but due tomanpower problems and computerglitches this will be unable to be fullyimplemented until the end of the decade.Derogatory comments on a clubWebsitenecessitated, in 2005, the SAFAintroducing a rule holding clubsresponsible for what appeared on theirWebsite.The 2005 Scottish Amateur SundayTrophy ended with ugly scenes involvingboth teams and spectators and both clubswere Severely Censured for their actions,fined £250.00 and had a Bond for goodbehaviour placed on them in the sum of£250.00. Further, both clubs were barredfrom entering the competition for fiveyears. Both clubs failed to pay the finesand were Debt Suspended.

For years the SAFA had sought financialassistance to run first aid courses with theprinciple that each club would have atleast one qualified member with a SportsInjury Certificate. In February 2007, theScottish Football Partnership agreed to

fund the initiative to the sum of£140,000.00 making it virtually free toevery club in membership of the SAFA.Legislation was passed and all clubs willhave to comply having at least onemember with a Sports Injury Certificatefrom season 2009/10.The courses are torun all round the country by SFA Sports& Medicine Centre.East of Scotland were to represent theSAFA in the 6th UEFA Regions Cup tobe held in Allessandria, Italy, aspiring toqualify for the second stages, something noother Scottish team has done since thetournaments inception in 1999.The 100th year started with an entry of

five hundred and ninety eight teams forthe Scottish Amateur Cup, despite fallingnumbers still the largest footballcompetition in the country and continuedon a bright financial note when asponsorship agreement was signed withScottish Brewers, using the brand nameFosters, for the Scottish Amateur Cup andthe Scottish Amateur SundayTrophy for atwo year period with an option for afurther year.

So thanks to prudent and watchfulstewarding and despite the large drop inmembership brought about by theYouthsection departing, the SAFA is in goodshape to tackle the next 100 years.

So there we have in a few pages whatseems to have been a hundred years ofgrowing pains, development,disappointment, conflict, disillusionmentand elation though the majority of theadministration carried out by the SAFA isof a routine nature. From a humble twentythree entrants in the first Scottish AmateurCup to the five hundred and ninety eightin 2008. Journeys by rail and bus totransport by car and coach today. Fromworries whether the ball would last a gameto the ability to telephone results bymobile phone. Whilst material things havechanged, a clear message from 1909 until2008 has been the determination of thevolunteer members to improve, lookforward at all times, adapt to the changingworld and fight for the autonomy of theScottish Amateur Football Association,something above all else we must strive tosecure in the years to come.

2000 - 2008 A New Beginning

Inverclyde provost Michael McCormick presents Greenock High School FPsChairman Ronnie MacKay and Vice Chairman Tommy Quigley with a memento ofthe clubs centenary celebrations.

Scottish Amateur League FL 2000 - Scottish Amateur Football League Committee intheir Centenary Year

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Throughout this review of theScottish Amateur FootballAssociation no individuals have

been singled out for their efforts andcommitment to the amateur game but thetruth is this Association has been all aboutindividuals who have given selflessly oftheir time to their clubs, local Leagues and/or the Association at district or nationallevel, over the past one hundred years.Obviously if football minded people didnot give of their time then there would beno need for leagues or national committeesto oversee matters.The next time youwatch your local team play just ask yourselfwho gets the team on the park, runs thelocal league for nothing but criticism, andwho travels hundreds of miles to attendmeetings to carry out the Scottish AmateurFootball Association’s affairs.These peopleare the Scottish Amateur FootballAssociation and there is no doubt likeminded individuals will come forward toguide and steward this Association proudlyfor the next one hundred years.

At the start of this review the birth of MattBusby was mentioned and perhaps it isappropriate to finish with a quotationattributed to the Scotsman who became atrue football icon throughout the world.

“To win at all costs is not the true test ofachievement, there is nothing wrong withtrying to win as long as you don’t put theprize above the performance.There is nodisgrace in defeat so long as you play toyour best ability and give totalcommitment.What matters above all else isthat the game should be played in the rightspirit, with the utmost courage, with fairplay and no favour, with every man playingas a member of his team without bitternessor conceit.”

Sir Alexander Matthew Busby 1909-1994

The Future

Sir Alexander Matthew Busby1909 - 1994

1945 - 1949

The origins of theYouth Section arelost with the early Minutes, but itis known that when Leagues

restarted after the SecondWorldWar in1945 there were sixty nine Under 18 teamsand forty Under 16 teams in membership.In April 1945, SAFA PresidentWWTerris,resigned his position and on leaving gifteda cup for an Under 16 national cupcompetition.The cup was not available forthe final and PresidentTerris and twooffice bearers travelled to Dunkeld inAugust of that year to formally present thecup to the inaugural winners, DunkeldAmateurs. In August 1946, the ScottishDaily Express donated a trophy forcompetition for Under 18s.In 1947 the SFA sponsored a NationalYouthTournament for Under 18Associations/Leagues for which there wereeight entrants with Scottish SchoolsLeague (SFA) being the inaugural winners.In 1948 three SAFAYouth players were inthe Scotland team which played atAberdeen.By 1949 the Under 18 membership hadrisen to one hundred and forty seventeams and the Under 16s forty six teams.

1950 - 1959The SAFAYouth team reached the final ofthe SFA NationalYouthTournament butwere defeated. In December 1950, in theUnder 18 Scottish Cup 2nd round tiebetween Cardowan and Killermount thegame was abandoned with three minutesleft to play when the ball burst. AlthoughKillermount were leading 6-2 at the time,the game was replayed as the SAFA ruledboth teams should have had a match ballavailable.The North ofTay areaYouth Cupwas declining in popularity and in 1955there were only ten entrants.When the SFA refused to meet expenses

for playing in the NationalYouthTournament, the SAFA withdrew the teamin 1956 but re-entered in 1957.

1960 - 1969In 1960 there were one hundred and threeUnder 18 teams and fifty five Under 16s.At the SAFA AGM of 1969, the AssistantSecretary was appointed to deal with allYouth matters and the SAFAYouth teamwon the SFA NationalYouthTournamentfor the first time.

1970 - 1979In 1970 ninety three and fifty five clubsentered the Scottish Under 18 and 16 cupsrespectively.

An unusual case arose in 1973 when theChairman of the Under 13 section of theWest Lothian & DistrictYouth Leaguechallenged a one year suspension imposedon him for his involvement in a cup final.Three teams appeared to play in the cupfinal and the police had to be called toremove the Chairman’s team from the fieldof play before the final could proceed!By late 1974 it was agreed to set up anUnder 16 Inter League Cup and sevenleagues took part, the first winners beingthe Scottish Amateur Football League FA.The trophy was instigated by a donation of£25.00 from Celtic FC though the otherdonors remain anonymous. Prior to this,there were only the national Under 18 andUnder 16 Cups and the BlackTrophy forUnder 18 Inter League competition.

With the introduction of Sunday footballmany clubs and teams were formed to playat different age groups, and the SAFAintroduced Under 15 and Under 14 Cupcompetitions.They were fortunate thatTom Logan, a SAFAYouth Committeemember, presented a trophy for the Under

Youth Section

32/33

15s and George Leiper, a Secretary of theScottish AmateurYouth League, offered atrophy for the Under 14 cup. In season1975/76, the first winners of these trophieswere Glasgow Celtic BC and KilmarnockColts Afc. The following season a trophyfor Under 13s was introduced and the nextseason one for the Under 12s. Both thesetrophies were donated anonymouslythough the Under 13 trophy was dedicatedtoWilliam McPhee who had been a MatchSecretary of the SAFAYouth Committee.Such was the pace of growth at this timethat provision of competition forAssociations/Leagues was needed and anUnder 15 Inter LeagueTrophy wasintroduced in season 1977/78, the firstwinners being Scottish AmateurYouth FL.A J Millar, Match Secretary from 1976-79,procured a trophy from Hyster Ltd for thecompetition. Millar’s election as MatchSecretary to succeedWilliam McPhee raninto a snag when it was discovered he didnot have a telephone at home. Afterdeliberation and subject to Executive &Finance Committee approval, it wasagreed to arrange for the installation of atelephone to permit Millar to properlyexecute the duties as Match Secretary.

In June 1978 the sudden death of JamesBrown, former Chairman and Secretary ofthe SAFAYouth Committee and an officebearer within amateur football for nearlytwenty years, was announced. At the endof the year the family asked if they couldfinance a memorial to their father, and itwas agreed the Jimmy Brown MemorialTrophy would replace the Under 18Scottish Daily ExpressTrophy from season1979/80.

This fast moving decade saw a tremendousrise in the participation within theYouthsection and officials must have been hardput to control matters.

1980 - 1989The explosion in the membership wasreflected at the 1980 AGM when it wasadvised that there were eight hundred andsixty seven teams competing in theYouthsection. A trophy for the Under 14 InterLeague competition was donated by PeterClason, a long serving member of theYouth Committee, and the inauguralwinners were Central AyrshireYouth AFLin season 1982/83.

In February 1982, the travel agentsTransalpino struck the first eversponsorship deal with theYouth Sectionwhen they agreed to sponsor the Under18, 16 & 15 national cups for the currentseason and with the option to continue.They dropped the sponsorship of theUnder 15 competition in 1984 butcontinued with the Under 18 and 16.In 1984 the SAFA agreed that the Under18Youth Select would play NorthWalesCoast FA for the Rhuddian DistrictCouncil Shield at Rhyl.They won theinitial contest 2-0 and had won each yearthereafter until NorthWales recorded theirfirst win in 1996/97.The following twoyears saw shared ownership with the onlytwo draws over the fourteen year history ofthe tournament. The inaugural match in1985 was significant as theYouth teamwere the first Scotland side to wear acontroversial new Scotland strip whichsome observers suggested was bettersuited for the seaside rather than thesoccer field!The bi-annual trip toWales was disruptedduring the 1989 fixture inWales when anemergency meeting was called on theSaturday morning of the game as twoplayers had broken the curfew the nightbefore.They were not permitted to takepart in the game.

In 1986 the Under 12 Cup was badly in

need of repair but a sponsor,W Davidsonof the Scottish AmateurYouth League,replaced the cup.

Rambler Sports Bag Ltd who hadsponsored the Under 15 cup since 1987went into receivership in March 1989leaving the SAFA with a shortfall of£550.00 to find.

1990 - 1999In August 1990, due to articles in thePress emanating from the SFA, there wasconcern over a document on the future ofYouth Football in Scotland and theSAFA’s position if the matter was to bediscussed without their input.The SAFAissued a questionnaire to all member clubsasking their views on the futuredevelopment ofYouth football, and afurther meeting was held exclusively forthat matter in February 1991.It transpired that the SFA through AndyRoxburgh, the Development Officer, hadproduced a discussion document not onlyon the future of youth football but withseveral recommendations which were to beput in place as a matter of urgency.Therefore at the start of season 1991/92,under 12 year olds would play 7-a-side onsmaller pitches with reduced size goals, theUnder 12 Cup and all Under 12competitions would be permitted fivesubstitutes all of whom might be used, asize four ball to be used for all Under 12games. In all Under 13, 14 and 15 gamesfive substitutes were to be allowed ofwhom any three could play. Reduced timewas to be introduced and no competitivefootball to be allowed below Under 10. Inaddition the SFA would introduce a BasicSkills Coaching Course.

The SFA then called a meeting of allinterested bodies to discuss the Future ofYouth Football in Scotland, and thus

Youth SectionScottish Amateur Football Association U18 Squad who defeatedNorth Wales Coast FA 5-2 at Kilbowie Park, Clydebank in 1992 inthe annual fixture for the Rhuddlan Shield

Inverclyde May 1982, James HaswellCaptain Scottish Amateur FootballAssociation Youth Team with SFA Youth Cup.

started the protracted march towards anew youth set up.

In October 1991, B & Q agreed to sponsorthe Under 16 Cup and early in 1992,Sporting onTime Racing agreed tosponsor the Under 12, 13, 14 and 15 cupsfor two years. February 1992 saw the SFAagree that boys and girls could playtogether up to and including Under 12.May also saw the Bank of Scotland offersponsorship towards the costs of thefixture against North Coast,Wales due inScotland later in the year.

A friendly match which took place onAugust 1991 in Edinburgh caused aheadache for officials when two playersordered off denied they played in thegame.There were no team lines and ittranspired one of the teams played onlyunauthorised football. It was not resolveduntil May 1992, resulting in a player whotold lies to protect the others beingsuspended for four weeks, both playerswho had been sent off suspended for twoyears, one official suspended for ten years.A further official had a five yearsuspension increased to ten on Appeal tothe SFA and one club was levied £200.00towards the cost of the Appeal.

In 1992 James Brown a director ofStranraer FC, left a legacy of £250.00 inhisWill and in 1995 it was used topurchase a replacement trophy for theUnder 12 Cup.

In 1993 Central AyrshireYouth AFLstarted a 7-a-side league within theirAssociation, and in 1994 the SFA decreedthat from the start of the following seasonno one under 12 would play 11-a-sidefootball.

In 1994 theYouth Under 18 select playedthe North CoastWales in Clydebank for

the Rhuddian District Council Shield andtwo weeks later travelled to Llandudno,Wales to play their opponents to celebratethe Centenary of the NorthWales FA.Also in 1994 theTrophy Centre agreed tosponsor the Under 12, 13, 14 and 15 cups.Throughout 1994 meetings were held withthe SFA on the Development ofYouthFootball whereby on occasion, ChiefExecutive Jim Farry, Ross Mathie and JimSinclair from theTechnical Departmentaddressed the SAFA and explained therationale behind the proposed changes.

Committee meetings of theYouth Sectionare no different from other similar footballadministrative meetings, a diet of fieldoffences, protests, appeals and complaintsabout referees. However in January 1995,two clubs submitted letters praising theperformance of the referee in their recentgames. This was all the more remarkableas the referee in question was the tenderage of fifteen years old.William Collumwas the referee, and now he is a Category1 referee and on the FIFA list since 2006!

Following the Future ofYouth Football inScotland discussion paper, the SFA thenset up an International ReviewCommission covering all aspects offootball in Scotland and early leakssuggested the SAFA could disappear afterreconstruction.

In 1998 history was made when MeganSneddon became the first girl to gain anational cup winners medal when her clubEast Kilbride Burgh United defeatedCaledonian Boys Club 3-0 on penaltiesafter a 2-2 draw in the Class 1, 12 years,Scottish AmateurYouth Cup final.

In August 1997, the SFA announced theinitial part of the International ReviewCommission was finalised with a newassociation under the auspices of the SFA

controllingYouth Football up to age Under18. It was understood all Under 21football would revert to the SAFA.

At a SFA SGM in May 1998, it wasannounced that a new body,The ScottishYouth Football Association, would be setup to control all football up to Under 21level and would be under the directcontrol of the SFA.This caused much soulsearching within the SAFA, but at the1999 AGM a ballot saw theYouth Sectiongo off to the SFA. In many respects thiswas a sad day for those involved in theYouth section of the SAFA over manyyears.

The final meeting of the SAFAYouthCommittee was held onTuesday 8th June1999 when cases involving a headbutt, anddisparaging remarks to a SAFA officebearer were dealt with and a total of 468cautions were recorded for the season past.Four members of the committee agreed toserve on the new SYFA Executive &Finance Committee, Messrs D Little, AMcConnell, J Mitchell andTYoung. DavidLittle was offered and accepted theposition of National Secretary of the newAssociation and R Lamberton, a PastPresident of the SAFA, took his place onthe SYFA Executive & FinanceCommittee. As would have been expectedthese members carried on the good workswithin the new Association, McConnellserving three years as President andYoung,the first Match Secretary, served for sevenyears.

All that remains of the SAFAYouthSection are the memories and the varioustrophies now deemed redundant.Hopefully one day they will be given theirplace in the Scottish Football Museum tobe viewed as the tangible results of fiftyfive years’ development of youth football inScotland.

Youth SectionTeam captains and referee before theRhuddlan Shield fixture at Kilbowie Park,Clydebank in 1996 which resulted in a 3-1victory for The Scottish Amateur Youth Team

Scottish Amateur Football Association U18squad who won the SFA Youth Tournament in1982

Vale of Atholl Afc (Perthshire AFA)was founded in 1879 and havebeen members of both the SAFA

and SFA, entering the Scottish Cup onseveral occasions. The club lost theiroriginal ground,The Old Recreation Park,in 1950 when the Pitlochry Dam wasbuilt. It now lies at the bottom of LochFaskally. They relocated to RecreationPark in Pitlochry and have played thereever since. Other than the war years theclub has played continuously since itsinception and has won all local leaguechampionships and cups over the years.Due to their location and the large playingsurface, the facilities are sought bynumerous senior clubs for pre seasonfriendlies.

Breadalbane (Perthshire AFA) wasfounded in 1880 with the amalgamation ofAberfeldy Rangers and AberfeldyBreadalbane, teams from the oppositeends of the town and they played underthe grand name of BreadalbaneCampbells ofTaymouth Castle.Theyplayed in the local Aberfeldy League.Because of the long working day theplayers trained at 6.00am and the teamcaptain went through the town blowing abugle at 5.30am to summon the players.The team used to change in the stoke holeof the Station Hotel.Uniquely, training continued through thewinter when the flares of showmen’slamps were used to create a floodlighteffect.They later affiliated to the SFA,qualified for the Scottish Cup on twooccasions. In 1923 they lost to Falkirk by10-0 and they met the same opponents afew years later and amazingly lost by thesame 10-0 score line.Nowadays besides competing in thePerthshire AFA they have a thrivingYouthsection with four teams competing in thePerthshire Juvenile Leagues.

Six Caithness AFA (CAFA) foundermembers, Lybster Afc founded in 1887,WickThistle 1889,Wick Groats in 1893,Thurso Swifts 1897,Thurso Acks 1898and Castletown 1900 are still goingstrong.

Bearsden Afc (Caledonian AFL) wasfounded in 1890 by employees of thestaging post at Bearsden Cross and playedon a park in Drymen Road. After the firstWorldWar the club reformed and playedout ofThorn Park, now known asBearsden Public Park, their current home.The club had spells in heWest of ScotlandAFL, DunbartonshireWelfare League,Greater Glasgow Premier League beforejoining the Caledonian AFL. The

EarlyLybster, or to give them their

correct title Lybster Portland,

played their first game at home,

on the Black Park, against local rivals

Dunbeath on 30th April 1887 and lost by

2-0. The club name was taken from the

Duke of Portland who owned the massive

Lybster Estate, and perhaps chosen with a

view to some benevolent patronage from

the Duke.

The club entered the Scottish Cup in

1889 and it was recorded in the local

paper ”The Groat”, that they were out of

their depth.They had home advantage

but Lybster eventually scratched and to

this day many feel they were given an

incentive by their opponents to do so. In

1925 Back Park was developed to provide

a golf course and the club moved to Cows

Park which had a steep slope and not

particularly suitable for football. The

pitch gave further problems when the

Caithness AFA was formed in 1927, and

the founder clubs would not accept

Lybster due to the condition of the park.

34/35

BirdsWorse was to follow when the local Rural

League decided not to admit Lybster as

they would sweep all before them and the

club was reduced to playing friendly

matches. This state of affairs lasted until

1949. The club moved to Portland Arms

Park in 1947 but the surface never

recovered from being ploughed up to

assist the war effort. A Community

project saw a new pitch laid out though

the changing facilities were in the British

Legion hall some distance away. However

they played their first home Caithness

AFA match in 1949 but by 1978 the

pitch was giving problems and they

moved toWatten where they played for

seven years until the park was improved.

Changing facilities were built and the

club entered the Scottish Amateur Cup

for the first time in 1995 but lost out in

the

second round. By 1996 floodlights were

installed and were inaugurated by a

match against an “All Stars Select”

watched by a large crowd.

pinnacle of success was the winning of theScottish Cup in 1962 when they defeatedPencaitland 1-0 in the final.

Chirnside Fc (Border AFA) started in1890 but like many teams of this era thereis little on record of the playingperformances, and it is not until 1895 thatdocumentary evidence showed that theydrew 1-1 with local rivals Ayton. In 1920they won their first silverware,The DudleyCup and then their first championship, theBerwickshire Junior League title in 1925.They joined the Border Amateur Leaguein 1930 and stepped up to the East ofScotland League in 1931 where they wereable to enter the Scottish Cup. Since 1931they have flirted between this League andthe Border AFA where they have beencontinuous members since 1979.Theirmost successful season was 1994/95 whenthey won the league title and all theBorder AFA cups, losing only two gamesthroughout the entire season.

KirkwallTorfinn Fc (Orkney AFA) wasestablished in 1891 before which onlyrugby was played on the island.Thehighlight of the club’s history to date wasthe winning of the Highland Amateur Cupin 1988, one of only three Orkney clubs todo so.To day the club runs five teams andare heavily involved in the communityencouraging primary school children toget involved in football.

Rhu Afc(Caledonian League) was foundedin the 1890s and the earliest recordsavailable show that they competed for theCharles DennistounTrophy against localrivals Garelochead in 1896. The trophystill has pride of place in the paviliontoday. Rhu have the further distinction ofplaying on the same park at Ardenconnelthroughout their history and indeed usethe same changing facilities, though muchimproved since 1919, when soldiersreturning from the GreatWar gifted thepavilion.

Stornoway Athletic Afc (Lewis & HarrisAFA) was founded in 1891 whenmembers who met in a coffee shop paidfive shillings to jointhe club, which was simply calledStornoway at that time. Early fixtures wereagainst teams from across the Minch aswell as local fish trade workers, RoyalNavy Reserve personnel and crews fromvisiting warships.They were part of theStornoway Athletic Club and the use ofAthletic only came into their name in1908 when the Stornoway League started.The club have worn black and whitehoops since 1908 and were undefeated in

Greenock High School FPs Season1912 - 1913

36/37

all competitions until Caberfeidh beatthem in 1911.The club nearly folded in1979 but past officials rallied round andthe club was saved. Over the years theyhave accumulated sixty seven league titlesand cups and in Magnus Johnson theyhave the club’s top goal scorer with anastonishing 384 goals gathered in aseventeen year career from 1980.

Coldstream Fc (Border AFA) was foundedin 1895 and is the only Borders side tohave lifted the Scottish Amateur Cupwhich they accomplished in 1925. In1947 they joined the East of ScotlandLeague and competed in the ScottishQualifying Cup which they have won ontwo occasions. In 1991 the newpavilion was opened by Ossie Ardilles’sNewcastle United. Coldstream Fc are stillmembers of the East of Scotland Leaguewith their second eleven competing in theBorder AFA.

Whitehill FP Afc (Scottish AFL) wasfounded in 1905 and by 1925 was part ofa thriving school athletic group along withhockey and rugby sections playing atCraigend, Glasgow.They were foundermembers of the Glasgow & District FPLeague and entered the first ever ScottishAmateur Cup competition in 1909. By1950 the club had five teams competing inthe amateur leagues. The club still wearthe blue and white hooped jersey style theyadopted in 1905. In 1975 a CompulsoryPurchase Order saw the club lose theirfacilities for the construction of the M8motorway and this, together with fewerand fewer FPs coming forward, had adevastating affect on the club. In 1982 theclub secured a ground atTollcross andcontinued with two teams until the late1990s saw this reduced to one team.

Amazingly, the club continues to train atWhitehill Secondary School inDennistoun, a tradition started in 1905.Port Glasgow Old Boys Union Afc(Scottish AFL) was founded in 1906 andhas a strong Boys Brigade connection. Itcurrently plays in Premier League 2 of theSAFL.

Greenock HSFP Afc (Scottish AFL) wasfounded in 1907 and won the ScottishAmateur Cup in 1922 and 1949.Theyplayed Greenock Morton FC as part oftheir Centenary celebrations to cement along and cordial association between thetwo clubs. An application to join the SFAwas turned down but in 1930 they wereadmitted as associate members.Theystarted in the Glasgow & District FPLeague and joined the Scottish AFL in1924 where they play to this day. Fittinglythey won the Scottish AFL PremierLeague title in their Centenary season.

St Monans Swallows Afc (Fife AFA)started life as St Monans Swifts in 1907when they joined the East Neuk JuniorLeague and continued as such until 1924when they lost their pitch.They playedJuvenile football until they joined East FifeAL when it was established in 1925.Internal problems led to a change of nameto St Monans Swallows in 1959 wherethey continued in the East Fife AL, finallyjoining the Fife AFA on its formation in1999. One present player has thedistinction of being the fourth generationfrom his family to play with theSwallows/Swifts.

Civil Service Strollers Afc (Lothian &Edinburgh AFA) was formed in 1908 butnot to be confused with Edinburgh CivilService Afc who also had a team at this

time.Their first ground was at Pinkhillbefore moving to Stenhouse Mills, Gorgiewhich later became a racing stadium.TheStenhouse ground was surrounded onthree sides by theWater of Leith and manya ball was lost after being booted into thewater. At present they have two teams inthe Lothian & Edinburgh AFA as well as asenior and Under 19 team in the East ofScotland League and numerous under ageteams turning out each week end.

Gala Rovers Afc (Border AFA) founded in1908 is the most successful club from thearea with over forty cups/leagues to theircredit. Predecessors Gala FairydeanRovers existed from 1892 and when theyjoined the Borders Senior League in 1908,Gala Rovers took their place in the localamateur league where they still play to thisday.

Newtyle Hearts Afc (Perthshire AFA) wasfounded prior to the opening of NewtylePublic Park in 1905, but the first record ofa team was in 1908. A picture exists of the1908 team and two of the players sadlylost their lives in the 1914-18 war.Theyhave their names inscribed on the villageWar Memorial, a goal kick from the publicpark where the club still plays. NewtyleHearts played in a local rural league beforejoining the now defunct Angus AmateursLeague and later the Perthshire AFA.

Moorcroft Afc (Scottish Amateur FL) wasestablished in Renfrew around 1912 fromthe former works team Babcock &WilcoxFC.They joined the Paisley & DistrictLeague in 1992 and in 2000 they joinedtheir present League, currently runningthree teams.

Wellbank Afc (Midlands AFA) wasfounded around 1914 and has a teamphotograph to prove it.They started in theDundee Churches League and in 1931joined the newly formed Angus AmateurFA, in turn joining the Midlands AFA in1994 on the demise of the Angus AFA. Atthat time they were the sole survivingmember of the founding clubs of theAngus AFA.

Campbeltown Pupils Afc (ScottishAmateur FL) was founded in 1919 tocater for former students.The club was amember of the Campbeltown & DistrictJunior Football League up until theoutbreak of war in 1939 and did notrestart after the hostilities. The clubreformed in 1960 joining the Kintyre AFLand joining the Scottish Amateur FL in1977.They have had three playersrepresent the Scotland at amateur level.

Early Birds

Gala Rovers side of 1909/1910 afterwinning the Conan Doyle Cup.

Weir Recreation Afc (Caledonian L) wasfounded in 1919 playing in the ScottishAFL before entering teams in theCaledonian and Greater Glasgow PremierL when these leagues were founded in1983 and 1989 respectively.

Burntisland Shipyard Afc (KingdomCaledonian AFA) was formed in 1925when they entered the Lothian AL andthey won the inaugural Fife Cup in 1932.In 1959 they moved to the Kirkcaldy &District AL who later became the FifeAFA. In 1929 the club entered theScottish Qualifying Cup and became thefirst ever Lothian AL team to play in theScottish Cup. In 1938 they played Celticat home but went down by 8-3 before atwo thousand crowd. In later years theymoved to the Kingdom Caledonian AFAwhere they play to this day

Dounby Athletic Club (Orkney AFA)started in 1932 sharing facilities with ahockey team and now run five teams.

Back Fc (Lewis & Harris FA) formed in1933 and to celebrate their 50thAnniversary Alex Ferguson took anAberdeen team to play Back.They areindebted to the local school teaching staffwho encourage the youngsters who havebecome the backbone of the club over theyears.

Muirend Afc (Caledonian L/ GreaterGPAFL) was founded in 1945 and playedin the City & Suburban AFL until theyjoined the Scottish AFL in 1948. By theearly 1970s the club entered a secondteam in theWest of Scotland AFL and in1983 joined the Caledonian League.Theclub won theWest of Scotland Cup in1980 and 1986. In 1989 the club entereda team in the newly formed GreaterGlasgow Premier League with a team alsoin the Caledonian League, where theyremain to this day.

Drumchapel Amateurs Afc (Caledonian L)was founded in 1950 by former BBCaptain Douglas Smith and his vision sawhim take his youth teams to Europe in the1950s. Smith instilled in his players acode for life, discipline, cleanliness, goodtime keeping and sportsmanship.Withprofessional teams continually spiritingaway his players he became disillusionedwith youth football and entered a team inthe Scottish Amateur Football Leaguebefore being a frontrunner in the birth ofthe Caledonian League. Smith died in2004 after a fifty four year association withthe club, missing out on their greatesttriumph when they won the ScottishAmateur Cup the following year. Inaddition the club now have three boys’ andone girls’ team competing in youth footballonce again.

Early Birds

The earliest Cup-winners. The Vikingsfrom 1901/1902

38/39

West of Scotland AFL was formedin 1898 and is certainly theoldest amateur football league

still in existence. From the humblebeginnings of eleven clubs in one league itdeveloped into seven leagues, but now hasthirty teams spread over two leagues.

It declined membership of the SAFA whenit was founded in 1909.The first trophydonated to the league in 1914 was by anAllan Glens FP Afc member but it hassince gone missing.

The Minutes prior to 1907 went up insmoke when the then secretary fell outwith the committee and set fire to themwhen urged to return them.

Border AFA in its present form wasestablished in 1945 but started life as theScottish Borders Football Association in1894.The local teams played friendlymatches and for the Border, Dudley andConan Doyle Cups Cup instituted in1873, 1894 and 1905 respectively, beforeleague fixtures were started.

The Scottish AFL was founded in 1900though the first league was not formeduntil the following season.The leaguecomprised six clubs, Ayr Parkhouse,Edinburgh University, Falkirk Amateurs,Glasgow Normal Athletic, GlasgowUniversity and Paisley Academicals whowon the inaugural league championship. Itpeaked in the 1980’s when twelve leaguesplayed out each week. At present it hasfifty two teams spread over five leagues.

Glasgow & District FP FL, was founded in1905 when eleven clubs, Allan Glen’s,Bellahouston, Carlton, Fairfield,Shawlands, Hutchison Grammar, JohnStreet, St Aloysius, QueensPark,WhitehillandWoodside decided to form their ownleague.

The League was a founder member of theSAFA when instituted in 1909.Theysupplied the President, Secretary andTreasurer of the SAFA for the first fiveyears of its existence. Queens Parksupplied a handsome LeagueChampionshipTrophy which John StreetFP won in the inaugural season.WhitehillFP is the only founder club still playing.

The League prospered and by 1973 it hadthirty one teams playing in three leagues.In 1980 the SAFA made the first everpresentation of a President’s Chain ofOffice to the League to commemoratetheir 75th Anniversary and theircontribution to the development ofScottish amateur football. With FPAssociations declining, membershipdropped and despite easing the entrancerestrictions, numbers continued todecrease until 1993 when the Leaguefolded.

Several of the member clubs, such as FPsof Govan High School, Hamilton, KelvinandWishaw High School, joined other

SAFA Leagues and continue to play.

The Shetland AFA was formed initially inan ad hoc form in 1906 though footballwas recorded as being played as early as1887 at a time when rugby was the morepopular sport.The first Shetland v Orkneymatch took place in 1901 under the guiseof Lerwick v Kirkwall, but the inter countyrivalry has not waned over the interveninghundred plus years.The early years sawonly three teams competing in the leagueand fixtures were augmented with friendlygames against visiting ships’ companies ornaval vessels’ able seamen.The ShetlandFA was officially formed in 1919 after theGreatWar. Gilberston Park in Lerwick hasbeen used continually from 1897 and isthe focal point for football in the island. Atpresent there are two leagues with eighteenclubs competing from April to September.There is a strong Junior (Youth) sectionwhich augurs well for the future of footballin Scotlands’ most northerly island.

Lewis & Harris AFA was founded in 1908with five clubs including Stornoway

Associations&Leagues

Glasgow FP AFL 1980 Officials and Guestscelebrating 75th Anniversary.

Athletic Afc which was instituted in 1891.These five clubs are still in membershipbut in the early years the league wasrestricted to teams within Stornoway.Many local leagues were formed in lateryears such asWest Side League. Lothian &Edinburgh AFA was founded in 1909 butprobably as Lothian FL and changed itsname to East of Scotland AFA, and by1943, to Lothian AFA. The amalgamationof the Lothian AFA and Edinburgh AFAin 1998 brought about the presentAssociation which serves seventy five clubsspread over seven leagues.

The Midlands AFA was formed in 1926with twelve clubs drawn mainly from

school FP teams, University and Collegebased sides. Membership was by invitationand prospective clubs had to have theirown ground, changing facilities and onlygrass pitches were acceptable. In 2008MAFA had a membership of thirty nineclubs with fifty four teams and still havethree founder clubs, Harris Academy FP,Morgan Academy FP and Newport inmembership.

Caithness AFA was formed in 1927 withsix clubs, five of whom are still in theleague. However, competitive footballstarted in Caithness in 1894 with theformation of aThurso League and twoyears later theWick & District League wasformed.The leagues combined in 1927 toform the Caithness AFA. In 1960 theAssociation changed to summer footballdue to the harsh winters and this format ismaintained to the present day withfourteen teams participating. A CaithnessAFA select have played neighboursSutherlandshire for the Portland Bowl, atrophy presented by the Duke of Portlandin 1914, and against Orkney AFA for theArcher Shield, since 1935. Five clubs all

founded in 1900 or earlier remainmembers of the Caithness AFA.

The Central Scottish AFL started life asthe Airdrie, Coatbridge & District AFL in1927 and changed to its current title in1970. At present it has thirty five clubs inthree Leagues.Perthshire AFA affiliated tothe SAFA in 1930 although it existed from1926 and many leagues were running inthe Perth town and county areas for a longtime before that. Currently the Associationhas thirty five clubs in three leagues.

The Ayrshire AFA was founded in 1935 toencourage recreational football throughoutAyrshire in communities large and small.

The Association plays an active role in thevarious SAFA committees and currentlyhas fifty seven clubs playing over fiveleagues.The Fife AFA was founded as theKirkcaldy & District AFA in 1931 andchanged to its present name in 1978.Lanarkshire AFA was established in 1938but started out as the Hamilton &Motherwell District AFA and as clubsjoined from the surrounding area changedto its present title in 1947.The firstPresident was Rev.W G Humphreys.

Skye & Lochalsh AFA was founded in1939 as theWester Ross FA. Theyamalgamated with Skye FA formed in1974 to become theWest Highland AFA in1986, and finally changed their name toSkye & Lochalsh AFA in 2005.

The Aberdeenshire AFA was reconstitutedin 1947 when thirteen clubs met and theBon Accord League was absorbed into thisnew Association which ended its firstseason with twenty four clubs. Organisedfootball had existed for many yearspreviously in and around Aberdeen invarious leagues, but since the reformation

the Aberdeenshire AFA has gone fromstrength to strength. Currently theAssociation has eighty member clubsplaying in six leagues. The Orkney AFAwas founded around 1947 and the teamsplay in the long summer evenings from lateApril to September. At present there aretwenty four teams in three leagues andthey also have an Under 18 League.Intriguingly they have a Parish Cupwhereby eligibility of players is based onbirth or residency within a given parish.

The Paisley & District Amateur FootballLeague commenced in 1953 with fourteenclubs who all played matches within sevenmiles of Paisley. Currently thirty teamsplay in three Leagues.The Glasgow andDistrict Saturday Morning League wasfounded in 1968 when eleven teams,several of whom played previously in theUniversity Alchemist League startedplaying at Bellahouston Park. At one timethere were three Leagues with forty eightclubs and at present two Leagues areoperating with twenty eight clubsparticipating throughout StrathclydeRegion.

The Caledonian League formed in 1983was the brainchild ofW Douglas Smith ofDrumchapel Amateurs who strived toimprove the standard of amateur footballby encouraging better playing surfaces,changing facilities and the idea of a newleague with a “pyramid” system topromote a higher level of competence.Thesixteen inaugural clubs were split into twosections and the section winners,Drumchapel Amateurs and Queens ParkHampden X1 were declared jointchampions.The league now has thirtymember clubs within three leagues.

The Kingdom Caledonian AFA started in1984 when invited clubs attempted to raisethe standard in Fife by playing goodquality opponents each week on goodpitches. Since their formation they haveproduced seventeen winners of the FifeCup and one winner of the ScottishAmateur Cup.

The Greater Glasgow Premier League wasformed in 1989 with twenty invited clubsfrom the south side of Glasgow beingformed into two leagues with the top fivein each league forming the 1st Division forthe following season.The League presentlyhas thirty seven teams in three leagues.The rationale of the league was to play in acompetitive environment, cut downtravelling and play on good qualitypitches.

Associations & Leagues

Shetland FA Select 1985. Taking the field toplay Faroe Islands in a friendy fixture whichthe Faroe Islands won 2-0

40/41

AB Bennie (Larkhall Rangers Afc)an office bearer for forty years withLanarkshire AFA was awarded, in

October 1989, a Honorary Long ServiceAward from the SFA for his fifty yearsservice to amateur football. He was also aLife member of the SAFA, his ownAssociation and the Belfast SaturdayMorning League.

Aberdeenshire AFA expelled three clubs in1985 for failing to attend three consecutivebi-monthly meetings.

Alistair Alexander former BBC Scotlandradio sports reporter played for GreenockHSFP Afc.(Scottish AFL)

In 1972 Andy Gray turned out for Back Fc(Lewis & Harris AFA) and by 1975 hadbeen transferred from Dundee United toAstonVilla for £100,000.00.

Blackburn Afc (Aberdeenshire AFA) weresent a cheque, in error it must be said,from Aberdeen FC for the purchase ofplayer Lee Richardson.The cheque ofcourse should have gone to Richardson’sprevious club Blackburn Rovers of theEnglish Premiership.

Cambusbarron Rovers Afc (CaledonianAFL) have the distinction of being theonly club to have won the Scottish Cupand three different District Cups,West ofScotland, East of Scotland and Fifecompetitions.

Civil Service Strollers Afc (Lothian &Edinburgh AFA) who toured Russia andFinland in 1914 had a Danish national asgoalkeeper, A Godtfredsen known to histeam mates as “Andy Godforsaken”.

Bob Crampsey the journalist andbroadcaster who sadly died in 2008,played for Holyrood FP (Glasgow &District FPL)

Bobby Johnstone, who went on to play forHibs as one of the “Famous Five”,Manchester City and was capped 17 timesfor Scotland, started off playing for hishome town club Selkirk (Border AFA)

The Border Cup was first played for in1873/74 when it was won by Selkirk.Together with the Dudley Cup presentedby the Duke of Buccleuch and LordDudley in 1894 they must be two of theoldest cup competitions in existence.

Brothers Norrie and Neil Collins playedfor Gala Rovers (Border AFA) but theirother brother John played only the onefriendly match before going on to anillustrious career with Hibs, Celtic,Monaco as well as turning out forScotland. John presented the shirt he worein the 1998World Cup match againstBrazil to his brothers’ club.

DavidTaylor, UEFA General Secretaryand formerly Chief Executive of the SFA,played forWesterlands Afc (Scottish AFL)

During the Castings v Coldstream ScottishCup tie in December 1928, the referee was

accidentally struck in the face with the balland was unconscious for ten minutes.

Dawsons joined the (West of ScotlandAFL) in season 1964/65 and by season1968/69 had still not won a point! Theyfolded in 1982 after rising to the FirstDivision.

The Eilean an Fhraoich Cup, presented tothe Lewis & Harris AFA in 1933 by theirGlasgow associates was to be playedamongst teams in rural areas.

Erich Schaedler, former Hibs andScotland player, played forTweeddaleRovers (Lothian & Edinburgh AFA)

In 2007 a Fife player who broke anotherplayer’s jaw in an off the ball incidentunseen by the referee and for which nodisciplinary report was received wasordered by the Sheriff Court to pay £1500compensation to the opponent and carryout 280 hours community service.Theplayer was later given a five yearSuspension by the SAFA.

Football Mundial which is based inAberdeen runs 5 and 6-a-side outdoorLeagues all over Scotland and currentlyhas eight Leagues and over one hundredclubs participating all year round.

For the first time in 2008 Shetland FAentered a select side in the HighlandCounty Cup for all Highland Leagueclubs.They defeated FortWilliam but thenlost to Cove Rangers in the quarter finals,a brave performance in the competitionwhich paves a path to full Scottish Cupentry. Cove Rangers had of courseattempted to enter the top echelon ofScottish football the same year, but AnnanAthletic secured the vacant position.

Curiosities

AB Bennie - Lanarkshire AFA

In 1978 oyster catchers decided to nest onFormartine United Afc’s (AberdeenshireAFA) pitch, and committee man EdEdmond lifted all eggs before matches andcarefully replaced them after the game.Ed was Aberdeenshire AFA President in1952/53, and when the club turned Juniorin 1960, Ed was often seen paying matchofficials with a box of eggs or sack ofpotatoes. It was also rumoured that if hethought a player played well he was given abox of brown eggs as a bonus

Futsal had its origins in Uruguay in the1930’s when a 5-a-side football game wasdevised to be played on basketball courts

without side walls. It is played with a sizefour ball, has unlimited substitutions, astopped clock for interruptions, no slidingtackles or shoulder charges and a playersent off can be replaced when theopposition score or after two minutes haveelapsed. FIFA embraced the discipline in1988 and the first FIFA FutsalWorld Cupwinners were Brazil in 1989. UEFA stagedthe first European Futsal Championship inSpain in 1999 with Russia the winners.

Nine times capped Italian internationalistGionni Moscardini turned out forCampbeltown Pupils Afc (ScottishAmateur FL), his only Scottish club, after

a glittering career in the Italian FA playingfor Lucca, Pisa, Genoa and scoring ninegoals for the national team.“Johnnie”, as he was known locally, joinedthe club when he arrived in Scotland towork in his uncle’s café in Campbeltown in1925. His illustrious football past did notcome to light until after his death. BBCReporting Scotland told his story to thenation in a radio broadcast in 1992.

Gordon Strachan, current manager ofCeltic FC and the former Aberdeen andManchester United player, is HonoraryPresident of Kelso Afc (Midlands AFA).He has been of questionable value asKelso won the SAFAWebsiteTeam of theMonth prize in May 2008 by virtue ofplaying and losing all twenty two leaguegames in the 2007/08 season.

Herbert Chapman, the legendary Arsenalmanager, was Honorary President ofChirnside Fc (Border AFA).

In 1929 the Hillcrest v Newport(Midlands AFA) league fixture was playedas a friendly when the sawdust pitchmarkings were blown away prior to kickoff.

When Iain Phillip (Broughty United Afc)signed for Dundee Fc in 1968 the clubreceived nothing in return; so when hemoved on to Crystal Palace Fc for inexcess of £100,000.00 a few years later theMidlands AFA club reminded Dundee Fcof the fact. A few weeks later managerJohn Prentice provided the club with a setof jerseys in the Broughty team’s colours.

In season 2007/08, three current SPLteam captains, Gary Caldwell, Celtic,James Fowler, Kilmarnock and ScottSeverin of Aberdeen had one thing incommon! Their respective fathers allplayed for Bannockburn Afc. (CaledonianL)

KirkwallTorfinn Fc (Orkney AFA) wasestablished in 1891 and in the early daysthe only island rivals were Stromness. Agame involved a two hour horse drawn busjourney across Orkney. Later gamesagainstWick,Thurso and the Navy wereplayed all on the mainland thus involvingboth land and sea travel.

Throughout the 1950s Lybster PortlandAfc (Caithness AFA) had five Larnachbrothers in the team. Two other brothersalso played for the team and their fatherwas a committee man and also refereed.Mike Larnach, son of one of the brothersplayed professionally with Clydebank,

Ed Edmond - Formartine United AFC

42/43

Newcastle United, Motherwell and AyrUnited in a career spanning from 1977until 1984.They also had a unique method of pitchmarking just after the first world war.Local worthy “John the Lhaid” would yokea pair of horses to the plough and withconsiderable skill take out a light “scratch”furrow to form the necessary markings.

D MacKenzie of Back Fc (Lewis & HarrisAFA) was handicapped by having to playin his Sunday shoes in the fixture againstTolsta Afc in 1936 as he had hidden hisboots in a rabbit hole the night before andwas unable to find them next day!

Marta (Border Amateur League)competed in 1949-50 and was composedof Polish nationals who stayed on in theBorders after the war.The club was namedafter a river in their native country.

Minigaff 6-a-side operates one league inoutdoor football from October to April inthe Dumfries and Newton Stewart area.

Paul Sturrock formerly of Dundee United,Scotland and current manager ofPlymouth Argyle played forVale of AthollAfc (Perthshire AFA) in the 1970s.

Peter Lorimer (Leeds United) and DavidRobb (Aberdeen & Chelsea) played in thesame Broughty United Afc (MidlandsAFA) team in 1962 and only met up againwhen they played in the full ScottishInternational team againstWales in 1971.

Rab Douglas (Dundee & Celtic)

goalkeeper played with SymingtonTintoAfc(Caledonian AFL).

Robert Prytz (Rangers) played forWestKilbride Afc (Ayrshire AFA) after a longsenior career.

Ronnie Renton of Gala Rovers (BorderAFA) was a butcher to trade and when in1961 the team mini bus struck a pheasanton the way to their game, Ronnie pluckedand gutted the bird during the journey.

Ronnie Renton of Gala Rovers Afc(Border AFA) was a butcher to trade, andwhen in 1961 the team mini bus struck apheasant on the way to their game, Ronnie

plucked and gutted the bird during theremainder of the journey.

In 1966 a Seaman’s strike caused havoc inthe Outer Isles as beer for the post matchcelebrations ran out.

Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur ConanDoyle presented the Conan Doyle Cup tothe Scottish Borders FA in 1905

Shetland FA have a Parish Cup which is acompetition for teams whose players musthave come from the parish of their birth.Further, no Lerwick teams are permittedentry.

Shetland FA defeated Jersey FA in thefinal of the Inter Island Games of 2005.These Games are for competition betweensmall islands throughout the world and areheld every two years.

Tweeddale Rovers Afc (Lothian &Edinburgh AFA) was formed in 1949 bymembers of Peebles Rovers SupportersAssociation. They played in thePeebleshire AL and they later joined theLothian AL. They have won the South ofScotland Cup on eight occasions, morethan any other club.

In 1942 a services team, comprisingmainly of guards from theWatten POWcamp with guest player Matt Busby, playedaWick Select for Red Cross Funds

Woodside Afc (Aberdeenshire AFA) haveas their Honorary President, the District’sgreatest ever export, Denis Law.

Curiosities

The seven brothers of the Larnachfamily, who played for Lybster PortlandFC along with their father Magnus, whowas an official of the club. They are:Stanley, David, Sandy, Bill, Eric, Robertand Jim. The year is 1952.

Victor Roger celebrates his 600thappearance for Echt AFC - AberdeenshireAFA. 25-08-2007

Trophies

Scottish Amateur CupPresented to the SAFA in 1910 by theSFA. Replaced by a new replica trophypurchased in 2005 by SAFA at a cost of£13,550.00 and the original placed in theScottish Football Museum. Open forcompetition annually by all member clubswithin the SAFA.

West of Scotland Amateur CupPresented to the SAFA by PS Benzie ofGreenock and replaced in 1971 by J FMcCartney, a director of GreenockMorton Fc.Established in 1923/24 and competed forannually by teams in the Associations/Leagues affiliated to the SAFA, who playSaturday football, generally in theAyrshire, Glasgow & Lanarkshire areas.The original trophy when replaced waspresented to Mr Bennie, rector ofGreenock High School for permanentdisplay within the school.

North of Tay Amateur CupPresented by R A Lambie, Glasgow,first President of the SAFA.Established in 1928/29 competed forannually by teams in the Associations/Leagues affiliated to the SAFA, who playSaturday football, generally in the Angus,Dundee & Perthshire areas. Previouslyknown as the Midland Cup but the namewas changed in 1951 as clubs were underthe impression it was for Midlands AFAteams only.

Greenock HSFP AFC Cup Winners 1922

44/45

East of Scotland Amateur CupPresented by the Edinburgh EveningNews and replaced in 1991 by B and QCup. Established in 1946/47, competedfor annually by teams in the Associations/Leagues affiliated to the SAFA, who playSaturday football, generally in theEdinburgh, Falkirk and Lothian areas.

Fife Amateur CupPresented by Brigadier General H AJones, Glasgow in 1932, theCommander at Maryhill BarracksGlasgow, and was called “The SAFAChallenge Cup”. Replaced by a trophydonated by D Fowlis of CowdenbeathFc in May 1978. Established in 1931/32,competed for annually by teams in theAssociations /Leagues affiliated to theSAFA, who play Saturday football,generally in the Fife area. Prior to 1931

Fife clubs competed in the Midland Cup,but by 1937 they were permitted toparticipate in one District Cup only.

South of Scotland Amateur CupPresented by the Edinburgh EveningNews. Established in 1951/52, competedfor annually by teams in the Associations/Leagues affiliated to the SAFA who playSaturday football, generally in the South ofScotland.

Highland Amateur CupPresented by the Highlands & IslandsDevelopment Board. Established in1978 and competed for annually by teamsin the Associations /Leagues affiliated tothe SAFA who play summer football in theHighlands & Islands areas.

Scottish Amateur Under 18 CupPresented by Scottish Daily Express in1946 and replaced by the JimmyBrown MemorialTrophy in 1979.Thelatter was presented by the family inmemory of their father who was Treasurerof the SAFA in 1958-69, a Past Presidentof the Scottish Amateur FL, Chairman oftheYouth Committee of the SAFA from1970-74 and Secretary of the SAFAYouthCommittee from 1974-77.Established 1945/46 and competed forannually by teams in theYouthAssociations /Leagues affiliated to theSAFA until 1998/99 when theYouthsection of the SAFA was transferred to thenewly established ScottishYouth FootballAssociation.

Trophies

North of Scotland Amateur CupPresented by G Anderson,Aberdeenwho was manager of Dundee Fc.Established in 1949/50, competed forannually by teams in theLeagues/Associations affiliated to theSAFA, who play Saturday football,generally in the North of Scotland.

Famous Grouse Scotch WhiskyAmateur Football TrophyPresented by Matthew Gloag & Son,Perth. Established in 1978/79, competedfor annually by teams in the Associations/Leagues affiliated to the SAFA who playSunday football but discontinued in2003/04 when the sponsorship wasconcluded.

Echt AFC Cup Winners in 2001

Harvester AFC - last Winners ofthe Famous Grouse Trophy in2004

Scottish Amateur Under 16 CupPresented byWWTerris, Edinburgh,President of the SAFA from 1938-1946who later crossed the divide to work forthe SFA in May 1964.Established1945/46 and competed for annually byteams in theYouth Associations /Leaguesaffiliated to the SAFA until 1998/99 whentheYouth section of the SAFA wastransferred to the newly establishedScottishYouth Football Association.

Scottish Amateur Under 15 CupPresented byT S Logan,Airdrie of Sea& Land Surveys Ltd.Tom Logan was amember of the SAFAYouth Committeefrom 1974-76 and again in 1981 for aseason. He was also Secretary of theLanarkshireYMCA League.Established 1975/76 and competed forannually by teams in theYouthAssociations /Leagues affiliated to theSAFA until 1998/99 when theYouthsection of the SAFA was transferred to thenewly established ScottishYouth FootballAssociation.

Scottish Amateur Under 14 CupPresented by G A Leiper, Glasgow ofMurray and Perrings Ltd who wasSecretary of the Scottish AmateurYouthLeague.Established 1975/76 andcompeted for annually by teams in theYouth Associations /Leagues affiliated tothe SAFA until 1998/99 when theYouthsection of the SAFA was transferred to thenewly established ScottishYouth FootballAssociation.

Scottish Amateur Under 13 CupPresented anonymously in memory ofWilliam McPhee, Bridge ofWeir.William McPhee was Match Secretaryof the SAFAYouth Committee from1970-76..Established 1977/78 andcompeted for annually by teams in theYouth Associations /Leagues affiliated tothe SAFA until 1998/99 when theYouthsection of the SAFA was transferred to thenewly established ScottishYouth FootballAssociation.

Scottish Amateur Under 12 CupOriginally presented anonymously in1979 but replaced by theW DavidsonCup donated in 1986. Mr Davidson wasthe referees’ representative on the ScottishAmateurYouth League. This cup in turnwas superceeded by a cup purchased in1995 from a legacy from Stranraer Fc

director James Brown.Established 1979/80 and competed forannually by teams in theYouthAssociations /Leagues affiliated to theSAFA until 1998/99 when theYouthsection of the SAFA was transferred to thenewly established ScottishYouth FootballAssociation.

Alex F Baxter Memorial TrophyPresented by the family of Alex FBaxter, former columnist with theGlasgow EveningTimes. Mr Davidsonwas the referees’ representative on theScottish AmateurYouth League. This cupin turn was superceeded by a cuppurchased in 1995 from a legacy fromStranraer Fc director James Brown.Established 1979/80 and competed forannually by teams in theYouthAssociations /Leagues affiliated to theSAFA until 1998/99 when theYouthsection of the SAFA was transferred to thenewly established ScottishYouth FootballAssociation.

Inter League Belt Up TrophyPresented by Belt UpTrophiesEstablished 1995/96, competed forannually by Associations /Leaguesaffiliated to the SAFA but discontinued2001/02.

Black TrophyPresented by family of the James Black,Forfar in 1952 previously used for aNorth ofTayYouth competition. JamesBlack was a member of Forfar AthleticFc between 1885-1951 and of the SFAfrom 1904-1951.Established 1955/56and competed for annually byYouthUnder 18 Associations /Leagues affiliatedto the SAFA until 1998/99 when theYouthsection of the SAFA was transferred to thenewly established ScottishYouth FootballAssociation.

Under 16 Inter League TrophyPresented anonymously with partcontribution made by Celtic Fc.Established 1974/75 and competed forannually byYouth Under 16 Associations/Leagues affiliated to the SAFA until1998/99 when theYouth section of theSAFA was transferred to the newlyestablished ScottishYouth FootballAssociation.

Scottish Amateur Sunday TrophyPresented by the SAFA to replace theFamous Grouse ScotchWhiskyAmateur FootballTrophy in 2005 at acost of £1,675.00.Established in 2005and competed for annually by teams in theAssociations /Leagues affiliated to theSAFA who play Sunday football.

Trophies

46/47

Under 15 Inter League TrophyPresented by Hyster Ltd, Irvine.Established 1977/78 and competed forannually byYouth Under 15 Associations/Leagues affiliated to the SAFA until1998/99 when theYouth section of theSAFA was transferred to the newlyestablished ScottishYouth FootballAssociation.

Under 14 Inter League TrophyPresented by Peter Clason who joinedthe SAFAYouth Committee in 1976serving as Match Secretary from 1982until 1999.Established 1982/83 andcompeted for annually by theYouth Under14 Associations /Leagues affiliated to theSAFA until 1998/99 when theYouthsection of the SAFA was transferred to thenewly established ScottishYouth FootballAssociation

Rhuddian District Council ShieldPresented by Rhuddian DistrictCouncil,Wales.Established 1984/85 andcompeted for annually by the ScottishAFAYouth Under 18 Select against NorthWales Coast Football Association until1998/99 when theYouth section of theSAFA was transferred to the newlyestablished ScottishYouth FootballAssociation.

Rhuddian District Council ShieldPresented by Rhuddian DistrictCouncil,Wales.Established 1984/85 andcompeted for annually by the ScottishAFAYouth Under 18 Select against NorthWales Coast Football Association until1998/99 when theYouth section of theSAFA was transferred to the newlyestablished ScottishYouth FootballAssociation.

Alan R MacKay TrophyPresented by Insurance Brokers Alan RMacKay.Alan MacKay playedprofessionally with Motherwell Fc andDumbarton Fc.Established 1999/00 and competed forannually by the SAFA Select against theLeinster Senior League, Ireland

Inter Association TrophyPresented by the SAFA.Established 1999/00 and competed forannually by the SAFA Select againstNorthWales Coast Football Associationbut discontinued in 2004/05.

Jack Britton RosebowlPresented by Northern Ireland officialJack Britton who was instrumental insetting up the competition.Established1978/79 and competed for annually by theSAFA Select against the NorthernAmateur Football League, Ireland.

Trophies

Dalziel FP AFC West of Scotland Amateur Cup Winners 2000

No discussion of amateur footballwould be complete withoutreference to Queens Park whose

motto “Ludere causa Ludendi” “to playfor the sake of the game” was adopted onits formation in 1867 when the clubdecided players would not be paid.Todaythey are unique in senior football with noQueens Park player ever having received awage from the club.

Queens are the third oldest football club inthe world being preceeded only bySheffield FC and Notts County who wereformed some ten and five years earlier.They were not only undefeated for the firstfive years they did not concede a goal inthis period.Prior to the establishment of clubs inPublic Schools with their own rules butQueens Park instituted what we all knowand recognise as football today.Theyadopted a passing style and worked as ateam.They introduced half-time, crossbarsand free kicks into the rule books.Theytravelled to Ireland in 1879 to introducethe game which resulted in the formationof the Irish Football Association in 1880.From 1873 they have worn black andwhite thin hooped shirts, similar to thosethey wear at present, In 1910 to protecttheir amateur players from being poachedby professional clubs they wereinstrumental in the introduction of theregistration of players until 30th April eachseason, a rule still with us to day.Theyplayed on four different locations beforesettling in their present home of HampdenPark in 1903, also now known as theNational Stadium and at the time hailed asthe greatest stadium in the world.

They were founder members of theScottish Football Association in 1873 andremain the sole survivors still inmembership today.Though they declinedthe invitation to join the Scottish Football

League when it was founded in 1890, theydid enrol in 1900. Queens saw theintroduction of the Scottish FootballLeague as the legitimising of professionalfootball and did not want to be associatedwith it, as it railed against the ethics andamateur spirit they endeavoured to foster.By the start of the 20th century, Queens’halcyon days were behind them thoughthey did go on to win Championships onfour occasions between 1923 and 2000.In 1930 they played Rangers in a ScottishCup first round tie at Hampden Park infront of 95,722 spectators which remainsthe largest crowd to watch an amateurteam.

Queens were far ahead of their time off thefield as Hampden Park was the firstground to have turnstiles, introduce crushbarriers, a PA system, a stadium car parkand hold the first ever all ticket match.In 1872 the first international matchplayed between Scotland and Englandtook place on the cricket ground atHamilton Crescent, Glasgow and sawScotland represented entirely by playersfrom Queens, the match ending in a 0-0draw. Scotland played in Queens thenclub jerseys of dark blue, the colourScotland play in to the present day.

Queens won the inaugural Scottish Cup in1874 and went on to win it on nine moreoccasions prior to 1900.They are one ofonly eight teams to have their nameinscribed on the original cup, the othersbeing on the base.In 1872 they were invited to enter theFootball Association Cup (FA Cup) at thesemi final stage and drew withWanderers,but as they did not have the money to stayovernight for the replay they had toscratch.In 1884 they again reached the final of theFA Cup only to lose to Blackburn Roversand they suffered a similar fate at the same

Queen’s Park FC“Ludere causa Ludendi”

48/49

stage in the competition at the hands ofthe same opponents the following year.They boast the youngest ever player toplay for his country in John A Lambie whomade his debut in 1886 aged 17 years and92 days. He was one of three brothers,William was also capped for Scotland andRobert also played but he did not getcapped. Robert A Lambie went on tobecome the first President of the ScottishAmateur Football Association andrendered valuable service to Queens as anadministrator.

Queens also won the Glasgow Cup onthree occasions prior to 1900 and again in1946, and their eight successes in theCharity Cup were again prior to 1900. Inthe modern era they won Scottish LeagueDivision 3 title in the Millennium season1999/2000.

In 2008 they still maintain a side in theScottish Football League and numerousyouth teams, one of which represents theclub in the Scottish Amateur Cup, acourtesy which is extended by virtue oftheir being a founder member of theScottish Amateur Football Association.They have won the Scottish Amateur Cupon eleven occasions, needless to say themost wins by any club though the lastoccasion was in 1964.

Nowadays the general public would behard put to name a Queens Park playerdespite the fact that the likes of AlanMorton, Sir Alex Ferguson, RonnieSimpson and Andy Roxburgh played forthe club.The name most clearly in thepublic eye is the former club captain andinternationalist R S McColl, aswashbuckling centre forward in his day,who was capped for his country at 18years of age. However McColl is probablybetter known for the business he foundedand which is displayed in High Streetsthroughout Scotland rather than for hisQueens Park connection.

Queens Park FC

Aberdeen Sunday AFA

Aberdeenshire AFA

Airdrie & Coatbridge Sunday AFL

Ayrshire AFA

Border AFA

Caithness AFA

Caledonian AFL

Carluke & District Sunday AFL

Central Scottish AFL

Dumfries & District AFL

Dumfries Sunday AFL

Dundee Sunday Morning AFA

Dundee SundayWelfare AFA

East Ayrshire Sunday AFL

East of Scotland Churches AFA

Edinburgh Sunday AFA

Edinburgh & District Sunday AFA

Falkirk & District Sunday AFL

Fife AFA

Fife Sunday AFL

Football Mundial

Forfar & District Sunday AFL

Glasgow Colleges AFA

Glasgow & District Saturday Morning

AFL

Glasgow Sunday AFL

Greater Glasgow Premier AFL

Kingdom Caledonian AFA

Lanarkshire AFA

Lewis & Harris AFA

Livingston & District Sunday Morning

AFL

Lothian & Edinburgh AFA

Midlands AFA

Minnigaff 6-a-side AFL

North Ayrshire Sunday AFA

NorthWest Sutherland AFA

Orkney AFA

Paisley & District AFA

Perth & District Sunday AFL

Perthshire AFA

Ross-Shire AFA

Scottish Amateur FL

Scottish Deaf AFA

Scottish Futsal League (Perth)

Scottish Police AFA

Scottish Supporters AFL

Scottish Universities AFA

Shetland AFA

ShetlandWorks AFL

Skye & Lochalsh AFA

Stewartry Sunday AFA

Stirling & District AFA

Stranraer & District AFL

Strathclyde Evangelical Churches AFL

Strathclyde Saturday Morning AFL

Sutherland AFA

Uist & Barra AFA

West Ayrshire Sunday AFA

West Lothian Sunday AFA

West of Scotland AFL

LeaguesAssociations inMembership 2008

The Origins of the SAFA

50/51

The compilers of this booklet thankall those individuals, club andleague secretaries who forwarded

information, sections of which could notbe used due to shortage of space. Also,thanks to DCThomson and Newsquest forthe use of their archives and to CuratorRichard McBrearty and staff at theScottish Football Museum for their co-operation and forbearance.The PublicLibraries of Dundee and Paisley togetherwith the Mitchell Library, Glasgowprovided much information.To the clubsand individuals who have providedphotographs, a warm thanks. Apologies toall those who have been pursued forinformation more often then perhaps theyshould have been. Finally a big thank youto Margaret Martin who brought her redpen out of retirement and edited all theramblings thus making this review all themore readable.

T Allison, G Butler and A Martin.

Acknowledgements

Autographs

52

Autographs

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HAM

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EUR FOOTBALLASSO

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19092009CENTENARY

www.thesafa.org.uk

Hampden ParkGlasgow G42 9DB

Scotland

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