- Sport in Glasgow
Glasgow,
Scotland has a long sporting history, with the world's first international football match held in 1872 at theWest of Scotland Cricket Club 'sHamilton Crescent ground in thePartick area ofGlasgow . The match was between Scotland and England and resulted in a 0–0 draw.Sports
Football
The city is home to Scotland's largest football stadia:
Celtic Park (60,832 seats),Ibrox Stadium (51,082 seats) andHampden Park (52,670 seats), which is Scotland's national football stadium. Hampden Park holds the European record for attendance at a football match: 149,547 saw Scotland beat England 3-1 in 1937, in the days before British stadia became all-seated (though Wembley has been reputed to hold over 200,000 unofficially).Glasgow has three professional football clubs: Celtic and Rangers, which together make the
Old Firm , and Partick Thistle. A fourth club, Queen's Park, is an amateur club that plays in the Scottish professional league system. Prior to this, Glasgow had six other professional clubs: Clyde, which moved toCumbernauld , plus Third Lanark,Cambuslang F.C ,Port Glasgow Athletic F.C. ,Cowlairs F.C. andClydesdale F.C. , who all went bankrupt. Senior teams such as St. Mirren, Hamilton Academical, Clyde, Albion Rovers,Airdrie United and Motherwell play inGreater Glasgow , as well as the long defunctAbercorn F.C. The history of football in the city, as well as the status of the
Old Firm , attracts many visitors to football matches in the city throughout the season. Hampden Park and Ibrox have been awarded UEFA 5 star status, meaning that they are capable of hosting the final of the Champions' League. Hampden Park has hosted the final on three occasions, most recently in 2002 and hosted theUEFA Cup Final in 2007. TheScottish Football Association , the national governing body, and theScottish Football Museum are based in Glasgow, as are theScottish Football League ,Scottish Premier League ,Scottish Junior Football Association andScottish Amateur Football Association . TheGlasgow Cup was a once popular tournament, were all professional teams from the city would compete, however, now only Junior teams do.Here is a list of Junior teams from the Glasgow area which have played in the West Region of the
Scottish Junior Football Association . More could be included if the completeGreater Glasgow conurbanition was taken into consideration:
*Arthurlie F.C.
*Bellshill Athletic F.C.
*Benburb F.C.
*Cambuslang Rangers F.C.
*Clydebank F.C.
*Glasgow Perthshire F.C.
*Linthouse F.C.
*Maryhill F.C.
*Parkhead F.C.
*Petershill F.C.
*Pollok F.C.
*Port Glasgow F.C.
*Renfrew F.C.
*Rutherglen Glencairn F.C.
*Shettleston F.C.
*St Anthony's F.C.
*St Roch's F.C.
*Thorniewood United F.C.
*Vale of Clyde F.C.
*Yoker Athletic F.C. Rugby
Glasgow also boasts a professional
rugby union team, theGlasgow Warriors , which play in the Celtic League alongside teams from Scotland,Ireland andWales .In addition,
Glasgow Hawks was formed in 1997 by the merger of two of Glasgow's oldest sporting teams, Glasgow Accies RFC (1866) and Glasgow High Kelvinside RFC (1884).Other Sports
Major international sporting arenas include Kelvin Hall and
Scotstoun Sports Centre. In 2003 the National Academy forBadminton was completed in Scotstoun. In 2003 Glasgow was also given the title of European Capital of Sport.Smaller sporting facilities include an abundance of small outdoor football pitches, as well as golf clubs such as Haggs Castle and artificial ski slopes.
Befitting its strong Highland connections as the City of the Gael "Baile Mòr nan Gàidheal", Glasgow is also one of five places in Scotland which hosts the final of the Scottish Cup of
Shinty , better known as the Camanachd Cup. This is usually held at Old Anniesland. Once home to numerous Shinty clubs, there is now only one senior club in Glasgow, Glasgow Mid-Argyll, as well as two university sides,Strathclyde University and Glasgow UniversityGlasgow was also the birthplace of Scotland's
American football scene, which although not as strong as in its early years continues to the present day. TheGlasgow Lions were the first team to be formed in Scotland in 1984. Between 1998 and 2004,theScottish Claymores played some or all of their home games each season at Hampden and the venue also hostedWorld Bowl XI .Glasgow is also host to Scotland's only professional
basketball team, theScottish Rocks .Speedway racing is staged at Saracen Park in Hawthorn Street,on the north side of the City. During March to October the Glasgow Tigers race in the British Premier League.
Glasgow Green has been home to Glasgow's rowing clubs since the mid-nineteenth century. Crowds of spectators turned up to watch regattas in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Although the crowds now watch football instead, rowing on the Clyde continues to this day.Glasgow University Boat Club thrives alongside other academic and public clubs and there are a number of competitions held on the river every year.Venues and Stadiums
Football
*
Hampden Park
*Celtic Park
*Ibrox Stadium
*Firhill Stadium Athletics
*
Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena
*Scotstoun Stadium2014 Commonwealth Games Bid
Glasgow will host the
Commonwealth Games in 2014. Glasgow's bid beat the bid from Abuja inNigeria . It will be based around a number of exising and new-built sporting venues across the city, including; a revampedHampden Park with a Commonwealth Games village planned for the East End. It was Glasgow's first bid for the Games, and will be Scotland's third Games, the previous two held inEdinburgh in 1970 and 1986.Although
London has won the2012 Olympic Games , because the Home Countries are classed as separate nations within the Commonwealth, this issue did not adversely affect Glasgow's bid.
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