Scottish Football Association - Definition and Overview

Founded	1873
FIFA affiliation	1910
UEFA affiliation	1954
President John McBeth
Coach Walter Smith, 2004-

The Scottish Football Association (SFA) was formed in 1873 making it the second oldest national football association in the world (after The English Football Association). It is the governing body for the sport of football in Scotland being responsible for the discipline of players misconduct. Along with the other "home nations" associations (The Football Association, Football Association of Wales and Irish Football Association) the SFA sits on the International Football Association Board which is responsible for the laws of the game. They also have responsibility for the running of the Scottish national football team.

The SFA are also a full member of Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).

The SFA also organise an annual "knock-out" tournament, the Scottish Cup which the 12 Scottish Premier League (SPL) clubs and 30 Scottish Football League (SFL) clubs automatically qualify, and 8 "non-league" clubs qualify for. The final of the Scottish Cup is usually played in the month of May.

Although the SFA are not involved in the day-to-day running of the SPL or the SFL they do appoint referees to officiate at the games in these two leagues.

There are six affiliated football associations to the SFA. They are the Scottish Amateur Football Association; Scottish Junior Football Association; Scottish Schools Football Association; Scottish Welfare Football Association; Scottish Women's Football Association and the Scottish Youth Football Association.

The SFA are based at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

External link

• Scottish Football Association Website (http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/index.cfm)
• Scottish Football Museum (http://www.scottishfootballmuseum.org.uk/)