One thing you must know about Scotland is that people love their sports there. Men and women alike follow a wide variety of sports, and today we will tell you about the most popular ones, as well as about the sporting events in Scotland you shouldn’t miss.
Football is the most viewed sport and one of the most popular sports to bet on, but it’s far from being the only option. Rugby, cricket, and golf are just as revered in Alba (the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland).
Football
Naturally, we had to start with football as it is, after all, the most popular sport to watch in Scotland. Pretty much every Scottish town and city has a football team, so you can regularly go to games in towns like Falkirk and Arbroath.
If you are, however, interested in the very best, you can follow the Scottish Premiership – the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) – where the twelve best Scottish football teams compete.
The most famous rivalry in Scottish football is that of Glasgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtics. The two Glaswegian teams and their rivalry is known around the world, while the fact that both teams perform equally fantastic (Rangers have 55 Scottish League Cups, while Celtics have 53) makes their games even more exciting to watch.
We highly recommend attending one of their matches, but you should make sure you can afford it, because ticket prices usually start at £300-£500.
Another, arguably even more famous, rivalry is that between the national teams of Scotland and England. It is in fact the oldest international football rivalry with the first game between team Scotland and team England in 1872 being the very first international football fixture.
The Scottish football fans still refer “lovingly” to the English as “The Auld Enemy”. Every time the two teams happen to meet in the World or Euro Cups, all hell breaks loose. Make sure to book your tickets for the international derby the day they come out, or you might miss your chance.
Rugby
Rugby is almost as watched as football in Scotland which is why it took the second spot on our list. The Scottish Rugby Union, simply known as Scottish Rugby, is the second oldest rugby union (the English union being the oldest) in the world and it oversees the Scottish National teams and the Scottish League Championship with its six divisions.
Similar to football, the oldest rugby rivalry in the world is again that between the Scottish and English national rugby teams. The two teams played the first international rugby game in 1871 and they continue to be bitter rivals to this day.
The best sporting events between the two teams are during the Six Nations Championship (a rugby tournament between the international rugby teams of Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, France and France). The tournament is annual, so the two teams meet pretty often.
Recently though, a new rivalry has arisen between the rugby teams of Scotland and Ireland, with players, rather than fans, fuelling it.
In case you’re interested in domestic rugby events, you can follow teams like Hawick RFC (the team with most titles), Melrose RFC and Heriot’s Rugby Club.
Cricket
Cricket might be very popular in bordering England, but its support in Scotland is kind of waning. This might be because the Scottish national team is not one of the twelve leading cricket nations (it is right behind them, being placed 13th). Still, there are many people who play and follow cricket games.
As you could have guessed, Scotland has cricket rivalry with England, as well as with the national teams of Ireland and the Netherlands. The Scottish cricket team plays in tournaments like the Twenty20 International (T20I), the ODI World Cup, and the T20 World Cup. The Regional Pro Series is the only professional cricket league in Scotland and it features three teams, each representing a different region of Scotland – the Caledonian Highlanders, the Eastern Knights, and the Western Warriors.
Golf
Scotland is the birthplace of golf, and naturally, Scots are very passionate about their native game. Sure, golf is not as popular to watch as team sports like football, but there are still many Scottish people who follow the sport.
Golf was invented sometime in the late Middle Ages in Scotland; the modern game of golf was also formulated there. St Andrews is considered by many to be the capital of golf.
This could be due to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (est. in 1754) being one of the oldest golf clubs in the world and the former legislative authority of the game (excl. in the United States and Mexico).
Additionally, the Old Course of St Andrews Links (hosting golf games since the 15th century) is one of the most popular golf venues in the world and it’s often the site for The Open Championship (one of the main golf championships).