Talk:History of football in Scotland

Unofficial internationals
FIFA cannot and will not 'recognise' the unofficial internationals because both teams were organised and picked by one organisation - the English Association. Beyond FIFA, the FA and the Scottish FA don't recognise them either. There is no point saying they are 'not currently recognised' as there is no possibiity of their status ever changing. The section should be edited back. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.97.5.112 (talk) 22:36, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

Disinformation!
Just because it's called "football", "fitbaw" or "futeball", doesn't make it soccer. In fact, most of the pre-1867 games played in Scotland, which were called "football" didn't have much in common with soccer other than goals, two sides and a ball. The ball was carried as much as kicked. It's time this mythology was put to bed. --MacRusgail (talk) 19:42, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Inaccurate
To say that the pre-1867 references to 'football' in Scotland can imply games in which the ball was carried as much as it was kicked is simply not true. Certainly there was limited use of hands even in the Association game of the 1860s (which Queen's Park adopted from 1867 in its early games) where the fair catch was allowed. The fair catch was also in evidence in some examples of earlier football contests in Scotland but does not equate to carrying the ball. Prior to the early to mid 1850s and the beginning of the introduction of rugby rules to a few private schools in Edinburgh there is little if any evidence to argue that wider football activity in Scotland involved running whilst carrying the ball with the hands. Whilst traditionally games at Kirkwall had been street football in which the ball was not carried but was kicked, the game changed to handball in the 19th century due to an increase in numbers. After attempts to supress the game in Jedbugh the game by the early 19th century had changed from street football to handball. The games at Kirkwall and Jedburgh are referred to simply as Ba' games.

The ball of Scone is also often put forward as an example of a 'football' game in Scotland when use of the foot to kick the ball was specifically banned. The original reports of the game refer to it as 'the ball of Scone' but subsequent writers would wrongly lable the game as being a form of football.

John Hope's football club of 1824 is wrongly attributed of allowing handling of the ball (lifting of the ball) during games when the actual hand written note refers to lifting of the ball between fields (i.e. when it is out of play). Hope's rules of 1854 re-iterate this rule stating that the only time the ball can be lifted is in order to fetch it back when it is out of bounds.

There were many varieties of games in Scotland and the generic term of Ball or ba' game can create some of the confusion. Prior to the introduction of rugby rules during the early to mid 1850s (which incidentally replaced kicking games at schools like Lorretto and Merchiston)games of futeball, foot-ball or futtbaw were played overwhelmingly by the foot. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.247.67.99 (talk) 12:56, 11 February 2010 (UTC)