Football Culture in Glasgow

Hampden Park – National Football Stadium for Scotland

Sport plays an important role in the culture of Glasgow – the largest city in Scotland.  Football is particularly popular and Glasgow is known for the fierce Old Firm rivalry between Scotland’s most successful clubs, Celtic and Rangers.  The atmosphere at an Old Firm match has been described as the best in world football, sometimes for the wrong reasons, but undoubtedly there is an electric edge to these games that is hard to put into words.

The national stadium (Hampden Park) is located in the City and stages most home matches of Scotland National Team as well as the finals of the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup.  The Scottish Football Association (SFA) and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) are both also based at Hampden. The Scottish football season runs from August to May with a winter break in January. There are 38 matches per season and two main Cup competitions also: The Scottish Cup and The Scottish League Cup.

Glasgow has three professional football clubs;  Celtic, Rangers and Partick Thistle. Other professional teams within the Greater Glasgow Area include Motherwell, Saint Mirren from Paisley and Airdrie.  The history of football in the City, as well as the status of the Old Firm, attracts many visitors to matches throughout the season.  Here we will outline some interesting facts on the three main teams and stadiums in Glasgow and their relevant history:

Celtic FC – Celtic Park

• Capacity 60,411
• It is the largest football stadium in Scotland
• And the third largest football stadium in the United Kingdom
• The stadium is commonly known by Celtic fans as ‘Parkhead’ or ‘Paradise’
• Celtic Park hosted the opening of the 2014 Commonwealth Games
• The venue is also used for concerts including performances from The Who and U2
• Located in the East End of the City close to the Necropolis
• Matchday tickets for certain home matches can be purchased at http://www.celticfc.net/tickets

Rangers FC – Ibrox Stadium

• Capacity 50,947
• It is the third largest stadium in Scotland
• Ibrox hosted the Scottish National Team when Hampden was redeveloped in 1990
• The venue is also used to host concerts and events
• Located south of the River Clyde close to the traditional shipyards of Glasgow
• Matchday tickets for certain home matches can be purchased at https://rangers.co.uk/tickets/

Scotland – Hampden Park

• National Stadium for Scotland and home to Scotland international football matches
• Capacity 51,886
• Holds the European record for attendance at a football match in the 1960 European Cup Final between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt (around 127,000)
• One of the finest matches in European history which Real won 7-3. Alfredo Di Stefano scored a hatrick, but was outdone by the famous Hungarian Puskás who scored 4 goals that evening!
• Achieved UEFA ‘5 star’ status after redevelopment in the 1990’s meaning that was capable of holding a Champions League Final
• Hosted the 2002 Champions League Final which saw one of the greatest goals scored in the final by the French footballing genius Zidane Zidane who scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over German side Bayer Leverkeusen
• The stadium is owned by the oldest association team in Scotland; Queens Park Football Club (who are sadly no longer professional)
• The Scottish Football Association rents the ground for international matches and for their domestic offices.

If you are visiting Glasgow and are looking for suggestions on experiences within the City, we would highly recommend a stadium tour at one of the above venues!

Glasgow City Flats
Tel: 0141 226 3534
Email: enquiries@glasgowcityflats.com
Website: www.glasgowcityflats.com