Football records in Scotland

Football in Scotland is a popular professional sport. Founded in 1873,[1] Scotland has the second oldest national football association in the world. The national cup competition, the Scottish Cup, was started in the 1873–74 season. Its trophy is the oldest national sporting trophy in the world.[2] A Scottish football league system was first instituted in 1890, with the creation of the Scottish Football League. A second national cup competition, the Scottish League Cup, was created in the 1946–47 season. This page details the team and individual records set in these competitions.

League competitions

Team records

Top ten clubs by league titles won
Rank Club Tier One:
Premiership 		Tier Two:
Championship 		Tier Three:
League One 		Tier Four:
League Two 		Totals
1 Rangers 55* 55*
2 Celtic 54 54
3 Hibernian 4 6 10
4 Greenock Morton 6 3 1 10
5 Falkirk 7 2 9
6 Raith Rovers 6 3 9
7 Ayr United 6 3 9
8 Clyde 5 4 9
9 Partick Thistle 6 2 8
10 Heart of Midlothian 4 3 7
Clubs winning all four divisions
Rank Club Tier One:
Premiership 		Tier Two:
Championship 		Tier Three:
League One 		Tier Four:
League Two
1 Rangers 55 1 1 1
2 Dumbarton 2 2 1 1
Clubs winning bottom 3 divisions
Rank Club Tier Two:
Championship 		Tier Three:
League One 		Tier Four:
League Two
1 Greenock Morton 6 3 1
2 Hamilton Academical 3 1 1
3 Queen's Park 2 1 2
4 Dumbarton 2 1 1
5 Ross County 2 1 1
6 Livingston 1 4 2
7 Albion Rovers 1 1 1
8 Gretna 1 1 1
Top ten clubs by total number of seasons (ever) in Top Flight
Rank Club No. of
seasons
1 Celtic 128
2 Rangers 124
3 Heart of Midlothian 122
4 Hibernian 118
6 St Mirren 114
5 Aberdeen 113
7 Motherwell 109
8 Dundee 100
9 Kilmarnock 95
10 Partick Thistle 85
Top ten clubs by ongoing, successive seasons in Top Flight
Rank Club First season of
current spell 		No. of
seasons
1 Celtic 1890–91 128
2 Aberdeen 1905–06 113
3 Motherwell 1985–86 40
4 St Johnstone 2009–10 16
5 Rangers 2016–17 9
6 Hibernian 2017–18 8
7 St Mirren 2018–19 7
8 Ross County 2019–20 6
9 Heart of Midlothian 2020–21 4
10 Kilmarnock 2022–23 3
Clubs having been Champions of Scotland
Club First title Longest time between titles Years Current time since last title
From Until Last title won Years
Dumbarton 1890–91* 1890–91 1891–92 1 1891–92 132
Rangers 1890–91* 1963–64 1974–75 11 2020–21 3
Celtic 1892–93 1953–54 1965–66 12 2023–24 0
Heart of Midlothian 1894–95 1896–97 1957–58 61 1959–60 64
Hibernian 1902–03 1902–03 1947–48 45 1951–52 72
Third Lanark 1903–04 1903–04 1903–04 120
Motherwell 1931–32 1931–32 1931–32 92
Aberdeen 1954–55 1954–55 1979–80 25 1984–85 39
Dundee 1961–62 1961–62 1961–62 62
Kilmarnock 1964–65 1964–65 1964–65 59
Dundee United 1982–83 1982–83 1982–83 41

*1890–91 title was shared between Dumbarton and Rangers

Titles
Main article: List of Scottish football champions
  • Most top-flight league titles: 55, Rangers[3]
  • Most consecutive league titles: 9, joint record:[4]
    • Celtic (1965–66 to 1973–74)[4]
    • Rangers (1988–89 to 1996–97)[4]
    • Celtic (2011–12 to 2019–20)[4]
  • Longest gap between title wins: 61 years, Hearts (1897 to 1958)
Highest top flight finishes without titles
Position Club Last season
in position 		No. of
clubs
2nd Falkirk 1909–10 3
Greenock Morton 1916–17
Airdrieonians (1878) 1925–26
3rd St Mirren 1892–93 10
St Bernard's 1893–94
Raith Rovers 1921–22
East Fife 1952–53
Partick Thistle 1962–63
Clyde 1966–67
Dunfermline Athletic 1968–69
Livingston 2001–02
St Johnstone 2012–13
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2014–15
4th Cambuslang 1890–91 5
Leith Athletic 1891–92
Ayr United 1915–16
Queen of the South 1933–34
Hamilton Academical 1934–35
5th Queen's Park 1928–29 4
Ross County 2012–13
Cowdenbeath 1924–25
Clydebank (1914) 1919–20
6th Renton 1891–92 1
7th Abercorn 1890–91 1
8th Vale of Leven 1890–91 1
9th Port Glasgow Athletic 1903–04 1
10th Clydebank (1965) 1985–86 2
Cowlairs 1890–91
11th Albion Rovers 1921–22 2
Arbroath 1937–38
12th Stirling Albion 1958–59 2
Gretna 2007–08
18th East Stirlingshire 1963–64 1
19th Bo'ness 1927–28 1
20th Alloa Athletic 1922–23 1
Top-flight appearances
  • Most appearances: 127 completed seasons, Celtic (1890–present)[5]
Largest victories
Streaks
  • Longest top flight unbeaten run: 62 games, Celtic (20 November 1915 – 21 April 1917)[7][8]
    • Longest top flight unbeaten run (games in all national competitions): 69 games (56 in the league), Celtic (15 May 2016 – 13 December 2017) [9][10]
  • Most consecutive top flight wins: 25, Celtic (2003–04)
  • Unbeaten league season:
Attendances

Individual

See also: List of footballers in Scotland by number of league goals and List of footballers in Scotland by number of league appearances
Goals
Appearances
Goalkeepers
Titles

Scottish Cup

Team records

Main article: List of Scottish Cup finals
  • Most final wins: 42, Celtic[16][17]
  • Most consecutive final wins: 4, Celtic (2016–17 to 2019–20)[16]
  • Most final appearances: 61, Celtic (includes cancelled 1909 fixture)[16]
  • Most consecutive final defeats: 3, Vale of Leven (1882–83 to 1884–85)
  • Most consecutive final appearances: 8, Rangers (1975–76 to 1982–83)[17]
  • Longest gap between final wins: 114 years, Hibernian (1901–02 to 2015–16)
  • Most final appearances without winning: 2, Hamilton Academical (1910–11, 1934–35)[16]
  • Most final appearances without defeat: 2, St Johnstone (2013–14, 2020–21)
  • Longest winning streak in finals: 14, Rangers (1929–30, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1952–53, 1959–60, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66)
  • Longest losing streak in finals: 10, Hibernian (1913–14, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1946–47, 1957–58, 1971–72, 1978–79, 2000–01, 2011–12, 2012–13)
  • Biggest final wins: 5 goals, joint record:
  • Most goals in a final: 7:
  • Most goals by a runner-up: 3:
    • Queen's Park: Lost 3–4 against Celtic (1899–1900)
    • Celtic: Lost 3–4 against Hearts (1900–01)
    • Dundee United: Lost 3–4 against Motherwell (1990–91)
    • Hearts: Lost on penalties against Celtic after the game finished 3–3 (aet) (2019–20)
  • Most final losses: 19, Rangers (excludes cancelled 1909 fixture)[16]
  • Most common pairing in the final: 16, Celtic v Rangers (8 Celtic wins, 7 Rangers wins)1908–09 was withheld)[17]
  • Most wins while playing at tier 2: 1, joint record:
Attendances

Individual

Scottish League Cup

Team records

Main article: List of Scottish League Cup finals
  • Most final wins: 28, Rangers[20]
  • Most consecutive final wins: 5, Celtic (1965–66 – 1969–70)[20]
  • Most final appearances: 36, joint record: Celtic and Rangers[20]
  • Most consecutive final defeats: 4, Celtic (1970–71 – 1973–74)
  • Most consecutive final appearances: 14, Celtic (1964–65 – 1977–78)[17]
  • Most final appearances without winning: 3, Dunfermline Athletic[20] (1949–50, 1991–92, 2005–06)
  • Most final appearances without losing: 3, East Fife (1947–48, 1949–50, 1953–54)
  • Longest gap between final wins: 21 years, Aberdeen (1955–56 – 1976–77)
  • Longest winning streak in finals: 9, Rangers (1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2007–08)
  • Longest losing streak in finals: 5, joint record:
    • Kilmarnock (1952–53, 1960–61, 1962–63, 2000–01, 2006–07),
    • Dundee United (1981–82, 1984–85, 1997–98, 2007–08, 2014–15)
  • Biggest final win: 6 goals:
  • Most goals in a final: 9:
  • Most goals by a runner-up: 3:
    • Dundee: Lost 3–5 against Celtic (1967–68)
    • Hibernian: Lost 3–6 against Celtic (1974–75)
    • Aberdeen: Drew 3–3 against Rangers but lost on penalties (1987–88)
    • Hearts: Lost 3–4 against Rangers (1996–97)
  • Most final losses: 15, Celtic[20]
  • Most common pairing in the final: 16, Celtic v Rangers (9 Rangers wins, 7 Celtic wins)[17]
  • Most wins while playing at tier 2: 1, joint record:
Attendances
Individual

Transfers

Record transfer fees paid

Rank Player From To Fee Date Notes
1 Tore Andre Flo Chelsea Rangers £12,000,000 23 November 2000 [21]
2 Arne Engels FC Augsburg Celtic £10,800,000 31 August 2024 [22]
3 Odsonne Édouard Paris Saint-Germain Celtic £9,000,000 15 June 2018 [23]
4 Adam Idah Norwich Celtic £8,250,000 14 August 2024 [24]
5= Christopher Jullien Toulouse Celtic £7,000,000 28 June 2019 [25]
5= Ryan Kent Liverpool Rangers £7,000,000 2 September 2019 [26]
7 Michael Ball Everton Rangers £6,500,000 20 August 2001 [27]
8 Jota Benfica Celtic £6,465,000 1 July 2022 [28][citation needed]
9= Cameron Carter-Vickers Tottenham Hotspur Celtic £6,000,000 10 June 2022 [29]
9= Chris Sutton Chelsea Celtic £6,000,000 11 July 2000 [30]
9= John Hartson Coventry City Celtic £6,000,000 2 August 2001 [31]
9= Auston Trusty Sheffield United Celtic £6,000,000 31 August 2024

Record transfer fees received

Rank Player From To Fee Date Notes
1 Matt O'Riley Celtic Brighton £30,000,000 27 August 2024 [32]
2= Kieran Tierney Celtic Arsenal £25,000,000 8 August 2019 [33]
2= Jota Celtic Al-Ittihad £25,000,000 3 July 2023 [34][35]
4 Moussa Dembélé Celtic Olympique Lyonnais £19,700,000 31 August 2018 [36]
5 Calvin Bassey Rangers Ajax £19,580,000 20 July 2022 [37]
6 Odsonne Édouard Celtic Crystal Palace £14,000,000 31 August 2021 [38]
7 Kristoffer Ajer Celtic Brentford £13,500,000 21 July 2021 [39][40]
8 Victor Wanyama Celtic Southampton £12,500,000 11 July 2013 [41]
9= Virgil van Dijk Celtic Southampton £11,500,000 1 September 2015 [42][43]
9= Nathan Patterson Rangers Everton £11,500,000 4 January 2022 [44]

Most successful clubs by titles

Main article: List of football clubs in Scotland by major honours won
Team Domestic European Total
League titles Scottish Cup League Cup Champions League Cup Winners' Cup Europa League Europa Conference League Super Cup
Rangers 55* 34 28 - 1 - - - 118
Celtic 54 42 21 1 - - - - 118
Aberdeen 4 7 6 - 1 - - 1 19
Heart of Midlothian 4 8 4 - - - - - 16
Hibernian 4 3 3 - - - - - 10
Queen's Park - 10 - - - - - - 10
Kilmarnock 1 3 1 - - - - - 5
Dundee United 1 2 2 - - - - - 5
Dundee 1 1 3 - - - - - 5
Motherwell 1 2 1 - - - - - 4
St Mirren - 3 1 - - - - - 4
East Fife - 1 3 - - - - - 4
Dumbarton 2 1 - - - - - - 3
Third Lanark 1 2 - - - - - - 3
Clyde - 3 - - - - - - 3
St Johnstone - 2 1 - - - - - 3
Falkirk - 2 - - - - - - 2
Dunfermline Athletic - 2 - - - - - - 2
Partick Thistle - 1 1 - - - - - 2
Inverness Caledonian Thistle - 1 - - - - - - 1
Greenock Morton - 1 - - - - - - 1
Airdrieonians - 1 - - - - - - 1
St Bernard's - 1 - - - - - - 1
Raith Rovers - - 1 - - - - - 1
Livingston - - 1 - - - - - 1
Ross County - - 1 - - - - - 1

References

  1. ^ "Scottish FA > About". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  2. ^ "Scottish Cup > History & Archives". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 2013-02-13.
  3. ^ "Linfield overtake Rangers as Irish champions declared 'most successful club'". 2 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Stokkermans, Karel (23 December 2013). "Trivia on Winning Domestic Championships". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  5. ^ Stokkermans, Karel (18 June 2015). "Coventric!". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  6. ^ a b Stokkermans, Karel (19 December 2013). "Double Digits Domestical". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Stokkermans, Karel (23 December 2013). "Unbeaten". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  8. ^ Brown, Alan (29 October 2001). "Celtic FC's series of 62 matches unbeaten in Division One". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  9. ^ McLeod, Liam (4 November 2017). "Celtic: Brendan Rodgers' team earns place in the history books". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  10. ^ Barnes, John (13 December 2017). "Celtic 3–1 Hamilton Academical". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  11. ^ Brown, Alan; Robertson, Forrest; Ross, David (20 March 2009). "Scotland - All-Time Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  12. ^ Kilani, Imed (16 March 2012). "Top Division Scoring Records". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  13. ^ Rota, Davide (20 January 2012). "List of League Appearances Records". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  14. ^ "Fraser Forster: Celtic clean sheet record a team effort". BBC Sport. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  15. ^ "Aberdeen 2–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2021. Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster's Scottish record for the longest time without conceding a league goal was an unbroken 1,215 minutes coming into the game - it was ended at 1,256 minutes. Celtic had not let in a Scottish Premiership goal since they last played Aberdeen, in a 3–1 win back on 23 November.
  16. ^ a b c d e Ross, James M. (25 July 2013). "Scotland - List of Cup Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  17. ^ a b c d e Stokkermans, Karel (28 November 2013). "Domestic Cups Trivia". RSSSF. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  18. ^ "PERRIE'S FEAT". Press and Journal. 14 April 1936. Retrieved 1 January 2022. (via) British Newspaper Archive
  19. ^ A day when Scottish football scorched the record books The Scotsman, retrieved 14 July 2007. Archived from the original Archived 14 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine on 27 March 2008.
  20. ^ a b c d e Ross, James M. "Scotland - List of League Cup Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  21. ^ "Flo goes to Rangers". BBC Sport. 23 November 2000.
  22. ^ "Celtic buy Engels and Trusty as they work on McCowan deal". BBC Sport. 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  23. ^ "Celtic sign French striker Edouard in record deal". AFP. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  24. ^ FC, Celtic (2024-08-14). "Adam Idah returns to the champions as he signs five-year-deal with Celtic". Celtic FC. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  25. ^ "Christopher Jullien: French defender joins Celtic". BBC Sport. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  26. ^ "Ryan Kent: Liverpool forward completes Rangers move". BBC Sport. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  27. ^ "Ball makes Rangers move". BBC Sport. 17 August 2011.
  28. ^ Devlin, Kieran (1 July 2022). "Celtic sign Filipe Jota from Benfica in £6.4m deal". The Athletic. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  29. ^ Atkinson, Mark (10 June 2022). "Cameron Carter-Vickers: Celtic complete permanent transfer - fee, length of contract, what player and coach had to say". msn.com. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  30. ^ "O'Neill secures Sutton". BBC Sport. 11 July 2000. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  31. ^ "Celtic sign trio on deadline day". BBC Sport. 2 August 2001. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  32. ^ Loudon, Calum (2024-08-26). "Celtic confirm sale of Matt O'Riley to Brighton in record deal worth up to £30m". STV News. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
  33. ^ "Kieran Tierney: Celtic defender completes £25m Arsenal move". BBC Sport. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  34. ^ "Jota: Portuguese winger leaves Celtic to join Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia". BBC Sport. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  35. ^ "Jota: Al-Ittihad sign Portuguese winger from Celtic in £25m deal". Sky Sports. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  36. ^ "Moussa Dembele: Celtic striker joins Lyon in £19.7m move". BBC Sport. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  37. ^ Coyle, Andy (20 July 2022). "Rangers sell defender Calvin Bassey to Ajax for club record fee". STV Sport. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  38. ^ "Odsonne Edouard nears £14m Crystal Palace move as Giorgos Giakoumakis & Jota join". BBC Sport. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  39. ^ "Kris Ajer posts heartfelt message with special mention to John Kennedy after sealing Celtic exit". The Glasgow Times. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  40. ^ "Brentford sign Ajer from Celtic in £13.5m deal". MSN.com. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  41. ^ "Victor Wanyama completes £12.5m move to Southampton from Celtic". The Guardian. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  42. ^ Hynter, David (1 September 2015). "Virgil van Dijk signs for Southampton from Celtic for £11.5m". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  43. ^ Celtic reportedly received further funds when van Dijk was sold by Southampton to Liverpool in January 2018, due to a sell-on clause in the deal agreed between Celtic and Southampton (BBC Sport).
  44. ^ "Nathan Patterson: Everton complete signing of Scotland right-back from Rangers". BBC Sport. 4 January 2022.