CRICKET SCOTLAND JOINS FOOTBALL'S SQUARE MILE ALLIANCE

Cricket Scotland is pleased to show its support for highlighting and preserving Glasgow and Scotland’s rich sporting heritage by officially joining Football’s Square Mile Alliance.

With the early history of cricket and football in Scotland intertwined, Cricket Scotland joins the Western District Cricket Union (WDCU), Clydesdale Cricket Club and West of Scotland Cricket Club in supporting the promotion, protection and celebration of Scotland’s footballing heritage, including the overall mission to make Football’s Square Mile in Glasgow a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cricket’s links to football are clearly demonstrated with the world’s first international football match played between Scotland and England at Hamilton Crescent, home of West of Scotland Cricket Club on 30 November 1872. The famous ground in Partick in Glasgow’s West End later held two Scottish Cup Finals and has also hosted international rugby and hockey fixtures.

Clydesdale Cricket Club, which recently celebrated its 175th anniversary, was in the 19th century also a successful football club, with its founder, Archibald Campbell, the first President of the Scottish Football Association. Clydesdale FC reached the first-ever Scottish Cup Final in 1874, losing to Queen’s Park at the First Hampden Park in Crosshill. This site, now known as the Hampden Bowling Club, is currently under threat of closure and demolition.

In 19th-century Glasgow, cricket clubs were fundamental to the birth and early development of association football, providing the initial infrastructure, players and grounds for the new sport to develop, with many early football clubs originating from cricket clubs seeking a winter activity.

Many of these Victorian-era cricket clubs in the Glasgow area formed football sections to keep their members fit during the off-season. With cricket club numbers upwards of 2000 in the greater Glasgow area, this ready-made combination of members, organisation, grounds, facilities, networks and connections were perfectly in place to facilitate the foundation for association footballs explosion in Glasgow during the 19th century.

Ultimately, cricket provided the initial structure and enthusiasm that allowed association football to grow rapidly in 19th-century Glasgow, quickly developing its own unique "passing game" style that was spread globally by Scotch Professors, a legacy that is still seen today.

Charles Paterson, Cricket Scotland Head of Communications, and Cricket Scotland’s nominated Alliance Ambassador, said:

“Cricket Scotland is delighted to offer its support to the Football Square Mile Alliance. The preservation and celebration of Scotland’s sporting history is essential, and the national governing body is pleased to follow the WDCU, West of Scotland Cricket Club and Clydesdale Cricket Club in joining the Alliance.

“Cricket has been played in Scotland since the middle of the 18th century, and it is a strategic goal for us to do everything in our power to preserve and celebrate our sport’s rich history. Earlier this year, Cricket Scotland established an archive at the National Library in Edinburgh and supported the launch of the Catching History research project charting the story of Scottish women’s cricket.

“Scottish cricket is immensely proud that cricket clubs and players in the 19th century played a role in helping to establish the foundations of Scottish football. Today’s announcement is a commitment by us to work with other organisations to help highlight some of the amazing stories of the past, and ensure this priceless heritage is preserved for years to come.”

Graeme Brown, Director of Football’s Square Mile, said:

“Football’s Square Mile showcases how cricket and football intertwined at the dawn of association football in Glasgow and led to the explosion of the world’s biggest sporting phenomenon.

“Our mission is to preserve this legacy, and all the other stories within this cradle of the modern game, and we are delighted that Cricket Scotland is joining our Football’s Square Mile Alliance. This is another important step in promoting the threat to the First Hampden site, which has extensive cricket links, and our wider UNESCO World Heritage ambition for the world’s biggest open-air football museum.”