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11 surprising facts that show how Scottish football has changed over the last 30 years

Figures, facts and stats about Scottish football.

  1. The 1987 Scottish Cup Final, when St Mirren beat Dundee United, was the last time when all of the players, managers and officials were all Scots.
  2. The league match between Celtic and Rangers on 04 October 2003 featured only one Scottish player in the two starting line-ups: Jackie McNamara. Maurice Ross came on as a substitute for Rangers. Celtic won 1-0.
  3. In 1986, as the Scotland national team was heading to the World Cup in Mexico, 97% of the players playing in the top Scottish league were born in Scotland. At the start of the 2015/16 season, only 53% of the top league players were born in Scotland.
  4. At the start of the 2015/16 season, Ross County, St Johnstone and Dundee had the most Scots-born players in their teams, with 73% each. Inverness Caledonian Thistle had the lowest number of Scots-born players at 7%. The majority of Caley’s squad were born in England.
  5. Of all the players who started in the first match of the 2015/16 Scottish Premiership season, 77% were born in the United Kingdom and 35% were born in England.
  6. During the Scottish Premier League era from 1998-2013, five clubs survived administration: Livingston, Hearts, Dunfermline, Motherwell and Dundee (twice). Two entered liquidation proceedings: Gretna and Rangers FC PLC.
  7. According to the SPFL, more people per head of the population attend football matches in Scotland than any other country in Europe.
  8. Only two Scottish players have won the Champions League: Paul Lambert and Darren Fletcher.
  9. The last club to win Scotland’s top-flight league title – other than Celtic or Rangers – was Aberdeen in 1985, over 31 years ago.
  10. Scotland have not qualified for a major international tournament since 1998 — the same year that the two pound coin was first issued, DVDs became available in the UK and Britain last hosted the Eurovision Song Contest. (Bonus Eurovision video: Imaani performs Where Are You?)
  11. Theo Snelders was the first non-Scot to win the PFA Scotland player of the year award in 1989 while at Aberdeen. In the 27 years since his win, only 10 Scots have won the award, and only two non-Old Firm players have won it.

St Mirren, celebrating their 1987 Scottish Cup win

The last time all the players, managers and officials were born in Scotland.

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