The University Archives works to preserve and promote Scotland’s sporting heritage through the development and care of our sporting collections and the provision of advice and support to sporting clubs and organisations across the country. At the core of our sporting heritage collections sits the Commonwealth Games Scotland Archive which preserves a detailed record of […]

I recently came across a remarkable collection of Scottish sports programmes dating back to the 1880s , many with a strong football connection. They are held at National Records of Scotland, having...

This well-known image, claimed to be the world's first photo of a tennis player, was taken by the pioneering photographers Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill in Edinburgh around 1843. It features....

by Andy Mitchell This is the story of an extraordinary week in 1997 when events unrelated to football conspired to make the Scottish Football Association and its boss vilified throughout the UK.  ...

This article is based on a talk I gave to the British Society of Sports History conference in Edinburgh, on 27 August 2026. ​Why do footballers use their head? It might seem a daft question: in...

This article is based on a talk I gave to the British Society of Sports History conference in Edinburgh, on 27 August 2026. ​Why do footballers use their head? It might seem a daft question: in...

Review of ‘Forward: The revolution in football: The first 10 years of Gianni Infantino at Fifa’ by Alessandro Alciato.

When James Smith and Mary Ann Smith had been married almost 30 years, newspapers across the country reported that the former Heavyweight Champion’s wife was dead. Which might have been rather…

As I write, Belgium are set to face Scotland at Hampden Park, fresh from an excellent World Cup campaign which saw them finish in third place. Yet perhaps their greatest honour came in 1920 when they....

Join us for a panel discussion on how London shapes and is shaped by football.

Discover a comprehensive history of the legacy of slavery and racial injustice – from Scotland to America – in the first international exhibition from the

Find and participate in consultations run by Historic Environment Scotland

Find and participate in consultations run by Historic Environment Scotland

When Edinburgh hosted an International Exhibition in 1890 , the organisers knew that they would have to put on special entertainment to draw the crowds through the summer and autumn months.  ...

A tennis trophy won by Edinburgh-born Harold Mahony, the first Scottish-born Wimbledon winner 117 years before Sir Andy Murray, has fetched nearly £5,000 at auction. Mahony, who was born in Charlotte Square, won the silver rose bowl for winning the Cheltenham Lawn Tennis Tournament in June 1890. He lifted the "Residents Challenge Cup" first prize after beating Australian-born James Baldwin in four sets in the final. Mahony, who was 23 years old, made his Wimbledon debut the following month, going on to win the men's singles title six years later and set a precedent for a Scots-born player matched only by Murray in 2013.

With a bumper Summer of sport to enjoy at the Commonwealth Games and World Cup, join us as we delve through the records of the HES Archive

How should museums engage with the beautiful game, asks football fandom expert Josh Bland

As the FIFA World Cup reaches its climax, 'Rugby Reloaded' takes an in-depth look at the life of Ebenezer Cobb Morley, the founding secretary of the Football Association and the man who many claim is