# 1979–80 in Scottish football

The 1979–80 season was the 107th season of competitive football in Scotland and the 83rd season of Scottish league football.

## Scottish Premier Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Aberdeen (C) | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 68 | 36 | +32 | 48 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Celtic | 36 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 61 | 38 | +23 | 47 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 3 | St Mirren | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 56 | 49 | +7 | 42 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Dundee United | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 43 | 30 | +13 | 37 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 5 | Rangers | 36 | 15 | 7 | 14 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 37 | |
| 6 | Morton | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 51 | 46 | +5 | 36 | |
| 7 | Partick Thistle | 36 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 43 | 47 | −4 | 36 | |
| 8 | Kilmarnock | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 36 | 52 | −16 | 33 | |
| 9 | Dundee (R) | 36 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 47 | 73 | −26 | 26 | Relegation to the 1980–81 Scottish First Division |
| 10 | Hibernian (R) | 36 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 29 | 67 | −38 | 18 | Relegation to the 1980–81 Scottish First Division |
Champions: Aberdeen Relegated: Dundee, Hibernian

## Scottish League First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Heart of Midlothian (C, P) | 39 | 20 | 13 | 6 | 58 | 39 | +19 | 53 | Promotion to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Airdrieonians (P) | 39 | 21 | 9 | 9 | 78 | 47 | +31 | 51 | Promotion to the Premier Division |
| 3 | Ayr United | 39 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 64 | 51 | +13 | 44 | |
| 4 | Dumbarton | 39 | 19 | 6 | 14 | 59 | 51 | +8 | 44 | |
| 5 | Raith Rovers | 39 | 14 | 15 | 10 | 54 | 46 | +8 | 43 | |
| 6 | Motherwell | 39 | 16 | 11 | 12 | 59 | 48 | +11 | 43 | |
| 7 | Hamilton Academical | 39 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 60 | 59 | +1 | 40 | |
| 8 | Stirling Albion | 39 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 39 | |
| 9 | Clydebank | 39 | 14 | 8 | 17 | 58 | 57 | +1 | 36 | |
| 10 | Dunfermline Athletic | 39 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 39 | 57 | −18 | 35 | |
| 11 | St Johnstone | 39 | 12 | 10 | 17 | 57 | 74 | −17 | 34 | |
| 12 | Berwick Rangers | 39 | 8 | 15 | 16 | 57 | 64 | −7 | 31 | |
| 13 | Arbroath (R) | 39 | 9 | 10 | 20 | 50 | 79 | −29 | 28 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 14 | Clyde (R) | 39 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 43 | 69 | −26 | 25 | Relegation to the Second Division |
Promoted: Hearts, Airdrieonians Relegated: Arbroath, Clyde

## Scottish League Second Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Falkirk (C, P) | 39 | 19 | 12 | 8 | 65 | 35 | +30 | 50 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | East Stirlingshire (P) | 39 | 21 | 7 | 11 | 55 | 40 | +15 | 49 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Forfar Athletic | 39 | 19 | 8 | 12 | 63 | 51 | +12 | 46 | |
| 4 | Albion Rovers | 39 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 73 | 56 | +17 | 44 | |
| 5 | Queen's Park | 39 | 16 | 9 | 14 | 59 | 47 | +12 | 41 | |
| 6 | Stenhousemuir | 39 | 16 | 9 | 14 | 56 | 51 | +5 | 41 | |
| 7 | Brechin City | 39 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 61 | 59 | +2 | 40 | |
| 8 | Cowdenbeath | 39 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 54 | 52 | +2 | 40 | |
| 9 | Montrose | 39 | 14 | 10 | 15 | 60 | 63 | −3 | 38 | |
| 10 | East Fife | 39 | 12 | 9 | 18 | 45 | 57 | −12 | 33 | |
| 11 | Stranraer | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 51 | 65 | −14 | 32 | |
| 12 | Meadowbank Thistle | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 42 | 70 | −28 | 32 | |
| 13 | Queen of the South | 39 | 11 | 9 | 19 | 51 | 69 | −18 | 31 | |
| 14 | Alloa Athletic | 39 | 11 | 7 | 21 | 44 | 64 | −20 | 29 | |
Promoted: Falkirk, East Stirlingshire

## Cup honours

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Cup 1979–80 | Celtic | 1 – 0 (a.e.t.) | Rangers |
| League Cup 1979–80 | Dundee United | 3 – 0 (rep.) | Aberdeen |
| Junior Cup | Baillieston | 2 – 0 (rep.) | Benburb |

## Other honours
### National

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup – North | Inverness Thistle | 5 – 0 | Buckie Thistle |
| Scottish Qualifying Cup – South | Whitehill Welfare | 8 – 1 * | Hawick Royal Albert |

### County

| Competition | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| Aberdeenshire Cup | Keith | | |
| Ayrshire Cup | Ayr United | 10 – 2 * | Girvan |
| East of Scotland Shield | Hibernian | 2 – 2 ‡ | Hearts |
| Fife Cup | Dunfermline Athletic | 4 – 1 * | East Fife |
| Forfarshire Cup | Dundee United | 2 – 1 | Dundee |
| Lanarkshire Cup | Airdrie | 3 – 2 | Hamilton |
| Renfrewshire Cup | St Mirren | 6 – 2 * | Morton |
| Stirlingshire Cup | Clydebank | 4 – 1 | Stenhousemuir |
$^*$ – aggregate over two legs ‡ – won on penalties

### Highland League

Top Three :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Keith | 30 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 82 | 20 | +62 | 52 |
| 2 | Brora Rangers | 30 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 60 | 27 | +33 | 40 |
| 3 | Inverness Thistle | 30 | 17 | 4 | 9 | 74 | 43 | +31 | 38 |

## Individual honours

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Footballer of the Year | Gordon Strachan | Aberdeen |
| Players' Player of the Year | Davie Provan | Celtic |
| Young Player of the Year | John MacDonald | Rangers |

## Scottish national team

Scotland finished fourth in the 1980 British Home Championship. Scotland won just one game, against Wales; Willie Miller scored Scotland's only goal of the tournament.
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Competition | Scotland scorer(s) |
| 12 September 1979 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Peru | 1–1 | Friendly | Jorge Olaechea (o.g.) |
| 17 October 1979 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Austria | 1–1 | ECQG2 | Archie Gemmill |
| 21 November 1979 | Heysel Stadion, Brussels (A) | Belgium | 0–2 | ECQG2 | |
| 19 December 1979 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Belgium | 1–3 | ECQG2 | John Robertson |
| 26 March 1980 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Portugal | 4–1 | ECQG2 | Kenny Dalglish, Andy Gray, Steve Archibald, Archie Gemmill |
| 16 May 1980 | Windsor Park, Belfast (A) | Northern Ireland | 0–1 | BHC | |
| 21 May 1980 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | Wales | 1–0 | BHC | Willie Miller |
| 24 May 1980 | Hampden Park, Glasgow (H) | England | 0–2 | BHC | |
| 28 May 1980 | Warta Stadion, Poznań (A) | Poland | 0–1 | Friendly | |
| 31 May 1980 | Nepstadion, Budapest (A) | Hungary | 1–3 | Friendly | Steve Archibald |
Key:
* (H) = Home match
* (A) = Away match
* ECQG2 = European Championship qualifying – Group 2
* BHC = British Home Championship