Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; ; Scottish Gaelic: "Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba") is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations. It was formed in 1873, making it the second oldest "national" football association in the world. It is not to be confused with the Scottish Football Union, which is the name that the SRU was known by until  the 1920s. The Scottish Football Association sits on the International Football Association Board which is responsible for the laws of the game. The SFA is also a member of FIFA and founder member of UEFA. It is based at Hampden Park in Glasgow. In addition, the Scottish Football Museum is located there. The Scottish Football Association is responsible for the operation of the Scotland national football team, the annual Scottish Cup and several other duties important to the functioning of the game in Scotland. History. Following the formation of Scotland's earliest football clubs in the 1860s, football experienced a  rapid growth but there was no formal structure, and matches were often arranged in a haphazard and irregular fashion. Queen's Park, a Glasgow club founded in 1867, took the lead, and following an advertisement in a Glasgow newspaper in 1873, representatives from seven clubs – Queen's Park, Clydesdale, Vale of Leven, Dumbreck, Third Lanark, Eastern and Granville – attended a meeting on 13 March 1873. Furthermore, Kilmarnock sent a letter stating their willingness to join. That day, these eight clubs formed the Scottish Football Association, and resolved that: Chief executive/Secretary. The chief executive of the Scottish Football Association oversees  the development of football in Scotland and the administration of disciplinary matters, and is also responsible for the general organisation of the national side. One of the most prominent roles of the chief executive is to hire and dismiss Scotland national football team managers. National teams. As well as the Scotland national football team, the Scottish Football Association is also currently responsible for organising the Scotland B national football team, as well as men's national teams at under-21, under-19, under-18 and under-17 levels. There was also a semi-professional team, but this was disbanded in 2008. In women's  football, there is the full Scotland women's national football team, under-19 and under-17 teams. In Futsal there is a full national side. Club competitions. The Scottish Football Association organises the Scottish Cup and the Scottish Youth Cup. Although the SFA are not involved in the day-to-day operation of the Scottish Professional Football League or other league competitions, they do appoint referees to officiate the games in these leagues, as well as dealing with player registrations and disciplinary issues. Club licensing. The Scottish Football Association encourages quality of governance in football clubs through a system of club licence  awards. All SFA member clubs are assessed annually in four areas (ground, first team, youth team, and governance) and, if appropriate, awarded a licence at platinum, gold, silver, bronze or entry level. As of June 2021, only Celtic have been awarded a platinum-level licence, while three clubs have been awarded gold-level licences: Hibernian, St Johnstone and St Mirren. All clubs in the Scottish Professional Football League, Highland Football League, and Lowland Football League are required to be licensed at entry level or above. Member clubs. As of July 2021, 113 clubs are full members of the Scottish Football  Association, comprising: Affiliated associations. National associations. The Scottish Football Association has affiliated to it the following seven national associations: Local associations. There are 10 local associations affiliated and the competitions they manage are also listed below: Recognised leagues. The following six leagues with their affiliated leagues and cups are recognised by The Scottish Football Association: