The Hampden Collection Announces Football's Square Mile Alliance

Announcement - 11th March 2022

Football’s Square Mile Alliance launched promoting Scotland as the World Home of Football and mission for UNESCO World Heritage Status

The Hampden Collection is delighted to announce another significant milestone forming the Football's Square Mile Alliance. This Alliance consists of a growing group of organisations supporting our UNESCO World Heritage Status campaign, including Association of Tartan Army Clubs, West of Scotland Cricket Club, Queen’s Park Football Club, Archaeology Scotland, Society for American Soccer History, Hampden Bowling Club, Glasgow Football Tour, and Friends of Cathcart Cemetery.

Football’s Square Mile contains the birthplaces of Queen's Park, Celtic and Third Lanark, the site of Rangers' first game, and the final resting place of several Scotch Professors. These football titans shaped the beautiful game we know today, making Glasgow the world capital of football, which at one point had the three biggest football stadiums on the planet.

This Alliance launches on the 140th anniversary of one of the Scotch Professors' most significant victories. On 11th March 1882, Scotland recorded a magnificent 5-1 victory over England in front of 15,000 spectators at the 1st Hampden Park. This game is immortalised in a 100ft mural on the back of the 1st Hampden Pavilion at Hampden Bowling Club. The mural features Charles Campbell, Queen’s Park captain and future SFA president, and Andrew Watson, the first black international player and captain. The Hampden Collection has set a 10-year goal to reach UNESCO World Heritage Status and aims to complete the mission by the 150th anniversary of this historic match.

Graeme Brown, Founder of the Hampden Collection, explains, "There are so many anniversaries coming up in the next decade. As a start, the 150th anniversary of the 1st International is this year on St Andrew's Day. Scotland created international football at the West of Scotland Cricket Ground in Partick in 1872, and we are delighted with the West of Scotland Cricket Club’s support through joining our Alliance. Next year we celebrate the 150th birthday of the Scottish Football Association, the first unified national football association on the planet, and the 150th anniversary of the opening of the 1st Hampden Park. The 1st Hampden Park set the template for every football ground ever built.

There are more anniversaries in the following years, including the 150th year of the Scottish Cup and the 150th anniversaries of incredible victories over our closest neighbours. Our mission is to celebrate these in style and ensure everyone learns about our mission to make Football's Square Mile a UNESCO World Heritage Site."

Graeme Baxter, Vice-Chair of The Association of Tartan Army Clubs, explains, "We are delighted to give support to the Hampden Collection, especially given this year we are celebrating how Scotland invented the modern game. The campaign towards UNESCO status would give Scottish football a greater sense of identity, and drive more people to learn and understand the history of football, especially within Glasgow itself."

The Scotch Professor is a worldwide phenomenon; as Tom McCabe, President of Society of American Soccer History, explains, "Scotch Professors brought the modern game to North America in the 1870s. The game came hand-in-hand with Scottish industry, so much so that Andrew Carnegie once said, 'America would have been a poor show had it not been for the Scotch.' Scottish influencers made their mark in American soccer as players, referees, and organisers of clubs and leagues.

We heartily support the mission to make Football's Square Mile a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the true home of world football. American soccer, nae global soccer, would have been a poor show had it not been for the Scotch Professor!"

Through our Alliance Partner Archaeology Scotland, The Hampden Collection explored the campaign's prospects with Historic Environment Scotland. Their insight into the UNESCO process was exceptionally beneficial and constructive, and the research into each of the landmarks within Football's Square Mile has already begun.

This launch marks another significant step forward in our journey to promote Scotland's incredible footballing heritage and its role as the grand architects of the world's most popular sport. The plans for St Andrew's Day 2022 are well underway, where the Tartan Army celebrates its 150th birthday, and during this year’s World Cup, we celebrate Scotland creating international football and the World’s game. These events, codenamed #SCOENG1872, will deliver a spectacular show for the Tartan Army, and all the Scotch Professor converts worldwide.

We are looking for like-minded organisations interested in this campaign and willing to help support our mission. Please get in touch through our contact page.