The Political Economy of Football V2

The Scottish Football Association had decided to stay at Hampden Park and will buy the stadium in 2020 from historic amateur club Queens Park when the current lease expires. The decision to stay at Hampden rather than move to Murrayfield was incredibly close: Hampden Park A strong case was made for Murrayfield by the rugby authorities. It is a more modern stadium that Hampden, which needs some work, and has a bigger capacity. It is also in Scotland's capital city. However, others feel that the historic home of Scottish football is in Glasgow which is Scotland's most populous city, particularly if you count in the surrounding towns. There were also those who were uneasy about key matches being played in a stadium built for rugby.

The word 'unique' is often over used, but it must surely be applied to Glasgow team Queen's Park. They are the oldest football club in Scotland and they are celebrating their 150th anniversary this year. They are the only Scottish club to win the FA Cup. They invented the modern passing game, originally referred to as 'combination' football. They are also the only amateur club playing in the Scottish professional league system. There are, of course, no amateur clubs in the English Football League and the separate amateur system in England (sometimes referred to as 'shamateur') has long since disappeared with many non-league clubs having full-time squads. Now the club faces a new challenge. They are based at the national stadium at Hampden Park which is also the home of the Scottish Football Association. However, their lease runs out in 2020 and there is uncertainty about their future there. The income that Queen's Park derives from Hampden is th...