The world’s oldest football has travelled from a Scottish castle to Florida to appear at Scotland’s crunch World Cup match against Brazil – but the game could face delays as weather fears grow in Miami.
The ball, believed to date from between 1540 and 1570, was discovered in the 1970s, lodged in the rafters behind the Queen’s Chamber at Stirling Castle. It is roughly the size of a small melon, made from thick leather panels containing a pig’s bladder, and recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest.
“World's oldest football, from Stirling Castle, is in Miami for Scotland vs Brazil, but weather may delay the match.”
Now it is on display at the Coral Gables Museum in Florida until Saturday, as well as being shown at Wednesday’s match. The ball has been loaned to the museum by Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, where it is the prize exhibit in a collection of more than 40,000 items.
Stirling Smith curator Aiofe McKenna said: “Somebody in the 1540s must have kicked the ball quite high into the ceiling and it got stuck. The timeline aligns with Mary, Queen of Scots residing in the castle and of course it was discovered in the Queen’s Chambers. So we couldn’t say for certain, but we like to think that Mary played with this ball.”
The ball has been dated to the era of James V and the young Mary, Queen of Scots, who lived in the chambers as a child. Records show that football was popular in Scotland from the 15th Century, though McKenna noted the game was “very violent” and “many of the Scottish monarchs actually tried to ban it because of all the chaos it was causing.”
The ball is included in the Florida museum’s exhibition Diplomacy and the Beautiful Game: From Scotland to Brazil to Haiti. McKenna said: “It’s really exciting that it will be there for the Scotland and Brazil match.”
But while the historic ball arrives, Scotland’s World Cup destiny bid could face delays as weather fears grow in Miami. The Scotsman reports that Clarke says coaching staff are prepared for all eventualities.