The Scottish Cup is said to be the oldest trophy within Association football and the oldest national football trophy in the world. The Scottish Football Association began in 1873.  By 1895 so many Scottish clubs were taking part in the Scottish Cup competition that a qualifying tournament had to be established to cope with the demand. The success of the tournament therefore spans across 135 years with the First and Second World Wars being the main cause of disruption to the competition.

The Scottish national team play at Hampden Park, which is in Glasgow.  They have reached the World Cup finals nine times, though they have only played in the finals eight times.  The team qualified for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil but as Scotland were not the British Champions, the Scottish FA opted not to take part.

There were many visitors to Stornoway at that time, from soldiers, sailors, fishermen and tradesmen who must have taken the game to the islands.

In 1903 Stornoway Athletic won the first League, there were three other teams in the league in 1904, Ramblers, Caberfeidh and Thistle.   In the country there were inter-district tournaments around 1900.  There were excellent competitions in Ness, Back, the West Side and Point in 1931 and after that.

In 1933 The Glasgow Lewis and Harris Association gave the West Side the Eilean an Fhraoich cup and asked them to organise a tournament for the districts of Lewis and Harris.  In that year, Wet Side, Ness, Carloway, Back, Point, Uig, North Lochs and South Lochs participated, with Harris and Tolsta joining later.  The town teams weren’t and still aren’t allowed to play for the Eilean an Fhraoich cup.  West Side won the cup the first year, when they beat Uig in the final.  

Women’s football has also become a major sport in the islands, with the Nicolson Institute Girls Under 18 football team winning the North of Scotland and also the Scottish Schoolgirls Cup on a number of occasions.

Currently eight teams play in the Lewis and Harris senior league, Lochs being the current holders.  These teams also have junior teams who play at Under 18, Under 16, Under 14 level, and they also have development clubs, which work with youngsters, training them, entering them for tournaments and developing their skills.