Old Firm

Lore & Background

Between them the two clubs are among the most trophied in the world, having won a combined 111 Scottish League championships (Celtic with 56 and Rangers with 55), 77 Scottish Cups (Celtic with 43 and Rangers with 34), and 50 Scottish League Cups (Rangers with 28 and Celtic with 22). Interruptions to their ascendancy have occurred rarely, mainly in the two decades after the Second World War from 1946 to 1965 when five other clubs won the league, and in the first half of the 1980s with the challenge of the New Firm of Aberdeen and Dundee United. Since the 1985–86 season, one half of the Old Firm has won the Scottish League every season, and in all but one of seventeen seasons between 1995–96 and 2011–12, both clubs finished in the top two places. In the early 2010s, Rangers endured financial difficulties, and its holding company was liquidated in 2012. Subsequently, the club had to apply for entry to the bottom (fourth) tier of the Scottish league. As a result of the liquidation, many Celtic supporters maintain that the current Rangers is distinct from the pre-2012 club, and the rivalry no longer exists under the Old Firm identity. Instead, they (and often Celtic themselves) use the more generic term Glasgow derby to refer to the rivalry. While Rangers climbed back through the divisions, Celtic were champions in each of the next nine campaigns; Rangers won the title in 2020–21 to prevent a tenth for Celtic, which would have beaten a record set by Celtic in the 1960s and 1970s and matched by Rangers in the 1980s and 1990s. As of 10 May 2026, Celtic and Rangers have played each other 452 times in major competitions; both clubs have won 172 matches each, with 108 ending in a draw. The clubs have large fan bases around Glasgow and Scotland and have supporters clubs in many towns throughout Scotland and in cities around the world. In 2005 the presence of Rangers and Celtic was estimated to be worth £120 million to the Scottish economy each year.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium crackled with a tension unique to Riyadh derbies. Thousands of blue-clad Al Hilal supporters surged against the yellow-and-red sea of Al Nassr fans, the roar drowning out the evening heat. As the referee blew the opening whistle, it wasn't just a match beginning; it was another chapter in a saga that had defined generations of Saudi football, where every tackle felt personal and every goal would echo through history.

Reader's Guide

The origin of the term is unclear but may derive from the two clubs' initial match in which the commentators referred to the teams as 'like two old, firm friends', or alternatively may stem from a satirical cartoon published in 'The Scottish Referee' sports newspaper prior to the 1904 Scottish Cup final between the sides, depicting an elderly man with a sandwich board reading 'Patronise The Old Firm: Rangers, Celtic Ltd', highlighting the mutual commercial benefits of their meetings. The name may also be a reference to these two teams being among the original eleven members of the Scottish Football League formed in 1890 (although others from that group, such as Heart of Midlothian and St Mirren, also continue to play at the highest level to this day). At the turn of the 21st century, the two clubs jointly registered the 'Old Firm' term at the Intellectual Property Office; it was confirmed this was still being renewed as a trademark in 2021.

Did You Know?

• Celtic were founded in 1887 on the promise that the club would deliver much-needed money and resources to a poverty-stricken Irish Catholic population in East Glasgow.
• Rangers had been founded 15 years earlier in 1872 and had no particular religious leanings in their early decades.
• In 1912, Belfast shipbuilders Harland and Wolff set up a new yard in Glasgow due to instability in Ireland, and hundreds of Ulster Protestant workers adopted Rangers as their new team.
• The 1909 Scottish Cup final between the sides saw supporters riot after two draws, amid multiple injuries and considerable damage to Hampden Park; the trophy was withheld.