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 rain comes sideways off the Clyde, a fine grey curtain that soaks the terraces of Celtic Park before kickoff. A boy of maybe ten, his grandfather's green-and-white scarf knotted around his neck, presses his face to the turnstile barrier and watches the players emerge from the tunnel. Across the city, a few miles away, a man in a blue-and-white hooped shirt stands at his kitchen window, radio murmuring the pre-match build-up, a half-empty glass of something amber on the counter. He has watched every Old Firm since he was old enough to walk to Ibrox with his father. He will watch this one, and the next, and the one after that. The ball will be kicked, the crowd will roar, and for ninety minutes the city will hold its breath. It always does. It always will.

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 were founded 15 years earlier in 1872 and had no particular religious leanings in their early decades.
• In 1902, a wooden stand collapsed at Ibrox during a Scotland v England fixture, killing 25 and injuring hundreds.
• The 1909 Scottish Cup final between the sides ended in two draws, and a riot broke out when fans assumed the results were being fixed for profit; the trophy was withheld.
• As of 10 May 2026, Celtic and Rangers have played each other 452 times in major competitions, with both clubs winning 172 matches each.