Scottish football clubs have participated in European association football competitions since 1955, when Hibernian entered the inaugural European Cup.
Scottish sides have won four UEFA competitions between them, with Celtic becoming the first side from the British Isles to be European champions by winning the 1966–67 European Cup. Rangers (in 1972) and Aberdeen (in 1983) both won the Cup Winners' Cup before its abolition, with Aberdeen going on to become the only Scottish side to win the European Super Cup in the same year as their Cup Winners' Cup triumph.
The most recent appearance by a Scottish club in a European final was the 2022 UEFA Europa League Final, when Rangers lost on penalties to German club Eintracht Frankfurt.
A number of non-top flight sides have represented Scotland in European competition, including Gretna and Queen of the South, via their performance in domestic cup competitions. The most recent side from outside the top level of Scottish football to play in European football was Hibernian in 2016–17.
Scottish clubs have never faced off in European tournaments at any stage; the closest this came to occurring was in the 1965–66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup when Hearts lost a playoff to Zaragoza with Dunfermline already drawn to meet the winners in the next round, and in the same competition two years later when, knowing Dundee would be the next opponent, Rangers were eliminated by eventual winners Leeds United.
Qualification
The 2022–23 criteria for Scottish clubs to qualify for European competition are:
If the Scottish Cup winners have already qualified for European football, then 3rd and 4th in the Scottish Premiership move up to take their place and 5th in the Scottish Premiership also qualifies.
UEFA Coefficient
* Season in progress
Finals
Scottish clubs have competed in all three major European finals – twice in the European Cup, four times in the UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League and four times in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
European Cup / Champions League
UEFA Cup / Europa League
Cup Winners' Cup
Finals at Hampden
Six European club finals not involving native clubs have taken place in Scotland; all were held at Hampden Park, and all were won by either a Spanish or a German club. The first, the 1960 European Cup Final, drew the highest ever attendance (127,621) to a UEFA competition final and is also the highest scoring, with Real Madrid running up a 7–3 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Scottish teams were eliminated at the semi-final stage in 1960 (Rangers) and 1966 (Celtic), and on both occasions the Scottish club involved went on to reach the final of a different European competition the following year. Hampden's two finals in the 2000s were also each followed by a Scottish team reaching a European final the next season after even longer waits: a hiatus of 26 years between Scotland hosting such events ended with the 2002 Champions League Final, before Celtic played in the 2003 UEFA Cup final 33 years after their previous showpiece appearance, while the 2007 UEFA Cup final in Glasgow immediately preceded Rangers' appearance in the same tournament in 2008, having waited 36 years since their last final. A similar situation occurred in the early 2020s: the UEFA Euro 2020 international tournament, including four matches at Hampden, was delayed for a year and played in 2021. In the season after that, Rangers reached the 2022 UEFA Europa League Final.
Full European record
European Cup/Champions League
European Cup era
Champions League era
Club was transferred into the UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League. Club progressed into the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League.
UEFA Cup/Europa League
UEFA Cup era
Europa League era
Club was transferred into the UEFA Europa League knockout phase after finishing third in their UEFA Champions League group. Club progressed from the group stage into the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League.
UEFA Europa Conference League
Europa Conference League
Club was transferred into the UEFA Europa Conference League Group Stage after losing their UEFA Europe League Play-off round match. Club progressed from the Europa League group stage into the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa Conference League.