The Scottish Amateur Football Association (SAFA) National Team has been representing Scotland for many years. Players are selected from teams who play for Associations/Leagues within the SAFA. The National Team plays international games against other national amateur teams from Ireland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland as well as from Europe and further afield. The National Team also plays friendlies against several professional teams from the Scottish Divisions.

The National Team for the season 07/08 is shown below.



Bryan Kenny - Lumphinians
Scot McDonald - Drumchapel Amts
Graeme McNeill - Colville Park
Paul Bell - St Pats
Mark Brown - Eddlewood
Alan Lister - Eddlewood
Jamie Dunbar - Eddlewood
William Nicolson - Drumchapel Utd
David McKay - Drumchapel Utd
Alex Clearie - Drumchapel Utd
David Grant - Milton
Chris Carlin - Balmore
Graeme King - Bannockburn
Chris McNab - Rosyth C.S.
Charles Scarbourgh - Rosyth C.S.
Kevin Welsh - Harestanes




The Scottish Amateur National Team Manager is Mr Hugh Carswell.




The backroom staff from the top left Physio Steven McGill (Nuetral) top right Goalkeeping Coach Brian Whelan ( Colville Park) bottom left Kit Man Joe Walker ( Colville Park)Bottom right Coach Chris Campbell ( Bannockburn).

The following is a "rough guide" to the selection process for the National Team.

1. Initial Recommendations
Most players are initially recommended by clubs and will be watched and recommended by the select committee led by Hugh Carswell, SAFA National Team Manager.

2. Select Competitions
Select competitions are also a help with spotting talent - for example with Ayrshire AFA, Central AFL and Scottish Amateur League select teams playing against each other in the Annual John Smith Tournament, this gives Hugh the opportunity to watch a concentration of some of the best players in their own domestic league play in a very competitive situation.

3. Training Session Invitations
The next step is the players being invited to regular training sessions held at Colville Park complex where they can the  be further assessed by Hugh and his back room staff of coaches.

Hugh making a point to [L 2 R] Michael Kennedy [Drumchapel Utd], Graeme McNeill [Colville Park] & James Graham [St.Pats].

4. Challenge Games
The final step prior to the International games is a series of challenge games to test out the players in a competitive atmosphere usually against senior professional teams like Stenhouimuir, Strirling Albion, Albion Rovers and Queens Park etc.

5. International Games
The National Team squad then go on to play a series of internationals each year.

Points to Note
a) Players - we would add that players do not always appreciate the amount of dedication required to last the course with regular Sunday training sessions, with the amount of travel involved and midweek games that cut into the players free time.

b) Management - people should bear in mind the amount of ''voluntary'' work put in by individuals together with Hugh turning up at numerous games and making contact with club officials throughout the country to keep the system running smoothly.

c) Support - unfortunately, the SAFA is not as well-funded as the professional game and as such has limited resources/budgets to support the team and its organisation.

We hope this gives some insight into the process involved - there is always room for improvement and we welcome suggestions (and any funding!) that would improve the process and better assist those that give their time and energies to the National Team.