According to official statistics, swimming is the sport with the highest level of participation in Scotland (18%) , followed by cycling (10%), football (9%) and golf (8%). However, in terms of spectator interest, football dominates.

The rofessional game of football is controlled by three organisations, the Scottish Football Assocation (which has responsibility for the national team), the Scottish Premier League (the 12 top teams) and the Scottish Football League (36 other professional and semi-professional teams). The national football stadium is Hampden Park (capacity 52,000), in Glasgow.

Rugby (played under the union code) tends to be associated with the Borders although the two wholly professional teams are the Edinburgh Gunners and the Glasgow Warriors. The Premiership 1 (the main club league) is now dominated by east coast teams. Murrayfield (cap 67,800), the national rugby stadium, is in Edinburgh.
  
Golf, curling and shinty are the main indigenous sports. Golf has developed into a multi-national industry but the headquarters remain at the Royal & Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews. Curling, regulated by the Royal Caledonian Curling Curling Club, is an international sport also, although not to the same extent as  golf. Shinty remains an amateur sport based largely in the highlands and in areas where the highland diaspora are found.