Football Act 1424


The Football Act 1424 was passed by the Parliament of Scotland in the reign of James I. It became law on 26 May 1424, one of a set of statutes passed that day; it is recorded as James I. 1424 c.18 in the Record Edition of the statutes, and James I. Parl. 1-1424 c.17 in the Duodecimo Edition. The title of the Act was "Of playing at the fut ball".
The Act stated that it is statut and the king forbiddis that na man play at the fut ball under the payne of iiij d - in other words, playing football was forbidden by the King, and punishable by a fine of four pence.
The Act remained in force for several centuries, although somewhat unsurprisingly, it fell into disuse. It was finally repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1906.
Three further 15th century Acts explicitly prohibit both football and golf during wappenschaws for archery practice.